Men's Basketball | December 21, 2016
MACON, Ga. - The La Salle men's basketball team treks to Georgia for a non-conference tilt at Mercer on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. The contest will be televised regionally on American Sports Network and can also be seen online via WatchESPN and ESPN3. An online radio broadcast of the game, featuring play-by-play commentator
Kale Beers and La Salle alum Albert "Scooter" Vertino, is also available through Stretch Internet or the TuneIn Radio App.
NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers are looking to build on an 84-80 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 17.
•Redshirt junior
B.J. Johnson led the way with 35 points, including 28 in the second half, as La Salle came back from a six-point deficit with 7:35 left to come away with the win.
•Senior
Jordan Price was the only other player to reach double figures in scoring for the Explorers with 16 points, while also adding four rebounds and four assists.
•Junior
Amar Stukes had another exemplary performance taking care of the basketball, recording six assists against just one turnover in 35 minutes of action.
•The Explorers shot 54.2 percent from the floor in the second half to help overcome FGCU going 12-for-24 from three-point range (6-11 in 2nd half).
•Redshirt junior
Demetrius Henry also played a key role defensively, blocking three shots in his 26 minutes of action.
•Stukes leads the Atlantic 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.7 and is rated just outside the top 50 nationally (T-54th).
•As a team, the Explorers are averaging a league-leading 82.7 points per game with Johnson pacing the team at 19.9 per outing.
•La Salle is also tops in the A10 in field goal percentage (.478), three-point field goal percentage (.391), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4) and is second in assists (15.8).
SCOUTING MERCER
•Mercer stands at 5-6 overall after suffering a narrow 76-74 loss to Auburn on Dec. 18.
•The Bears led by a point with 1.4 seconds remaining when TJ Dunans hit a buzzer-beating fadeaway three-pointer to give the Eagles the victory.
•Ria'n Holland scored five points in the final 11 seconds to give Mercer the one-point lead late, and finished the game with a team-high 24 points.
•Holland leads the team in scoring at 18.3 points per game while Demetre Rivers is averaging 12.5 ppg.
•Jordan Strawberry, the son of former Major League Baseball star Darryl, is third on the team in scoring and leads the squad with 47 assists.
JOHNSON EXPLODES FOR 35 vs. FGCU
•Redshirt junior
B.J. Johnson led the Explorers to a hard-fought 84-80 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 17.
•Johnson picked up Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors after scoring a career-high 35 points, including 28 in the second half.
•The 30-point outburst was the first time an Explorer had scored 30+ points in a game since
Jordan Price had 36 against Duquesne in last year's Atlantic 10 Tournament.
•On the year, Johnson is ranked in the Atlantic 10's top 10 in scoring (19.9 ppg), field goal percentage (.537), free throw percentage (.870) and three-point shooting (.460)
•Previously, he was named the Atlantic 10's Co-Player of the Week with St. Bonaventure guard Jaylen Adams on Dec. 5.
•The award was the first for an Explorer since 2/16/15, as
Jordan Price picked up the honor.
GEORGIA ON HIS MIND
•Senior
Jordan Price will see a lot of familiar faces in the stands on Thursday at Mercer.
•Price grew up less than 90 miles from Mercer's campus in Decatur, Ga., and starred for Southwest DeKalb High School from 2010-12.
•During his two years at SW DeKalb, Price led the Panthers to 46 wins and an appearance in the Class 4A state championship game.
•At La Salle, Price moved into 28th place on the school's all-time scoring list with his 16 points against FGCU on Dec. 17.
•The redshirt senior struggled from the field (5-13), but did add four assists and four rebounds as he battled foul trouble throughout.
•His 16 points give him 1,323 for his La Salle career, 33 points shy of 27th (Kurt Kanaskie, 1976-80).
•Price was projected by SportsIllustrated.com to be the fourth-leading scorer in the country in 2016-17.
VALUING THE BALL
•The Explorers have done a tremendous job taking care of the basketball so far in 2016-17.
•On the year, La Salle has recorded 142 assists against 101 turnovers for a ratio of 1.41.
•The ratio ranks 29th in the country, and the Explorers are in a virtual tie with Kansas and USC at 1.41.
•Individually, sophomore guard
Pookie Powell has 25 assists against just six turnovers (4.2 ratio) and junior guard
Amar Stukes has 41 assists and 15 turnovers (2.7).
•Powell's 4.2 assist-to-turnover ratio would rank ninth nationally if he had the prerequisite number of assists per game, while Stukes is tied for 53rd in the nation in the category.
