Men's Basketball | January 7, 2022

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team enter the New Year in Tom Gola Arena with a nationally televised game awaiting them, facing VCU on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Explorers and Rams meet inside Tom Gola Arena at 2 p.m. in the first contest for La Salle on the newly transitioned USA Network. USA Network is the new home for games that are part of the conference deal with NBC Sports. The game also will be available via the NBC Sports App.
 
Jason Knapp and Sydney Johnson are on call for the matchup. Fans can also tune in on goexplorers,com/watch for an audio broadcast with Kale Beers.
 
NEWS & NOTES

• The Explorers return to Tom Gola Arena for just their second game in 21 days, having had a road trip to Rhode Island and Saint Louis postponed in the last week due to COVID Health and Safety Protocols.
• La Salle will continue a season in which has favored travel for the Explorers, only leaving city limits for what will be just twice in their first 14 games, not leaving Philadelphia again until a planned trip to Davidson in the middle of January.
• The Explorers have had success in day games in the 2021-22 season, holding a 4-1 record in games played before 6 p.m. Combined with a strong home record on the year, La Salle is 4-0 in games played at home in the daylight.
• La Salle stumbled in its Atlantic 10 opener, hosting the Fordham Rams inside Gola on the last game of 2021. After opening the gates with a lead for the majority of the first half, the Explorers went into the lockers with a five-point advantage. Extending the lead to as much as 11 early in the second, the Rams eventually chipped away before grabbing the advantage en route to a 69-61 victory over the Explorers.
• Clifton Moore finished with a career night in the loss to the Rams. The redshirt-senior tallied a career-best 26 points, securing a season-high eight rebounds while adding five blocks and two steals, all team-highs.
• Mamadou Doucoure also produced one of his best performances of his collegiate career. The Bamako, Mali native grabbed his first start for La Salle, scoring a season-high 12 points while adding eight rebounds and a block. The two forwards combined for 16-22 from the field.

 
SCOUTING VCU

• The Rams enter Tom Gola Arena with an 8-4 record, defeating Dayton in their A-10 opener on Wednesday by a 53-52 margin to earn their fifth straight win. Three of the four losses for VCU this year have come against preseason favorites in the conference: Baylor (Big 12), Chattanooga (SoCon) and Wagner (NEC). The only other loss came in overtime to Big East foe UConn.
• The Rams bring in one of the country's best defenses, ranking in the top 20 in a host of defensive categories - three point field goal defense (1st, 23.6%), field goal percentage defense (5th, 36.5%), scoring defense (6th, 56.3) and blocked shots (18th, 5.7). VCU has won three games scoring less than 60 points, including a 48-37 defensive masterpiece against Vanderbilt.
• Vince Williams leads the Rams in multiple statistical categories, tallying a team-high 10.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 32 assists. Adrian Baldwin Jr. (10.5 ppg) and Jayden Nunn (10.0) add double-figures.

 
GETTING MORE FROM MOORE

• Clifton Moore has proven himself to be a menace on the defensive side of the ball, ranking 22nd in the nation in blocks with 2.82 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.

 
MAMADOU ON THE MARK

• Doucoure spent the previous four seasons at Rutgers before joining La Salle, playing in 71 games in his Scarlett Knight career.
• Doucoure scored his first basket for La Salle in the win against the Great Danes, adding three rebounds and a steal in his 20 minute appearance.
• The first year Explorer produced the best game of his time on 20th and Olney, tallying a career-high 10 rebounds against FDU while scoring four points on the offensive end.
• In his first start as an Explorer, Doucoure tallied 12 points (most since his freshman season at Rutgers) and added eight rebounds in defeat to Fordham.

 
SATURDAY SHINE

• In the fifth game of the season on a Saturday, the Explorers were finally defeated, previously holding a 4-0 record in games on Saturdays.
• The 26 point rout over FDU is the first time that the Explorers won on any day besides Saturday and after 4 p.m.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• The relatively new A-10 matchup between the Rams and Explorers sees Saturday's visitors hold a 10-2 advantage in the matchup.
• Last season, VCU toppled the Explorers in Virginia, defeating La Salle 73-62.
• VCU owns a six-game win streak over La Salle, the Explorers last defeating the Rams in double overtime in 2015, edging then #20 ranked VCU 74-69 in Richmond.
• Both wins against the Rams have come on the road to a ranked VCU team, the Explorers winning over #19 VCU 69-61 in 2013.
• The series opened in 1983, the Rams playing spoiler to the Explorer season with a 76-67 win to knock La Salle out of the NCAA tournament.