Men's Basketball | January 9, 2018

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle University men's basketball team opens a two-game road swing on Wednesday evening with an Atlantic 10 contest at Massachusetts.
 
The contest is set to tipoff at 7:00 p.m., and will broadcast live locally on NBC Sports Philadelphia. An audio broadcast is also available to fans via the TuneIn Radio App or Stretch Internet.

NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers dropped their second straight league game on Saturday, Jan. 6, an 80-74 defeat at the hands of VCU.
•La Salle jumped out to a 15-point, first-half lead led by B.J. Johnson, who returned to the lineup for the first time after missing three games due to an injured ankle.
•Johnson scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half, as the Explorers entered the locker room with a 40-32 lead.
•The Rams fought back in the second half thanks to an impressive offensive performance that saw them shoot 53.6 percent from the floor.
•Redshirt junior Pookie Powell had 24 points in the loss to VCU, marking the fourth time in five games that the guard has scored 20 or more points.
•Three other players for the Explorers hit the double-digit mark, including sophomore Isiah Deas who had 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
•Freshman Miles Brookins played 20 minutes and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds to tie for the team lead with Johnson.
 
SCOUTING UMASS
•The Minutemen picked up their first conference win on Saturday afternoon, defeating Dayton on the road by a 62-60 margin.
•Massachusetts overcame a five-point halftime deficit thanks to an outstanding performance from Luwane Pipkins.
•Pipkins had 25 points and four assists against just one turnover in 37 minutes played. Carl Pierre also had 15 points, including 11 after halftime.
•UMass played just seven players during the game against the Flyers, with six of those players playing 27 or more minutes.
•Two starters, C.J. Anderson and Rashaan Holloway, were suspended for the game against Dayton. Anderson is expected to return to action against the Explorers on Wednesday.
•Pipkins is currently leading the team in scoring at 18.3 points per game, with Malik Hines pacing the squad in rebounding at 6.4 per outing.