Men's Basketball | January 18, 2022

KINGSTON, R.I. – The La Salle men's basketball team faces its second game in three days on Wednesday evening, taking on Rhode Island inside the Ryan Center for its second-straight road game.
 
La Salle (6-8, 1-3 A-10) looks to carry the momentum from a 75-64 win over Saint Joseph's on MLK Day, playing in just its fifth road game of the season when they meet Rhode Island (11-4, 2-1 A-10). Tip is schedule for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 19 and can be seen on the ESPN+ app. Kale Beers will also be on the radio call found on goexplorers.com/watch.
 
NEWS & NOTES

• The Explorers head to the second road trip in as many games, leaving the state of Pennsylvania for a game for the first time since November 17th. After getting comfortable in Philadelphia over the last month, the Explorers get their first taste of A-10 action outside of the home city when they face the Rams.
• This will be just the third time this season La Salle left Philadelphia, coming home following the game to play in two more games at Gola. The Explorers' first 18 games provides only three excursions outside of the city.
• The Explorers look to build off the momentum of their last two games, taking preseason favorites St. Bonaventure into overtime before a statement performance in the second half to push past Saint Joseph's in their first win in the Atlantic 10.
• The last time out, the Explorers faced yet another early deficit to a Philadelphia Big 5 rival, down as much as 14 in the first half against Saint Joseph's. La Salle would score 25 of the next 32 points to overcome the deficit, shooting nearly 52% in the second half to secure a 75-64 win over the Hawks for the first A-10 and road win of the season.
• Clifton Moore continues to be a mainstay on the score sheet, securing his third-straight double-double in the win over St. Joe's.
• Jack Clark found as good as time as ever to have a career performance, scoring 18 of his career-tying 21 points in the second half. Josh Nickelberry joined in on the action, grabbing 19 points off the bench.

 
SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND

• Rhode Island enters Wednesday's matchup with an unblemished home record on the season, 7-0 when playing inside the Ryan Center. URI sits at 11-4 on the year and 2-1 in A-10 play, falling on the road to first place Davidson by four points to open Atlantic 10 play..
• The Rams are one of the best defensive teams in the country, sitting at 4th in field goal percentage defense (37.1%) and 5th in blocks per game (6.4).The offense is as potent, 16th in the country in field goal percentage at a staggering 49.1% clip.
• Brothers Makhel and Makhi Mitchell combine for nearly 22 points a game and 11.5 rebounds to pace the Rams, Makhel tallying 41 blocks on the season to rank second in the conference.
• Jeremy Shepherd adds 11.1 points per game to the squad, leading the Rams in both assists (47) and steals (23).

 
NO FLY ZONE

• The Explorers grabbed their first win of the conference season on Monday, January 17th, taking part in the second edition of their matchup with Saint Joseph's on MLK Day. La Salle is now 2-0 on the series after a 75-64 victory over the Hawks.
• La Salle allowed under 40% shooting from the field on either side of the half, limiting SJU to just 22-61 from the field for 36.1%. An early struggle on the offensive side of the ball saw the Explorers shoot just 26.7% from the field in the first half, but the side from 20th and Olney countered by hitting more than half of their attempts in the final 20 minutes, knocking down 17-33 attempts for 51.5%.
• The trifecta of Jack Clark, Josh Nickelberry and Clifton Moore combined for 56 of the 75 points for the Explorers, Khalil Brantley adding 10 points as the four outscored St. Joe's whole team.

 
A-10 LEADERS

• Clifton Moore has been a force since starting A-10 play. Third in the league in scoring heading into the matchup with Rhode Island, Moore is averaging 20.0 points per game against conference foes. The forward has also grabbed 40 rebounds in his last three games, good for fourth in the league at 10.0 per contest. Moore is shooting 58.9% from the field in that span, the sixth-best mark in league play of those who have taken 20+ attempts. Known more for his rim protection entering the season, Moore has 12 blocks in his last four games, the third best average in the Atlantic 10 at 3.0 per game.
• With the absence of Jhamir Brickus in the Explorer lineup over the last few games, Khalil Brantley and Anwar Gill have been required to step up in the backcourt. Gill ranks 13th in league play with 4.0 assists per game, Brantley following just behind at 17th with a 3.5 average. The two combined for 15 assists against the Bonnies.
• After four games in the A-10, Khalil Brantley's career-best eight assists to just one turnover against St. Bonaventure pushed him all the way up to 4th in assist-turnover ratio at the time. Brantley has been dishing 2.0 dimes per turnover in A-10 play, sitting at seventh in the conference.

 
JACK CLARK KENT

• For the first time in his career, Jack Clark registered a double-double in the season opening loss against Sacred Heart. His 12 point, 11 rebound contest was the 15th time registering double figure scoring and the third time with 10+ rebounds. Clark joins Christian Ray as the only other Explorer to record a double-double, the junior with four in his career.
• The fourth-year man regained his rhythm after an early season slump, going 6-9 from the field for 18 points and eight rebounds in a rout over FDU.
• Clark produced his best game of the season in a Philly matchup, taking over with 21 points against St. Joe's to tie a career-high in points. Clark scored 18 of his 21 in the second half, also adding six rebounds in the rivalry win.

 
EVEN MOORE FROM C. MOORE

• Clifton Moore has proven himself to be a menace on the defensive side of the ball, ranking 24th in the nation in blocks with 2.71 blocks per game.
• With six blocks against Army West Point, Moore recorded the most blocks in a game since November 20, 2010 when Aaric Murray recorded nine in a 79-74 win over Morgan State. The six blocks is fourth-most in program history.
• Moore put up a highlight reel in defeat to Fordham, knocking down 12-17 attempts from the field for 26 points, besting his career-high by 11 points. The Ambler, Pa. native also added a season-high eight rebounds, five blocks and two steals. It was the third time this season Moore recorded 5+ blocks.
• In Moore's previous four games, the Ambler native has averaged 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. Moore's 21/12 effort against VCU was the first double-double of his career, setting a career-high in rebounds. He produced his second-straight 10/10 performance of his career the next time out, tallying 17 and 10 against St. Bonaventure. The Ambler native again tallied a double-double against St. Joe's, garnering the third-straight of his career with a 16/10 performance against the Hawks.

 
PHILLY LIVIN'

• The Explorers spent their nonconference campaign in and around the city of Philadelphia. Only playing three road games before A-10 action, the Explorers traveled no further than Lewisburg, Pa. for any of their away trips.
• The Fordham Rams broke a five-game win streak inside Tom Gola Arena, the only other loss coming in the home opener in overtime to Sacred Heart. Since then, the Explorers have went on a three-game losing streak at home in conference play.
• La Salle will leave the city for just the third time in its opening 15 games to start the season when they head to Rhode Island.

 
NICKELS AND DIMES

• Joining the Explorers from a two-year stint at Louisville, Josh Nickelberry surpassed his numbers during his time as a Cardinal. In 24 games, the junior registered 37 points. It took the junior just three games to record 41 points in an Explorer jersey.
• The first year Explorer bested his debut performance of 22 points with a game-high 28 points from Holy Cross on 10-18 shooting, recording the most points by an Explorer in a game since Isaiah Deas (31) in Dec. 14, 2019 against Morgan State. Nickelberry also recorded a career-high eight rebounds.
• Nickelberry made it back-to-back games with 20+ points, starting to heat up with 24 points on 8-12 shooting against the Knights. His three games with 20+ points is almost more than the rest of the Explorers combined - Clifton Moore with two, Jhamir Brickus and Jack Clark each with one.
• His second best two-game span of his early Explorer career, Nickelberry dropped 36 combined points in games against St. Bonaventure and Saint Joseph's.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• The Explorers look to shake off a recent slump against the Rams, losing their last seven as La Salle faces a 31-9 disadvantage in the series.
• La Salle hasn't won a game against Rhode Island since the 2017 season, losing 11 of the last 12.
• The series began in 1977, Wednesday night's hosts securing a 70-61 win in the opener.
• In last season's bout, the Rams shot over 56% from the field on their way to a 73-60 win inside Tom Gola Arena. Christian Ray paced the Explorers with 15 points and six rebounds.
• La Salle looks for its first win against Rhody under Coach Howard.