Men's Basketball | January 17, 2020

KINGSTON, R.I. - La Salle men's basketball returns from a week-long break and treks to New England for a matchup with Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon. The game will air live on NBC Sports Network, beginning at 12:30 p.m.

NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers are looking to snap a two-game losing skid and trying to win against the Rams for the first time in five meetings, dating back to the 2016-17 season.
•On Jan. 11, George Mason upended La Salle, 76-63, despite a season high from senior Saul Phiri.
•Phiri connected on five of his seven three-point attempts and finished with 19 points while also adding two steals.
•On the season, the 6-4 guard is connecting on 42.3 percent of his tries from deep to rank fourth in the Atlantic 10.
•Sophomore Ed Croswell had 10 points and eight rebounds against the Patriots, with five of those eight boards coming on the offensive end.
•Croswell currently ranks ninth nationally with a 16.8 offensive rebound percentage and is fifth in the league in offensive boards per game (3.1).

SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND
•The Rams most recently overcame a slow start to defeat Saint Joseph's, 71-61, on Wednesday evening.
•The win improved their Atlantic 10 record to 3-1, which is good for a tie for fourth place in the league standings.
•Fatts Russell scored 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting to pace URI, while Cyril Langevine had 14 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
•Russell currently leads the A-10 in scoring at 19.6 points per game and is sixth in assists (5.0/contest).
•Meanwhile, Langevine is tops in the conference in rebounding (11.1/game) and is fifth in blocked shots (1.6).

FORMER BACKCOURT MATES RECONNECT
•The La Salle-Rhode Island matchup will feature a reunion of sorts for a pair of student-athletes competing in the game.
•La Salle junior guard David Beatty and URI junior guard Fatts Russell were high school teammates at Imhotep Charter in 2016-17.
•As seniors, the duo led the Panthers to the Philadelphia Public League and City titles before capturing the PIAA 4A State Championship.
•The squad went 31-2 and was ranked No. 3 in the nation by MaxPreps and No. 5 by USA Today.
•Beatty was a First Team All-State selection by the Pennsylvania Sports Writers while Russell was named Class 4A Player of the Year.

OWENS RETURNS TO FAMILIAR PLACE
•Special assistant to the head coach Horace "Pappy" Owens will make a return to his collegiate stomping grounds on Saturday.
•Owens played for the Rams from 1980-83, earning Honorable Mention All-America honors as a senior.
•He closed his career with 1,750 points and currently stands in ninth place on the school's all-time scoring list.
•He finished 23rd in the nation in scoring (22.8 ppg) and second in the Atlantic 10 as a senior. He was chosen first in the second round by the NBA's New Jersey Nets before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

BENCH MOB
•The Explorers rank 30th in the country, according to KenPom.com, in bench minutes per contest.
•La Salle's reserves average 38.5 percent of the minutes played per contest, which is well above the NCAA average of 31.0 percent.
•Only Fordham (42.6%) has a bench that averages more minutes per game in the Atlantic 10.