Men's Basketball | December 20, 2017

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The La Salle University men's basketball team closes out non-conference play on Friday, Dec. 22 with a road contest at Bucknell. The Explorers and Bison will tipoff at 7:00 p.m. A video broadcast of the game is available over the internet on the Patriot League Digital Network, while La Salle play-by-play commentator Kale Beers and analyst Steve Degler will call all of the action over internet radio via the TuneIn Radio App and Stretch Internet.

NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers are looking to finish their 13-game non-league slate with a winning record after earning a 95-85 victory over Mercer in their last outing on Dec. 17.
•La Salle connected on a season-high 16 three-pointers against the Bears, including 10 in the opening half.
•The total was two shy of the school record of 18 made threes, accomplished three times previously (most recently vs. Fordham on Feb. 9, 2013).
•Senior B.J. Johnson scored a team-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Explorers, who also received 24 points from redshirt junior Pookie Powell.
•Three other La Salle players posted double figure points, including senior Johnnie Shuler (13), and sophomores Isiah Deas (11) and Saul Phiri (11).
•Five players reached double figures in scoring for the first time this season and for the first time since Jan. 12, 2017 against Rhode Island.
•The Explorers shot 54.4 percent from the field, marking the first time the team had eclipsed the 50 percent mark this season.
•The 19 assists for La Salle also marked a season high, with graduate student Amar Stukes leading the way with 10 (matching a career high).

SCOUTING BUCKNELL
•The Bison overcame an 11-point halftime deficit on the road at Richmond on Tuesday, picking up an 86-78 win over the Spiders.
•Bucknell shot nearly 60 percent from the field in the second half, led by Zach Thomas who had 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting.
•With the score tied at 70-70 with 5:28 left, the Bison went on an 11-2 run to take control.
•Stephen Brown had nine points over the final 4:29 of the second half, and closed with 12 points and six assists.
•On the season, Thomas paces the Bison in scoring at 22.9 ppg and also leads the team in rebounding at 8.5 per contest.
•Thomas, a 6-7 forward, is shooting an impressive 48.5 percent from three-point range and has connected on 33 three-pointers this season, an average of 2.8 per game.