Men's Basketball | December 16, 2019

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle entertains Wagner in a midweek, non-conference showdown at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., with all of the action available online via ESPN+. A live audio broadcast, featuring Kale Beers and Rich Prendergast, will be streamed on Stretch Internet Radio and the Tune In Radio App. The first 400 fans in attendance will receive an autographed 2019-20 poster.

NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers are looking for their third straight win after defeating Morgan State, 85-68, on Dec. 14.
•Senior Isiah Deas was named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week as a result of his standout performance against the Bears.
•Deas scored a career-high 31 points, including a run of 17 straight for the Explorers in the first half.
•The Brooklyn, N.Y. native connected on a career-best six three-pointers and scored his point total in just 26 minutes of action.
•Junior David Beatty also had a memorable performance, posting a collegiate-best total of 18 points including a thunderous transition dunk in the second half.
•The dunk, which helped the Explorers fend off a rally by Morgan State, was ranked as the fourth-best play of the day by ESPN's SportsCenter.
•Beatty scored those 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added three steals to match a career high.
•Freshmen Sherif Kenney and Christian Ray each grabbed seven rebounds to tie for team-high honors in the category for the first time in each of their careers.

SCOUTING WAGNER
•The Seahawks, hailing out of the Northeast Conference, enter Wednesday's game with a 2-6 overall record. 
•The team has been on the road for the majority of the early season, as Wednesday marks Wagner's seventh contest away from Staten Island.
•Head coach Bashir Mason has some Philadelphia roots, as he played his college ball at Drexel and helped the Dragons to an NIT appearance in 2007.
•Alex Morales is the team's top scorer at 13.0 points per game.

ALL-TIME SERIES vs. WAGNER (LA SALLE LEADS 1-0)
•The Seahawks and Explorers have met just once previously, during the 2013-14 season. 
•La Salle sprinted out to a 21-7 lead and never looked back, cruising to an 80-54 victory.
•Four different Explorers scored in double figures, led by a 17-point performance by Jerrell Wright.
•Steve Zack had 12 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots while Tyreek Duren added 11 points and six assists against zero turnovers.

SENIOR GUARD GUIDES LA SALLE TO WIN 
•La Salle senior Isiah Deas took control of an 85-68 victory over Morgan State on Dec. 14., scoring 17 straight points for the Explorers in a pivotal run.
•Deas connected on five of his six three-point field goals as he single handedly turned a three-point deficit into a 12-point advantage in less than three minutes.
•Three of those five shots from downtown came in just 58 seconds to help La Salle to its sixth win of the year.
•The 6-6 guard shot 9-of-15 from the field, 6-for-11 from the field and had two assists and two steals over just 26 minutes of action.
•For his efforts and his 31-point, career-best showing, Deas was named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week with Marcus Weathers of Duquesne.

TURNAROUND START FOR EXPLORERS
•La Salle stands at 6-3 overall heading into its game against Wagner on Dec. 18, a decided turnaround from last year's 0-10 start.
•The Explorers are off to their best non-conference start since the 2012-13 season, when the team began the year 7-2 and went 10-3 overall in the non conference en route to an at-large NCAA Tournament berth.
•Following the game against the Seahawks, La Salle will take on Fairleigh Dickinson before rounding out the non-league slate with a matchup against Bucknell at The Palestra.