Men's Basketball | January 2, 2018
KINGSTON, R.I. - The La Salle University men's basketball team (7-7, 1-0 A-10) will open the road portion of its Atlantic 10 schedule on Wednesday, Jan. 3, with a matchup against league preseason favorite Rhode Island (9-3, 1-0 A-10) beginning at 7:00 p.m. The game will be streamed online via Cox YurView, and an audio broadcast featuring play-by-play commentator
Kale Beers is also free to fans through Stretch Internet or the TuneIn Radio App.
NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers opened A-10 play with a convincing 83-60 win over Saint Louis at Tom Gola Arena on Dec. 30.
•Playing for the second consecutive game without leading scorer
B.J. Johnson, La Salle used a smothering defense in the first half to open up a 44-19 lead at intermission.
•The Billikens were held to just 27.3 percent shooting from the field and were 1-for-7 (14.3%) from three-point range.
•Meanwhile, the Explorers shot 54.5 percent from the floor and were led by the backcourt of
Pookie Powell and
Amar Stukes.
•Powell scored 14 of his game-high 28 points in the first half, while Stukes had 11 points in the stanza and 20 for the game.
•Sophomore
Saul Phiri was the leading rebounder for the Explorers with 10, while freshman
Miles Brookins came off the bench to score a career-high 10 points.
•For the game, La Salle outrebounded Saint Louis by a 42-34 margin. The Billikens entered as the fourth-best rebounding team in the league.
•Redshirt senior
Tony Washington was the fourth player to reach double figures for the Explorers with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND
•The Rams, who are receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week, began their league season at home against George Mason on Saturday and came away with an 83-64 win.
•Senior E.C. Matthews posted a team-best 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while three other Rhode Island players reached double figures.
•Jared Terrell, who leads the team in scoring at 17.7 points per game, had 16 points, while Andre Berry (13) and Stanford Robinson (10) chipped in to the winning effort.
•Sophomore Jeff Dowtin had nine points and eight assists against just one turnover, and Cyril Langevine came off the bench to score six points and grab 10 rebounds in 17 minutes.
•Rhode Island recorded perhaps the best win in the Atlantic 10 this season with a 75-74 victory over Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden. The Pirates are currently #21 in the AP Poll.
•The Rams have one of the best turnover margins in the country, as their +5.8 differential ranks fifth among all NCAA Division I teams.
