Men's Basketball | November 30, 2021

PHILADELPHIA – The second of four games in a 10-day span for the La Salle men's basketball team sees the Explorers face the Temple Owls in their second-straight Big Five matchup on Wednesday evening inside the Liacouras Center.
 
The Explorers look to shake off a 72-46 defeat to #7 Villanova last Sunday at The Palestra, only getting two days in between yet another fierce rivalry matchup against the Owls. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and you can listen to the call of Kale Beers on goexplorers.com/watch. The matchup is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
 
NEWS AND NOTES

• The Explorers take on the second Big Five matchup in as many games, travelling the short distance to Temple's campus for just its second road game of the season.
• The game between the two on Wednesday is the only road game for the Explorers in the Big Five, hosting Penn and Saint Joseph's later this season inside Tom Gola Arena.
• The Explorers are on quick turnaround, facing their second of four games in a 10-day span. La Salle comes off the back of a 72-46 defeat to #7 Villanova inside the Palestra on Sunday night.
• The Wildcats proved why they were so highly ranked in the nation, entering the break with a 42-17 advantage over the Explorers.
• La Salle came out in the second half with a better control on both ends of the court, holding a narrow 30-29 deficit on the scoreboard en route to 72-46 defeat. The Explorers held the Wildcats just over 10 points below their season average.
• Khalil Brantley had a career-day, leading the team with a game-high 17 points on 5-10 shooting from the field.
• Jhamir Brickus also continued his strong start to the season, now making it three-straight games with double-digit scoring after a 13 point performance.
• Seven different scorers enter the Temple game averaging at least 7.2 ppg, led by Brickus with 11.6 and Josh Nickelberry with 10.2 ppg.
• Christian Ray continues to be one of the leaders in the conference on the glass despite the Wildcats forcing him out of his usual success. Ray is seventh in the conference with 7.6 rebounds per game, 28th in the country averaging 3.4 offensive rebounds per game.

 
SCOUTING THE OWLS

• The Temple Owls enter the contest deadlocked at a 3-3 record, with wins over UMES and Elon before a one-point win over Delaware last Saturday.
• The Owls were picked to finish 8th in the AAC Preseason Poll.
• Khalif Battle, who leads the Big Five and is 17th in the country at 21.3 points per game, leads the Temple offense alongside Damian Dunn's 10.8 points per game.
• The Owls find success on the glass, averaging more than six rebounds per game than their opponent, grabbing double-digit offensive rebounds in five of their six games.

 
SHARING IS CARING

• Since 2012, the Explorers have had just 13 games with six or less assists in a game. With one lone assist in the loss to Villanova, the Explorers are now 1-12 in those games. The only win came in a 75-71 double-overtime victory over Penn in the 2017-18 season, tallying just six dimes in the victory.

 
THE ART OF DEFENDING

• Early in the campaign, the Explorers are 0-2 when scoring over 80 points and 2-0 scoring in the 60s. The difference comes on the defensive side of the ball, La Salle 2-0 when allowing less than 65 points and 0-3 when allowing 70+ points.
• The 61 points against Army is the lowest the Explorers scored in a win since a Dec. 12 contest last season against Drexel, defeating the Dragons 58-48.
• Despite defeat to #7 Villanova, the Explorers held the Wildcats below their season average in points and shooting percentage.

 
HANDING KEYS TO KHALIL

• Freshman backup point guard Khalil Brantley scored a then career-high in his early collegiate career in the win over Army, collecting 12 points - all in the first half.
• The rookie from the Bronx quickly surpassed that tally, scoring 12 points for the second-straight time in the first half against #7 Villanova. Brantley would finish with a game-high 17 points in the defeat.

 
SERIES MATCHUP

• One of the oldest rivalries in program history, the Explorers and Owls will meet in the 121st rendition of the series.
• The Owls have held a historical advantage over La Salle, taking eight wins from the previous 10 games and 21 of the previous 26.
• The series dates back to 1936, where La Salle topped Temple in a 37-31 overtime victory.
• Coach Howard looks for his first win over Temple, previously 0-2.
• The Explorers look to pick up their first win at Temple since the 2008-09 season.