Men's Basketball | January 6, 2020

There's always a tendency to focus on scoring when you look at the box score after a basketball game. Don't be fooled, getting buckets is obviously important, but it's all of the little things that often aren't emphasized in a box score that can end up being the difference.
 
That's where freshman Christian Ray leaves his impact. And after the Explorers picked up their 10th win of the season at Fordham on Sunday, it's becoming easier to see that those little things are adding up and helping La Salle win basketball games.
 
"Christian has been playing like a warrior all season long," said head coach Ashley Howard. "He does all the things that don't necessarily show up in the stat sheet."
 
In Sunday's 66-60 Atlantic 10 win at Fordham, Ray finished with two steals, a blocked shot and a team-high six rebounds, including a pair on the offensive glass. Plus, he had nine points on 3-of-5 shooting with a three-pointer off the bench. It was just another example of doing a little bit of everything to help the team win.
 
After a slow start as he got his feet wet in collegiate basketball, Ray has found his confidence over the last month, and the Explorers have benefitted from it. Not only is he the team's second leading rebounder as a freshman guard, but he's also made his presence felt on the defensive end. Through the first 14 games of his career, Ray is averaging 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. He has also been one of the team's most efficient shooters from the floor and from the free-throw line.
 
La Salle is 6-1 over its last seven games, and during that stretch, Ray has averaged 2.1 offensive rebounds per game and has shot 55.9 percent from the field while chipping in 7.4 points per contest as a spark off the bench.
 
Ray already has five games with at least two steals, including a three-steal game at Penn. He has registered at least one steal in eight of his last nine games and each of the last six games. A 6-foot-6 guard, Ray has become a consistent rebounder, grabbing at least four boards in nine games already, corralling six or more on six occasions.
 
He's come through in different ways at different times. Ray was a key reason why La Salle won the Gulf Coast Showcase as he broke through for eight points, six rebounds and three assists in a two-point semifinal win over Wright State. Last month in a win over Wagner, he led all players with 10 rebounds. The very next game, a victory against Fairleigh Dickinson, Ray found his scoring touch with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
 
As La Salle fully dives into its conference schedule, look out for Ray, who will be doing a little bit of everything to try and help his team win.