Men's Basketball | November 21, 2017

READING, Pa. - La Salle men's basketball takes a short trip to Reading, Pa., for a pre-Thanksgiving matchup with No. 11 Miami at Santander Arena on Wednesday. The game will be considered a neutral-site contest, though the contest is being played 60 miles from La Salle's campus. No television broadcast or online stream of the game will be available, but fans can listen live to play-by-play broadcaster Kale Beers and analyst Kevin Casey on Stretch Internet or the TuneIn Radio App, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers will face a Power 5 opponent for the third straight game, and will play a nationally-ranked team for the second time over that same span.
•This past weekend, La Salle traveled to Uncasville, Conn., for the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena.
•Senior B.J. Johnson earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team by averaging 24.5 points and 6.0 rebounds over two games.
•Johnson also recorded 2.5 steals per outing while shooting 17-for-31 from the field (54.8%) and an even 50.0% from three-point range. 
•On Saturday, the Explorers cut what was once a 26-point deficit to seven midway through the second half but could not muster enough energy to complete the comeback against No. 20 Northwestern.
•In addition to Johnson's 22 points, sophomore Isiah Deas added nine poitns and freshman Miles Brookins came off the bench to add eight on 3-of-3 shooting.
•La Salle shot 67.9 percent during the entire second half against the Wildcats, outscoring them 50-36.
•Despite not shooting the ball particularly well on Sunday against Boston College, the Explorers trailed by just 40-34 with 13:15 remaining before their offensive struggles caught up to them. 
•Johnson was once again the catalyst at the offensive end, going for 27 points in 36 minutes.
•Redshirt junior Pookie Powell added 16 points but struggled from the floor, going 6-for-18 overall and 2-for-11 from three-point range.
 
SCOUTING THE HURRICANES
•No. 11 Miami is a perfect 3-0 to start the season, defeating its first three opponents by an average of 32.3 points per game. 
•Eight different players are averaging at least 18 minutes per game, with Bruce Brown leading the way at 31.3 minutes per contest.
•Senior Ja'Quan Newton, a Philadelphia native who played his high school ball at Neumann-Goretti, paces a group of four players in double figures with 14.0 ppg.
•Bowen is grabbing a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game and is also leading the squad in assists at 6.7 apg.
•Miami freshman Lonnie Walker will be returning to his hometown for Wednesday's game. Walker, a 2017 McDonadl's All-American who is averaging 7.7 ppg through three contests for the Hurricanes, is a Reading native and led Reading High to its first Pennsylvania 6A State Championship.