Men's Basketball | January 3, 2017
PHILADELPHIA - La Salle returns to Tom Gola Arena for the first time in 2017 for a matchup with Atlantic 10 foe Saint Louis on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m., with all of the action available live online at the A-10 Digital Network. An audio broadcast, featuring the Voice of the Explorers
Kale Beers, is available to fans via the TuneIn Radio App or Stretch Internet.
NEWS & NOTES
•Both the Explorers and Billikens dropped their conference season openers last Friday.
•Sophomore Pookie Powell is coming off 23-point performance at Dayton, but La Salle could not overcome a season-high 20 turnovers in a 66-55 loss.
•Previously, the Explorers' season high in miscues was 19 and came, interestingly enough, in an 89-78 win at Drexel on Nov. 27.
•Junior B.J. Johnson was the only other player in double figures for La Salle with 14 points, and added 12 rebounds for his second straight double-double.
•The Explorers did outrebound Dayton by a slim 36-35 margin and dropped their first game of the year in which they held an edge on the boards.
•One of the statistical keys to the early season has been free throw attempts: La Salle is a perfect 6-0 when taking more free throws than its opponent.
•Senior Cleon Roberts hit both of his three-point attempts against Dayton and is now shooting 61.1% from three-point range this season to lead the A10.
•The Explorers rank in the top 50 nationally in scoring offense (40th, 81.5 ppg), three-point field goals made per game (44th, 9.3) and turnovers per game (48th, 11.7).
•According to Ken Pomeroy's website, La Salle is 41st in the nation with a 111.2 offensive efficiency rating.
SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS
•Saint Louis dropped its most recent outing to Rhode Island, 90-56, in its conference opener on Dec. 30.
•Head coach Travis Ford is in his first season at the helm of the Billikens after spending the last eight years as head coach at Oklahoma State.
•Ford does have experience in the Atlantic 10, as he was head coach at Massachusetts for three seasons (2005-08).
•Jermaine Bishop leads SLU in scoring (11.6 ppg) and assists (4.7 apg) but has missed the last four games due to an ankle injury.
•Similar to La Salle last year, Saint Louis has three players sitting out this year due to NCAA transfer rules (Javon Bess - Michigan State; Adonys Henriquez - UCF; D.J. Foreman - Rutgers).
POOKIE PROVES EFFECTIVE
•Sophomore Pookie Powell has upped his scoring output in recent weeks.
•Powell had a team-high 23 points against Dayton and has scored 20 or more points in each of the last two games and three of his last five.
•The Orlando native is averaging 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists over his last two games while shooting 61.5% (8-13) from 3-pt. range.
•The sophomore transfer is tops in the A10 and eighth in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio (3.8).
BAILEY BACK AT GOLA
•A familiar face will be seated on Saint Louis' bench on Wednesday.
•Assistant coach Will Bailey spent six seasons on La Salle's coaching staff under head coach Dr. John Giannini from 2010-16.
•This past summer, Bailey was hired by Travis Ford to serve as an assistant at Saint Louis.
•Bailey, who was also an assistant for Giannini for a season at Maine in 2002-03, has spent time on the coaching staffs at Mercer, East Tennessee State and Chicago State.
