Men's Basketball | January 15, 2021

PHILADELPHIA - The Explorers return home to Tom Gola Arena on Saturday, looking to get back in the win column with a contest against Davidson. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m., and the game will be shown live on ESPN+. 

NEWS & NOTES
•On Wednesday, La Salle couldn't overcome an early deficit at George Mason, falling to the Patriots on the road, 75-42.
•The Explorers got off to a cold start on offense and the Patriots took advantage, jumping out to a 20-5 lead midway through the opening half.
•It was a 39-23 game at the break, but George Mason continued to pull away down the stretch, including a 14-0 run to close out the game.
•Sophomore Christian Ray pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go with seven points for the Explorers.
•It was a tough shooting night for La Salle, as George Mason limited the Explorers to season lows in field goal percentage (26.1) and three-point percentage (13.0).
•The boards also proved to be a determining factor once again, with the Patriots owning a 50-35 advantage in the rebounding category.
•La Salle held a 24-10 advantage in bench scoring and went 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.
•The Explorers will have a quick turnaround following Saturday's contest, hosting rival Saint Joseph's on Monday for a 4 p.m. matchup set to air on CBS Sports Network.

SCOUTING DAVIDSON
•The Wildcats enter the weekend at 7-5 overall and 3-2 in the A-10 while boasting a 2-0 record on the road.
•Davidson is coming off an 80-66 home victory over Saint Josephs on Tuesday, where the Wildcats shot 51.9 percent from the field and 48.3 percent from three-point land.
•Kellan Grady led all scorers with 21 points and was one of five Wildcats to score in double figures.
•Grady is seventh in the A-10 with 17.6 points per game, while Hyunjung Lee (15.3 ppg) and Carter Collins (13.3 ppg) rank in the top 20 as well.
•Luka Brajkovic is 10th in the league with 6.8 rebounds per game, and Davidson leads the A-10 in three-point field goals made with an average of 9.6 per game. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. DAVIDSON (DAVIDSON LEADS 7-3)
•This will be just the 11th all-time meeting between La Salle and Davidson.
•La Salle is 2-1 all-time at home against Davidson.
•The home team is 5-1 all-time in the series.
•Davidson has won three of the last four meetings.
•In their last meeting at Davidson a season ago, the Wildcats jumped out to a 16-point halftime lead and held the Explorers to just 2-for-15 shooting from three in a 74-49 decision.
•The last time the two met at Tom Gola Arena in 2019, La Salle knocked down 13 three-pointers to take a 79-69 victory.
•La Salle and Davidson were set to meet in the Atlantic 10 Championship last season before the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.

RELIABLE RAY
•Sophomore Christian Ray has provided the Explorers with reliable shooting and rebounding both as a starter and off the bench this season.
•Ray is shooting 51.8 percent from the floor on the season over 21.4 minutes per game.
•In addition to his effective shooting, Ray has been one of the top rebounders on the team for the second straight season, pulling down 5.0 rebounds per contest.
•Over the last two games, Ray is averaging 7.5 points on 50 percent shooting along with 6.5 rebounds per game.