Men's Basketball | December 28, 2022
WASHINGTON — The La Salle men's basketball team looks to snap a three-game losing streak by beating Howard in its final non-conference game of the season on Thursday at Burr Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
The game will be televised on HBCUGO. Explorers fans can also listen to the broadcast through GoExplorers.com/watch, with Kale Beers delivering the play-by-play. In addition, Explorers fans can follow the team on Twitter
@LaSalle_MBB and Instagram
@lasallembb.
NEWS & NOTES
- The Explorers will go up against the Bison for the eighth time in program history. La Salle leads the series with a 6-1 record.
- After winning their first two games in December against Penn (84-81 in overtime) and Bucknell (82-72), respectively, the Explorers have lost their last three games. They fell to Drexel (65-58 in overtime), Cincinnati (78-60) and Lafayette (90-65), respectively.
- Khalil Brantley and Josh Nickelberry have made the Explorers go this season. The dynamic duo in the backcourt has combined for 24.7 points per game, with Brantley scoring 12.9 per game and Nickelberry chipping in 11.8 per contest.
- The Explorers are led by head coach Fran Dunphy, the all-time winningest coach in Philadelphia Big 5 history. A 1970 La Salle graduate, Dunphy sports a 585-332 career record.
- The Howard game is the first of a two-game road trip in the Washington D.C./Virginia area. Following this game, the Explorers will begin Atlantic-10 play on Saturday when they travel to Richmond, Va. to face VCU, which finished second in the conference and reached the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament in 2022.
SERIES HISTORY
- The matchup between La Salle and Howard dates back to 1994.
- In their first two meetings, the Explorers and the Bison played against each other in a tournament. The Explorers first met the Bison at the Dr. Pepper Classic in Waco, Texas, where they posted a 91-75 victory. The Explorers also played them at the Golden Bear Classic in Berkeley, Calif., winning by a 72-69 count.
- The Explorers have visited the Bison in Washington, D.C. twice in their series history. The Explorers won the first time they were in the Nation's Capital on Dec. 6, 1997, when they posted a 71-62 victory. In their last meeting in D.C. on Nov. 20, 2007, Howard earned a 69-63 win.
- The Explorers won their first game at Tom Gola Arena against the Bison on Nov. 21, 1998, posting an 85-63 victory.
DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE!
- When the Explorers limit opponents to under 70 points in a game, good things usually happen.
- So far this season, the Explorers are 3-3 when holding opponents to 70 points or less and 2-4 when allowing more than 70 points. In their 2021-22 campaign, the Explorers were 8-4 when allowing less than 70 points and 3-15 when allowing 70+ points.
SCOUTING HOWARD
- The Bison are 7-8 on the season after winning their last three games in a row following a 4-8 start. The Bison's seven wins were against UDC (87-74), Gallaudet (108-56), Buffalo (63-59), Austin Peay (56-55), FIU (71-59), Harvard (66-54), and Mount St. Mary's (63-62), respectively.
- The Bison's 11 losses were to No. 4 Kentucky (95-63), George Washington (85-75), James Madison (95-69), Wyoming (78-71), Belmont (96-73), Yale (86-40), Hampton (74-65), and VCU (70-60), respectively.
- The Bison have been paced by Steve Settle, III and Elijah Hawkins in the scoring department. Settle, III leads the way with 12.6 points per game, while Hawkins follows him at 12.5 points per game.
- Howard is led by Kenneth Blakeney, a former La Salle assistant coach who is now in his fourth season as head coach for the Bison. As an assistant for the Explorers in 1996-97, Blakeney helped recruit Rasual Butler, a 2002 NBA draft pick for the Miami Heat, and eventual 1,700-point scorer Victor Thomas.
