Men's Basketball | February 26, 2021

FAIRFAX, Va. - La Salle men's basketball closes out the regular season on Saturday afternoon with its second road contest against George Mason this season. The game will be televised live on NBC Sports Network, beginning at 4:30 p.m. An audio broadcast featuring the Voice of the Explorers Kale Beers is also available on Stretch Internet Radio and the TuneIn Radio App.

NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers will be looking for revenge on the Patriots, who earned a 75-42 win at Eagle Bank Arena on Jan. 13.
•Senior Night was a success for the La Salle men's basketball team in its last outing on Wednesday, as the Explorers took care of Duquesne, 85-65.
•Senior David Beatty matched a career high with 22 points, while classmate Scott Spencer knocked down an early three-pointer to get La Salle going offensively.
•The Explorers connected on 53.1 percent of their attempts from the field and 47.8 from three-point range as they used efficient shooting to overcome 22 turnovers.
•Sophomore Christian Ray had his second straight double-double performance with 14 points and 14 rebounds, and added three steals.
•La Salle pilfered 12 steals, marking the sixth time this season the team has recorded double-figure steals in a game.
•Freshman Jhamir Brickus continued his outstanding play of late, tallying 17 points and dishing out six assists.
•Sophomore Sherif Kenney was the fourth La Salle player to reach double figures and finished with 14 points.
•The 52-point outburst in the second half marked the most the team has scored in a 20-minute period this season, and the most for an Explorer team since scoring 54 in the second half of an 89-84 loss to Drexel on Nov. 17, 2018.

SCOUTING GEORGE MASON
•The Patriots sit one game above .500 in Atlantic 10 play heading into the final week of competition.
•GMU does have one more game on its schedule following the contest with the Explorers, a March 2 trip to Saint Louis.
•Mason is led by Jordan Miller, who is averaging 15.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
•Three other Patriots are averaging in double figures, including Javon Green (11.6), Tyler Kolek (10.9) and Josh Oduro (10.8).

DOUBLE DOUBLE MAN MAN
•On Wednesday, sophomore Christian Ray recorded his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
•The game was the third in four games that Ray had pulled down 10 or more rebounds, and the third in five games that he had 14 or more points.
•Over his last five outings, the 6-6 guard/forward is averaging 12.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the field.
•At Saint Joseph's, Ray and junior Jared Kimbrough turned the double-double trick.
•The two become the first La Salle duo to record double-doubles in the same game since NBA G-Leaguer B.J. Johnson (23 pts., 10 rebs.) and 2020 alum Isiah Deas (15 pts., 10 rebs.) both doubled up at Saint Louis during the 2017-18 season (2/10/18).

JIGGA WHAT? JIGGA WHO? 
•Freshman starting point guard Jhamir "Jig" Brickus has put together a special rookie season as a two-way standout that has made him a candidate for Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors.
•Wednesday night vs. Duquesne, Brickus was a force, contributing 17 points and dishing out six assists in a 20-point win over the Dukes.
•Brickus was uber efficient, needing just seven field-goal attempts (5-7).
•He also showcased his scoring ability at Saint Louis, netting a career-high 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor. 
•In an overtime effort at Saint Joseph's, he had an all-around game, registering 17 points, six assists and career highs of five steals and five rebounds over 41 minutes.
•The 5-11 guard is currently shooting 51.6 percent from the field, good for 11th in the Atlantic 10.
•He is the only player that stand below 6-5 in the top 18 in the league.
•The Coatesville, Pa. native scored in double figures in each of his first three career games and has done so 12 times this season, which is tied for the team lead.
•The 5-11 guard put on a passing clinic in the Jan. 2 win over Fordham, dishing out a career-high 10 assists, and he leads the team with 3.4 assists per game.
•Brickus began his career by being named to the Lapchick All-Tournament Team after averaging 10.5 points per game on 9-for-11 (81.8%) over his first two career games.
•He opened his La Salle career by coming off the bench to shoot 5-for-6 from the floor for 11 points at St. John's in his debut and followed with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting vs. Saint Peter's the next day.