Men's Basketball | February 8, 2021

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - The Explorers will play their second road game in four days when they travel to St. Bonaventure Tuesday for a battle against the Atlantic 10-leading Bonnies. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m., with the game scheduled to air live on ESPN+. An audio broadcast of the game is also available to fans via the TuneIn Radio App and Stretch Internet Radio, with Kale Beers calling the action.

NEWS & NOTES
•La Salle suffered a 76-68 setback at Fordham on Saturday despite a career game from sophomore Christian Ray.
•Ray had a near-double-double, scoring a career-best 18 points and matching his season high with nine rebounds.
•The Explorers and Rams went back-and-forth early on, with La Salle ahead 17-16 midway through the first half, but Fordham responded with a 12-2 run to take a nine-point lead.
•The Rams ended the opening half on a 9-2 run to hold a 37-24 lead at halftime and stretched the difference to 14 points early in the second half. •La Salle came back within five on multiple occasions but never got closer than that as Fordham drained 11 three-pointers and went 19-of-21 from the foul line.
•Redshirt sophomore Jack Clark scored in double digits for the third consecutive game, netting 16 points to go with four rebounds and a pair of steals.
•The Explorers were never able to overcome a cold-shooting first half where they made only eight field goals, shooting 33.3 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from three.
•The loss snapped a nine-game win streak against Fordham and was a completely different game than the Jan. 2 meeting when the Explorers won by 37.
•Prior to the defeat, La Salle was coming off arguably its biggest win of the season, knocking off Saint Louis at home, 82-75, last Wednesday.

SCOUTING ST. BONAVENTURE
•The Bonnies currently sit at the top of the Atlantic 10 standings with a 9-2 overall record and a 7-2 mark in league play.
•St. Bonaventure has been perfect at home with a 5-0 record at the Reilly Center.
•Saint Louis snapped the Bonnies' seven-game win streak on Saturday, with the Billikens earning a 70-59 win on their home court.
•The Bonnies have a balanced attack on offense that features five players averaging double-digit points led by Kyle Lofton (15.8 ppg) and Jaren Holmes (14.6 ppg).
•Defensively, St. Bonaventure has been stout, leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense (62.1 ppg) and defensive field goal percentage (.392).

THE SHERIF SHOW
•Sophomore Sherif Kenney, who is averaging 13.2 points over the last five games, has proven to be a top scoring option for the Explorers, tied for the team lead with 9.8 points per game overall and 10.3 per contest in Atlantic 10 play.
•Kenney put together a career game at VCU, registering career highs in points (20), assists (4), steals, field goals made (7) and three-pointers made (4). He also grabbed a season-high five rebounds.
•The 6-4 guard was on point in the win at Richmond with a team-high 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting (2-3 3PT, 5-6 FT), and then knocked down a career-high 13 foul shots on his way to another 17-point effort in the win over Saint Louis.
•Over a four-game stretch from mid-December into January, he averaged 16.0 points on 53.8 percent shooting and 54.5 percent from downtown to lead La Salle to a 3-1 mark.
•Against reigning A-10 champion Dayton, the D.C. native had 14 points, 12 in the second half, as the Explorers downed the Flyers for the first time at UD Arena in 21 years.
•Three days later, Kenney poured in 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting in a 37-point win over Fordham, leading to Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Week on Jan. 4.
•A candidate for Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player, Kenney is shooting 36.0 percent from three-point range -- nearly 10% better than last season (26.7%). He has also improved his scoring output by 2.0 points per game.