Men's Basketball | November 11, 2022
PHILADELPHIA — The La Salle men's basketball team will host Wagner in its home opener on Homecoming weekend at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center in a 3 p.m. showdown. The game will also be legendary head coach and alum Fran Dunphy's home debut leading the Explorers on the sidelines after being hired by the university to take over the program last April.
The game will be televised on ESPN+, with Kale Beers and Bron Holland delivering the play-by-play and color. Explorers fans can listen to the broadcast through GoExplorers.com/watch.
NEWS & NOTES
- La Salle looks to earn its first victory of the season on Saturday when it hosts Wagner as part of its Homecoming weekend.
- Legendary alum Fran Dunphy will make his much-anticipated home debut as the Explorers' head coach. A 1970 graduate, Dunphy is the all-time winningest coach in Philadelphia Big 5 history, having amassed 580 wins in 30 seasons while coaching at Penn (17 seasons) and Temple (13 seasons).
- The Explorers are coming off an 81-68 loss to No. 16 Villanova in their season opener on the road. The Explorers managed to cut the Wildcats' lead to 11 twice in the final five minutes of the game before Villanova went on a late run to secure the win.
- The Explorers will be looking to produce a winning season for the first time since 2015-16, when it went 15-15 and 9-9 in Atlantic 10 play.
- The Explorers return eight players from last year's squad, including guards Jhamir Brickus, Josh Nickelberry, and Anwar Gill. Brickus led the team in assists per game (3.3), Nickelberry paced the Explorers in three-point field goal percentage (.361) and Gill led the squad in steals per game (1.2).
- Seven newcomers joined this summer, as four freshmen and three transfers look to give the Explorers balance and depth. Two of those transfers are Hassan and Fousseyni Drame, who helped Saint Peter's make history last season by becoming the first 15th seed to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
COMING HOME
- Fran Dunphy will be roaming the sidelines of Gola Arena for the first time as the Explorers' head coach.
- Dunphy played for La Salle from 1967-70 as a dual-sport student-athlete basketball for the Explorers, and was a member of the 1968-69 team that was coached by all-time La Salle great Tom Gola. The team finished that season 23-1 and ranked second in the final Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
- As a senior, Dunphy averaged 18.6 points per game and also led La Salle in assists.
- The Explorers will look to win their third straight Homecoming game. The Explorers defeated UAlbany, 67-64, in last year's game and topped Iona, 70-64, in overtime in 2019.
- As part of Homecoming weekend, La Salle will be hosting a Block Party on 20th Street.
DUNPHY GETTING THE JOB DONE
- Dunphy has also guided his teams to the NCAA Tournament in a short amount of time. Dunphy led Penn to the Big Dance in his fourth season in 1992-93 and helped Temple reach it in his second season in 2007-08.
- In his previous 30 years coaching, Dunphy directed his teams to 17 NCAA Tournament appearances (nine appearances with Penn, eight with Temple).
- Dunphy has also done a great job of preparing his teams for conference play. In his time as a head coach, Dunphy's teams posted a 329-129 record in conference games.
- Dunphy has also helped his teams play well against Big 5 programs, as they have gone 58-56 under his watch.
THE NICKELBERRY NARRATIVE
- Nickelberry opened the season with a strong scoring performance, leading the Explorers with 22 points on on 7-of-12 shooting, including 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. Nickelberry scored 22 points for the second straight season opener after doing so against Sacred Heart a year ago.
- The senior guard now has five career 20-point games and has scored in double figures in 15 career contests. Nickelberry also has led the team in scoring seven times in his time at La Salle.
- Nickelberry's best scoring performance was a career-high 28 points against Holy Cross last season. Nickelberry also recorded a career-high eight rebounds against the Crusaders.
- 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.
SCOUTING WAGNER
- The Seahawks opened the season by posting a hard-fought 76-73 victory over Temple in overtime on Monday night at Temple.
- The Seahawks rallied from a 57-42 deficit with 7:38 left to play to force the extra period against the Owls. In the final 35 seconds of regulation, the Seahawks scored five points, including a three-pointer from Jahbril Price-Noel with three seconds to tie the game and force OT.
- Wagner had four players score in double figures in the win. Delonnie Hunt led the Seahawks with 19 points, while Zaire Williams added 16, Rahmir Moore chipped in 13, and Price-Noel had 11.
- Wagner was picked to finish fourth in the Northeast Conference by the league's coaches in the preseason.
