Men's Basketball | February 1, 2020

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle men's basketball team heads to western Pennsylvania for a matchup at Duquesne on Super Bowl Sunday, beginning at 2:00 p.m. The contest will air live on ESPN+, and a live audio broadcast is also available via the TuneIn Radio App and Stretch Internet Radio.

NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers suffered a heartbreaking 77-76, overtime loss to Saint Louis at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday night.
•After trailing by 13 points with 12:34 remaining in the second half, La Salle put forth a furious comeback to force extra time.
•Sophomore Ed Croswell was a big part of that, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds over the final 12:34 including the game-tying free throws with 31 seconds left.
•Croswell finished the game with career highs in points (24) and rebounds (18), and added two blocked shots and two steals in a season-high 38 minutes.
•The line of 24-18-2-2 put Croswell in elite company, as he became just the 12th  NCAA Division I player in the last decade (since '10-11) to put up those numbers.
•Senior Isiah Deas scored 20 points in the game, 15 of which came in the second half and overtime, putting him 79 points away from 1,000 for his career (921).
•The Billikens entered the contest ranked 14th in the nation in rebounding average, but the Explorers were able to win the rebounding battle, 47-42. 

SCOUTING DUQUESNE
•The Dukes enter the weekend tied for fourth in the Atlantic 10 Conference with a 5-3 league record and are 15-5 overall.
•Duquesne has had success at home with an 8-1 mark on its home floor, but the Dukes have lost their last three games in conference play.
•On Wednesday, No. 7 Dayton handed Duquesne its first home loss, 73-69, despite a combined 36 points and 15 rebounds from Michael Hughes and Marcus Weathers.
•Hughes ranks 10th in the nation with 2.9 blocks per game, while Weathers leads the team with 14.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest.
•The Dukes lead the A-10 and are ninth in the country in blocked shots (5.9 bpg) and rank third in the league in scoring defense (63.2 ppg) and scoring margin (7.5)

HOW ARE WE TRENDING?
•Over his last three contests, Ed Croswell is averaging 16.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
•As a team, La Salle has made 6+ three-pointers in seven straight games.
•Scott Spencer has made at least one three-pointer in seven straight games and at least one steal in seven of his last eight.
•Ed Croswell has had 4+ rebounds in all 19 games he has played in, including 6+ boards 13 times and 10+ rebounds five times.
•Isiah Deas, David Beatty and Ed Croswell have each scored in double figures 12 times apiece this season.
•David Beatty has posted at least one steal in seven of his last eight games.
•Ayinde Hikim has had 3+ assists in 16 of the 20 games, including 5+ in three of his last four.
•Saul Phiri has recorded at least one steal in 11 of his last 13 games.
•Christian Ray has had 4+ rebounds in nine of his last 13 games and has had 6+ rebounds eight times this season.

ALL-TIME SERIES - DUQUESNE (LA SALLE LEADS 43-33)
•This will be the 77th all-time meeting between La Salle and Duquesne.
•The Explorers are 8-2 over their last 10 meetings with the Dukes.
•La Salle is 14-20 all-time on the road at Duquesne.
•The two teams have met every season since 1995-96.
•In their first ever meeting in 1940, Duquesne defeated La Salle, 27-23 in overtime.
•In 1957, La Salle set a program record with 51 free throw attempts against Duquesne.
•La Salle's last win at Duquesne came in 2014 when Tyreek Duren and Tyrone Garland combined for 40 points in a 75-56 victory.
•The last time La Salle played at Duquesne in 2018, the Dukes edged out a 101-94 win in triple overtime. Isiah Deas had a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds over 55 minutes.
•In last year's meeting, David Beatty had 15 points, Isiah Deas scored 13 and Ed Croswell grabbed 16 rebounds as the Explorers earned a 73-72 home win.