Men's Basketball | November 6, 2023

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle men's basketball team will kick off the 2023-24 season on Tuesday night when it hosts new Philadelphia Big 5 member Drexel at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center.
 
The game will be televised on ESPN+, with Kale Beers and Rich Prendergast delivering the play-by-play and color commentary. In addition, Explorers fans can follow the team on X @LaSalle_MBB and Instagram @lasallembb.
 
There will also be a pre-game reception at the Hideaway at Blue and Gold Commons. The Hideaway will open 90 minutes prior to tip-off to all fans.
 
NEWS & NOTES

• La Salle looks to improve in 2023-24 after finishing the 2022-23 season going 15-19 and advancing to the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2015. During the tournament, the Explorers won two games for the first time since 2002 by topping Rhode Island, 73-56, and downing Duquesne, 81-70, respectively. Unfortunately, their tournament run ended with a 69-61 loss to third-seeded Fordham.
• The Explorers bring back 11 players from last year's team, include their backcourt duo in junior Khalil Brantley and senior Jhamir Brickus. Brantley led the team in points per game (14.3), assists per game (4.1), steals per game (1.6), and minutes per game (33.7), while Brickus paced the Explorers in field goal percentage at .473 while averaging 9.8 points per game and 32.8 minutes per game.
• Also returning to the fold for the Explorers are senior Anwar Gill, junior Daeshon Shepherd, and sophomore Rokas Jocius, who each played significant minutes last season. The Explorers also have redshirt sophomore Andres Marrero, sophomore Jorge Sancez-Ramos, junior Tommy Gardler, junior Charles Ireland, sophomore Lucas Mercandino, and redshirt freshman Ryan Zan coming back.
• The Explorers also have four newcomers on the team in junior transfer Milos Kovacevic, freshmen Efe Tahmaz and Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi and senior walk-on James Joseph.
• The Explorers are led by head coach Fran Dunphy, the all-time winningest coach in Philadelphia Big 5 history who begins his second season leading the program and his 32nd season overall on the sidelines. A 1970 La Salle graduate, Dunphy sports a 595-344 career record and a 336-140 mark in conference games. Dunphy will try to become the 15th active NCAA Division I head coach to reach 600 wins.

KILLA B'S

• Khalil Brantley and Jhamir Brickus were one of the most exciting backcourt duos in the A-10 last season.
• Brantley led the team in points per game (14.3), assists per game (4.1), steals per game (1.6), and minutes per game (33.7), whle Brickus paced the Explorers in field goal percentage at .473 while averaging 9.8 points per game and 32.8 minutes per game.
• The duo combined for 24.1 points per game, good for 34.5 percent of the Explorers' points each game.
• In last year's A-10 Tournament, the dynamic duo combined to average 35.0 points per game. Brantley scored 22 points in an 81-70 win over Duquesne to help the team reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015 and led the Explorers with 18 points and seven assists in their quarterfinal game against Fordham. Brickus led La Salle with 23 points and three steals in the second-round win over Duquesne and scored a team-high 18 points in its 73-56 win over Rhode Island in the first round.
• They also ranked in the top 25 of the A-10 in assists per game, steals per game, and minutes per game. 

STARTING ON THE RIGHT PATH

• As La Salle enters its second season under the direction of Dunphy, the Explorers will look to get started on the win column.
• In the previous 11 season openers, the Explorers have gone 5-6.
• The Explorers' most recent season-opener win was against Iona to kick off the 2019-20 campaign. The Explorers knocked off Iona, 70-64, in overtime.
• Dunphy has helped his teams start the season with a win more often than not. Dunphy's teams have gone 18-13 in season openers in his 31 seasons as a head coach.

SCOUTING DREXEL

• The Dragons are coming off a 17-15 season in which they advanced to the CAA quarterfinals.
• The Dragons will play the Explorers for the first time as members of the Philadelphia Big 5 after they joined the legendary league of Philadelphia universities in April. The Big 5 will feature a new series, the six schools will be separated into three-team pods: Pod 1: Temple, La Salle, and Drexel; Pod 2: Villanova, St. Joe's, and Penn. Each team will play the other two teams from their pod at their individual on-campus arenas. All teams will participate in the MHS Lift Big 5 Classic triple-header at the New Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 2 with the first seed in each pod competing for the Big 5 championship, the second place teams in each pod competing for third place, and the third seeds competing for fifth place in the Big 5.
• Drexel brings back senior Amari Williams, who was named the CAA Preseason Player of the Year after coming off an outstanding junior season in which he led the league and was 14th in the nation with 2.23 blocks per game. Williams also became just the fifth player in CAA history to win consecutive CAA Defensive Player of the Year honors and led the CAA in field-goal percentage (.523), was second in rebounding (8.8) and tied for 13th in scoring with 13.7 points per game.
• The Dragons also return three other starters from a year ago in Luke House, Justin Moore and Lamar Oden, Jr. Moore was a CAA All-Rookie selection in 2023 after averaging 9.6 points and 3.1 assists. House and Oden, Jr. each appeared in all 32 games and scored 8.7 points per game apiece.
• Drexel is led by Zach Spiker, who is in his eighth season as head coach for the school. In his 15th season overall as a head coach, Spiker has a career record of 195-230.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST DREXEL

• Tuesday's contest is the 33rd meeting between the Explorers and the Dragons.
• The matchup between La Salle and Drexel dates back to 1945, with La Salle leading the series at 24-8.
• Tuesday's meeting is the first one in which both schools are members of the Philadelphia Big 5 after Drexel joined the league in April.
• The Explorers have won seven of the last 11 matchups.
• The Explorers will look to win their first game against Drexel at Tom Gola Arena since 2001, when they posted an 80-70 victory. The Dragons have won the last three matchups at Gola Arena (2015, 2017, and 2018).