Men's Basketball | November 10, 2017

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle men's basketball begins its 88th season on Saturday afternoon as it plays host to Saint Peter's at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

There are a number of activities planned on campus to mark Opening Day for the Explorers, beginning at 12:00 p.m. 

Halftime will feature a special naming ceremony involving members of the TruMark Financial Credit Union.

NEWS & NOTES
•The contest is the first of four that the Explorers will play as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. Following a Big 5 matchup with Penn on Nov. 13, La Salle will host South Alabama on Thursday, Nov. 16, in the final on-campus game of the event before heading to Mohegan Sun Arena for a neutral-site, two-day tournament that will begin with a game against No. 19 Northwestern on Saturday, Nov. 18.
•The winner of that contest will play the winner of Boston College-Texas Tech for the Naismith Bracket Final on Sunday, Nov. 19.
•Senior B.J. Johnson is one of three starters returning for the Explorers. Johnson led the team in both scoring (17.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg) a year ago.
•Graduate student Amar Stukes and redshirt junior Pookie Powell are expected to comprise the starting backcourt. Stukes led the Atlantic 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio last season, while Powell was La Salle's third-leading scorer at 13.7 ppg.
•Senior Tony Washington also returns as a fourth player who has starting experience. Washington has made 37 starts during his time at La Salle, including 25 as a sophomore.
•Last season, the Explorers picked up victories over eventual NCAA Tournament teams Bucknell and Florida Gulf Coast during the non-conference season. 
 
SCOUTING SAINT PETER'S
•The Peacocks are coming off a successful 2016-17 campaign that saw them win 23 games and earn a CollegeInsider.com Tournament title.
•Saint Peter's did lose a lot to graduation, returning just five players that saw action a season ago.
•Leading that contingent are graduate students Nick Griffin and Nnamdi Enechionyia.
•Griffin is the leading returning scorer for the Peacocks at 8.8 ppg and started 24 contests last year, while Enechionyia – the brother of Temple's Obi Enechionyia – averaged 4.8 points and 2.4 rebounds a game while starting all 36 games.
•Head coach John Dunne is in his 12th season at Saint Peter's, and last season led the Peacocks to a program record 14 wins in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.
 
FAMILIAR FOES REUNITE
•The matchup on Saturday is the 23rd between La Salle and Saint Peter's, with the majority of those games coming while the two teams were both members of the MAAC.
•The Explorers hold a 14-8 record against the Peacocks, including a 71-58 win on March 6, 1989 in the MAAC Championship game at the Meadowlands to earn the second of three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.
•Lionel Simmons had 29 points in the win while Doug Overton had 22.
•The two teams last squared off during the 2014-15 season, with the Explorers taking a 59-50 decision.
•Amar Stukes had 11 points and three assists off the bench in the win.