Men's Basketball | January 10, 2023
AMHERST, Mass. — The La Salle men's basketball team goes for its second straight Atlantic-10 win on Wednesday when it takes on UMass in a road conference clash at Mullins Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The game will be televised on ESPN+. 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 Minutemen for the 47th time in program history.
- The Explorers are coming off a thrilling 77-75 overtime win over Rhode Island in their A-10 home opener last Saturday at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center. In that game, Khalil Brantley scored a career-high 29 points and Jhamir Brickus made the go-ahead three-pointer with 31.3 seconds left to lift La Salle to the victory.
- The Explorers will look to start 2-1 in A-10 play for the second time in three seasons.
- Brantley and Josh Nickelberry have made the Explorers go this season. The dynamic duo in the backcourt has combined for 26.7 points per game, with Brantley scoring 15.1 per game and Nickelberry chipping in 11.6 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 587-333 career record and a 330-130 mark in conference games.
GETTIN' JIGGY WITH IT
- Jhamir "Jig" Brickus has shown he can step up and score, as evident of his career-high 25 points in the Explorers' win against Penn. Brickus shot 9-for-12 from the field, including 6-for-8 from three, in 43 minutes. The Coatesville, Pa. native's six three-pointers made and minutes played were career highs.
- Brickus came up with big plays in the Explorers' 77-75 overtime win over Rhode Island. He made three clutch free throws with 3.7 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime. In overtime, he scored five of the team's six points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 31.3 seconds left.
- Brickus has scored in double figures in six of his last seven games. Last season, Brickus scored in double-digits in 11 of 28 games, averaging 8.9 points per game on the year.
- Brickus has shot well from three-point range, as he ranks seventh in the A-10 in three-point field goal percentage at 43.2 (19-for-44).
- He also showed this type of scoring prowess against Georgetown on Nov. 20, when he had a game-high 14 points. All 14 of Brickus' points came in the second half.
- Brickus also has shown great stamina for La Salle, playing 32.6 minutes per game, which is good for 14th in the A-10.
SERIES HISTORY
- The matchup between La Salle and UMass dates back to 1971, with UMass leading the series at 28-18.
- The Minutemen have won the last six meetings in the series dating back to 2020.
- The Explorers' last win against UMass was on Jan. 30, 2019, when they posted a 60-51 victory at Tom Gola Arena.
- The Explorers will look to win their first game at UMass since Jan. 5, 2019, when they came away with a 69-60 road victory.
BIG GAME BRANTLEY
- Brantley currently ranks eighth in the Atlantic-10 in assists per game with 3.8, 10th in the conference in steals per game at 1.3, 12th in the A-10 in points per game at 15.1 per game, 13th in the conference in assists/turnover ratio at 1.4, 15th in the conference in minutes at 32.5, and 25th in free-throw percentage (71.6).
- Brantley came up big against Rhode Island, as he dropped a career-high 29 points in the 77-75 overtime win. The sophomore guard scored 17 of his 29 points in the second half, added a team-high eight rebounds, and went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line while playing a career-high 43 minutes.
- In the Explorers' win over Howard, Brantley scored 24 points, 21 of which came in the second half. Brantley had a career day from three-point range as well, going a perfect 4-for-4 — all of which came in the second half. He also stepped up at the foul line, going 10-for-12 from the charity stripe.
- Brantley filled the stat sheet in the Explorers' game against Temple, as he led the team in points (14), rebounds (nine), steals (five) and assists (four).
- Brantley was named to the Jamaica Classic All-Tournament team for his performances against Wake Forest and Georgetown. Brantley had 20 points, 13 of which came against Georgetown, 15 rebounds and seven assists in the Explorers' two games.
- Brantley had posted one of his best performances in a La Salle uniform against Wagner on Nov. 12, scoring a career-high 22 points at the time while handing out six assists.
- In the final 12 minutes against Wagner, the Bronx, N.Y. native scored 12 points. He also shot a career-best 12-for-15 from the free-throw line.
- In La Salle's win over Queens on Nov. 15, Brantley had 18 points, giving him the best two-game scoring stretch of his career after netting 40 total points. He also had six assists to give him back-to-back games in which he had six assists or more for the first time in his career.
SCOUTING UMASS
- The Minutemen enter the game at 10-5 and 1-2 in A-10 play after losing to George Washington, 81-73, last Saturday at George Washington. The Minutemen's 10 wins this season include Central Connecticut State (94-67), Colorado (66-63), Murray State (71-69), Charlotte (60-54), USF (73-67), Harvard (71-68), UAlbany (87-73), Hofstra (71-56), Dartmouth (68-57), and Saint Louis (90-81), respectively.
- Besides the George Washington loss, the Minutemen's other four losses were to Towson (67-55), UMass Lowell (85-80), North Texas (62-44), and St. Bonaventure (83-64), respectively.
- Last year, the Minutemen finished 10th in the A-10 and made the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
- The Rams have two players averaging double figures in Noah Fernandes and Matt Cross. Fernandes leads the way with 13.2 points per game, while Cross has averaged 10.7 points per game.
- UMass is led by Frank Martin, who is in his first season as head coach for the Minutemen. Coaching his 16th season overall after being the head coach at Kansas State and South Carolina, Martin has a 298-206 career record.
