Men's Basketball | January 12, 2018

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The La Salle University men's basketball team will look to end a three-game losing skid on Saturday afternoon as they hit the road to face Duquesne in a nationally-televised Atlantic 10 contest.
 
The game, which will tipoff at 12:30 p.m., will air on NBC Sports Network, with Ryan Burr and Ben Braun calling the action. An audio broadcast of the game is available over the internet, with the Voice of the Explorers Kale Beers and Rich Prendergast on the call.
 
NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers (7-10, 1-3 A-10) fell in overtime on the road at Massachusetts on Wednesday night by the score of 86-79.
•Redshirt junior Pookie Powell had a career-high 30 points to lead La Salle, who led by as many as 22 points in the second half.
•UMass guard Luwane Pipkins registered a Mullins Center record 44 points to lead the Minutemen to the comeback win.
•The Explorers had a tough time offensively after halftime, shooting 35.1 percent after intermission while UMass shot 56.4 percent.
•Sophomore Isiah Deas had 19 points for La Salle, and senior Tony Washington was the third player in double figures for the team with 10 points.
•Massachusetts took a six-point lead late in the second half before Deas hit two straight three-pointers to tie the game at 72-72.
•The contest would eventually move into overtime, with the Minutemen scoring the first five points of the stanza to take control.
•Pipkins scored 25 of his 44 points in that pivotal second half, and overall went 15-of-27 from the field and 6-for-10 from three-point range.
 
SCOUTING DUQUESNE
•The Dukes (12-5, 3-1 A-10) suffered their first Atlantic 10 loss of the season on Tuesday evening, falling on the road to VCU, 78-67.
•Last year's A-10 Rookie of the Year Mike Lewis II is leading the team in scoring at 15.6 points per contest, while newcomer Eric Williams Jr. is nearly averaging a double-double at 14.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per outing.
•Two other Dukes are scoring in double figures for the season – Rene Castro-Caneddy (13.4 ppg) and Tarin Smith (12.0 ppg).
•Against the Rams, Duquesne held an eight-point halftime lead before VCU responded with a 50-point second half.
•Lewis II had a team-high 23 points while Williams Jr. added 15.