Men's Basketball | February 5, 2021
BRONX, N.Y. - La Salle will look to complete the season sweep of Fordham on Saturday afternoon, when the Explorers and Rams meet in a nationally televised Atlantic 10 contest. The game will air live on NBC Sports Network, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Rich Lerner and Ron Thompson will call the game.
NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers are coming off a statement win over a high-powered Saint Louis squad that was ranked 23rd in the nation earlier this season, taking down the Billikens 82-75 at Tom Gola Arena Wednesday night.
•Senior David Beatty scored a career-high 22 points, including 15 in the second half, to pace five double-digit scorers for the Explorers.
•Sophomore Sherif Kenney made a career-best 13 foul shots on 15 attempts and finished with 17 points, while redshirt sophomore Jack Clark tallied 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
•La Salle trailed by eight early on but slowly worked its way back to tie the game at 26 all and ended the half on an 8-0 run to enter the break on top by four, 36-32.
•Saint Louis would get back in the second half and went in front by a point, 49-48, before Beatty took matters into his own hands, scoring the next 11 points for the Explorers to give La Salle the lead back.
•The Explorers used an 11-1 run to extend their lead and eventually led by 12 with 2:15 to go, and though the Billikens came all the way back within five, La Salle went 14-for- 16 from the charity stripe over the final five minutes to clinch the win.
•Redshirt junior Clifton Moore (11 pts, 6 rebs, 3 blks) and junior Jared Kimbrough (10 pts, 4-4 FG) also reached double figures for La Salle.
•The Explorers shot 49.1 percent from the eld and 42.1 percent from downtown while holding Saint Louis to a season-low 40.3 percent shooting performance.
SCOUTING FORDHAM
•The Rams enter the contest on a seven-game losing streak and stand at just 1-9 in the Atlantic 10.
•Fordham's lone league win came at home against Dayton, 55-54, on Jan. 5.
•On Wednesday, the Rams were edged by UMass, 60-54, despite 17 points from Josh Navarro and a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double by Joel Soriano.
•Chris Austin leads the team with 11.3 points per game, while Soriano nearly averages a double-double with 10.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest.
A-10 GIANT KILLERS
•La Salle has stood tall against the top competition in the Atlantic 10, knocking off Richmond, Saint Louis and Dayton - the top three teams in the A-10 preseason poll.
•First, La Salle capped off 2020 with a thrilling 67-65 win at Dayton on a last second jumper by redshirt junior Clifton Moore.
•The victory snapped the Flyers' 20-game A-10 win streak and also marked La Salle's rst win at Dayton since 1999.
•Then on Jan. 23, the Explorers made another statement win on the road, coming from behind to knock off preseason Atlantic 10 favorite Richmond, 84-78.
•Six Explorers scored in double figures vs. the Spiders led by sophomore Sherif Kenney (17) as La Salle shot a season-best 52.9 percent from three-point territory and hit 57.1 percent from the floor while owning a 34-2 advantage in bench scoring.
•Most recently, five Explorers scored in double digits, including a career-high 22 points from senior David Beatty, as La Salle held Saint Louis to a season-low shooting performance on its way to an 82-75 home victory over the Billikens.
BIG GAME BEATTY
•Senior David Beatty came through with the best game of his career in Wednesday's win over Saint Louis, dropping a personal-best 22 points off the bench.
•Beatty dropped 15 of his 22 points in the second half and matched his career high with four three-pointers on ve attempts while also pulling down ve rebounds.
•In his third season with the Explorers after transferring from South Carolina, Beatty was named a team captain this season and has provided veteran leadership.
•The 6-2 guard has scored in double figures six times this season, something he had accomplished 35 times over his La Salle career.
