Men's Basketball | February 2, 2016

Philadelphia – The La Salle men's basketball team returns home as it welcomes VCU to Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday with tip scheduled for 7 p.m.

La Salle Explorers (5-14, 1-7 A-10) vs. VCU Rams (16-5, 8-0 A-10)
Wednesday, February 3 | 7 PM | Tom Gola Arena

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Game Notes
La Salle | VCU

Pre-Game Information
The Explorer GameDay FoodCourt will be open beginning at 5:30 PM. 

Last Time Out
The La Salle men's basketball team gave a valiant effort in one of the nation's toughest venues and had the host Flyers on the ropes in the second half but eventually lost to Dayton, 59-44, at UD Arena. Junior Jordan Price led the way with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists while playing all 40 minutes.

Last Time vs. VCU
La Salle upended No. 20 VCU, 74-69, in double-overtime in February of 2015. Jordan Price his a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force the game to head to extra time. Price finished with 34 points, 18 rebounds, and five assists. Jerrell Wright added 12 points of his own while Cleon Roberts went for 12 points.

La Salle-VCU Connections
Tony Washington squared off against a pair of Rams during his high school career at The Miller School. Mo Alie-Cox split two matchups with Washington while at Middleburg Academy. Washington went for six points in both of the matchups while Alie-Cox scored 19 in a 78-71 victory for Middleburg. Jordan Burgess and Benedictine picked up a 70-57 win with Burgess going for a game-high 15 points.
Korey Billbury and Pookie Powell squared off against one another while each were at their previous schools. Powell and Memphis grabbed a 78-63 over Oral Roberts with Powell going for 14 points, six points, seven assists, and a pair of steals and blocks.
Rams freshman Samir Doughty is a Philadelphia native and went to Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School.

Scouting the Explorers
• Jordan Price is currently 22nd in the nation in scoring at 20.6 points per game. He leads the Big 5 and is second in the Atlantic 10.
 
• Johnnie Shuler is ranked third nationally in minutes per game (38.1) and leads in the A-10.  La Salle has three players in the top seven in minutes per game in the A-10 (Shuler, Roberts, Price). 

• Playing with seven scholarship players and trying to avoid foul trouble, the Explorers have slowed the pace offensively. La Salle had 57 possessions vs. Dayton, 60 vs. Richmond and 56 vs. Rhode Island and Temple, 62 vs. Saint Joseph's and 73 vs. Duquesne. The slowest team in the nation is Denver, which averages 63 possessions. The Explorers were averaging 70 possessions coming into the Dayton game and have averaged 60.7 possessions/game since.
  
Scouting the Rams
• The Rams' current 11-game win streak is tied for the second-longest in the nation. Only Stony Brook has a longer current streak at 13.

• VCU is 8-0 in A-10 play for the first time since joining the league. The Rams have won 13 straight games against A-10 competition dating back to last season.  

• Sophomore Justin Tillman is averaging 13.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and shooting .814 from the field over his past six games.

• The Rams rank fourth nationally in defensive turnover percentage (24.2) and fifth in turnover margin (+5.1). The Rams have also manufactured second chances thanks to rebounding at a 34.2 percent offensively.

Up Next
La Salle welcomes Rhode Island to Philadelphia on Saturday with tip scheduled for 8 p.m. and TV coverage available on ASN and locally on TCN.