Men's Basketball | January 4, 2019

AMHERST, Mass. - La Salle University men's basketball begins the new year with its Atlantic 10 conference opener on Saturday afternoon against Massachusetts. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m., and all of the action will be available live nationally on NBC Sports Network. An audio broadcast of the contest, featuring Voice of the Explorers Kale Beers and former assistant Rich Prendergast, is available via the Tune In Radio App or Stretch Internet.

NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers are coming off consecutive wins to close out the 2018 calendar year, taking home the Boardwalk Battle championship in Atlantic City.
•Graduate student Pookie Powell was named the event's Most Valuable Player after averaging 17.5 points and 4.0 steals per game.
•Powell had 18 points and a career-high five steals in La Salle's 57-51 victory over Towson in the title game.
•In addition to his MVP accolade, Powell was named Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Week and now stands just two points shy of scoring 1,000 for his La Salle career.
•The team won despite shooting just 29.8 percent from the field, marking the first time La Salle has won a game shooting below 30 percent since defeating Saint Peter's, 59-50, on Nov. 22, 2014. In that game, La Salle shot 28.8 percent from the field.
•Freshman Jack Clark was the only other player to reach double figures for the Explorers, finishing with 11 points and six rebounds.
•In the opening game of the event, first-year head coach Ashley Howard picked up the first head coaching win of his career, 80-57, against Alabama A&M.
•Howard's Explorers shot 52.8 percent and matched a season high with 19 assists in the triumph.
•Junior Isiah Deas led a trio of La Salle players in double figures with 19 points, while classmate Saul Phiri made his season debut and finished with 13.
•Phiri averaged 11.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in Atlantic City, in his first action since the 2017-18 season.
•The 23-point margin of victory against Alabama A&M was the La Salle's largest vs. a Division I non-conference opponent since the Explorers beat Wagner, 80-54, on Dec. 19, 2013.

SCOUTING UMASS
•The Minutemen enter A-10 play with a 7-6 record, and are coming off a 91-72 loss at George right before the New Year.
•The highlight of UMass' non-league slate was a 79-78 victory over Providence on Dec. 7.
•Preseason First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection Luwane Pipkins is averaging a team-high 19.9 points per game and currently ranks second in the league in scoring.
•Big man Rashaan Holloway is converting an impressive 74.0 percent of his field-goal attempts to top the A-10 and would rank second nationally in the category if he qualified with enough attempts.
•Pipkins is also leading the team in assists (77), steals (18) and is third in rebounding (5.2 rpg) despite his 5-11 stature.

ATLANTIC 10 PLAY BEGINS 
•The 18-game Atlantic 10 schedule begins for La Salle on Saturday at Massachusetts.
•The Explorers, who begin their 24th season in the league, are 5-18 in A-10 openers but did win last year's version at home against Saint Louis, 83-60.
•Overall, the Explorers are 148-228 in Atlantic 10 play since 1995

EXPLORERS HIT JACKPOT IN ATLANTIC CITY
•La Salle entered the Boardwalk Battle in Atlantic City having dropped its first 10 games of the 2018-19 season.
•The skid was the longest to start a season in program history and matched a similar 10-game streak during the 2015-16 season.
•The Explorers broke out in a big way against Alabama A&M, putting together their second-best shooting performance of the season in an 80-57 win.
•A day later, La Salle was as cold as it was hot the prior day but used an impressive defensive effort to take home the title with a 57-51 victory over Towson.
•The in-season tournament championship was the first for La Salle since 2003, when La Salle defeated South Carolina State and Chattanooga to win the Dr. Pepper Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn.