Men's Basketball | March 5, 2016

AMHERST, Mass. – The La Salle men's basketball team concludes the regular season on Saturday night, March 5, when it visits Massachusetts at 8 PM. 
 
La Salle Explorers (8-20, 4-13 A-10) at Massachusetts Minutemen (12-17, 5-12 A-10)
Saturday, March 5 | 8 PM | Mullins Center

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Game Notes
La Salle | UMass

Last Time Out
Junior Cleon Roberts scored a game-high 23 points to lead La Salle to a 76-68 victory over Saint Louis on Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena. Seniors Rohan Brown and O.J. Lewis were recognized in a pre-game ceremony.
 
"We beat a very good team today. They may not have a very good record, but if you watch them play against Dayton they were in position to beat one of the best teams in the country there." head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "You would have been tremendously impressed with their defense in that game. Against Saint Joseph's, they were right with them until the final three minutes. They have been playing some of the best teams in the country to the wire."

Last Time Against UMass
Massachusetts used a 10-0 run at the end of the first half to take control of the game and the La Salle comeback fell short in a 74-67 win for the Minutemen on Sunday at Tom Gola Arena in the A-10 opener for both teams. Redshirt junior Jordan Price had a game-high 23 points for the Explorers, while redshirt sophomore Tony Washington had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Scouting the Explorers
• La Salle has won two straight games and three of its last five.

• La Salle is 7-3 when scoring at least 70 points this season. The Explorers are also 5-3 in their gold throwback uniforms.

• Jordan Price and Johnnie Shuler rank among the nation's most consistent three-point shooters. Shuler has made a three in 33 straight games and Price in 32 straight, which ranks them ninth and 11th in the nation, respectively.

• Cleon Roberts has 933 career points, including his freshman season at Georgia Southern. He needs 67 points to reach 1,000 for his career.

• Jordan Price leads the A-10 and is ranked 10th nationally in minutes per game (37.5). He has played all 40 minutes 11 times this season. La Salle has two players in the top 20 nationally in minutes per game in the nation (Price and Cleon Roberts).

• Amar Stukes has played well over the past nine games, averaging 8.7 points per game and shooting 13-for-27 (.481) from three-point range. He has 34 assists to 13 turnovers during that span. Against Saint Louis, he set career-highs with nine assists and seven rebounds.

• Jordan Price needs 26 points to pass former La Salle great, First Round NBA Draft Pick and famous father, Joe "Jelly Bean" Bryant, on the all-time scoring list.

• La Salle has played the hardest schedule in the Atlantic 10 this season, and the 41st hardest in the nation, according to ESPN.com. Last year, La Salle's was 58th in the nation and 5th in the A-10 and in 2013-14 it was 31st nationally and 2nd in the conference. 

Scouting the Minutemen
• UMass has three players averaging at least 14.5 ppg., led by Trey Davis at 18.8 ppg. Donte Clark (16.9 ppg.) and Jabarie Hinds (14.5 ppg.) also carry the offensive load. The Minutemen are 8-7 at home this season and have won three of their last four at the Mullins Center. UMass is coached by Derek Kellog, who is in his eighth season at his alma mater. 

Up Next
La Salle travels to the Barclays Center on Wednesday for the Atlantic 10 First Round. Game time will either be 6:30 PM or 9:00 PM, with  both games to be televised on the American Sports Network. Local clearances to be announced soon. Additional information can be found here regarding tickets, fan bus and receptions. 

The Explorers can finish as high as the number 11 seed or as low as the number 14 seed, depending on the outcome of Saturday's games across the A-10.