Men's Basketball | March 6, 2023

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The 11^th-seeded La Salle men's basketball team has its sights on snapping a five-game losing streak and making a run in the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament starting on Tuesday when they face 14th-seeded Rhode Island in the first round at Barclays Center.
 
The winner between the Explorers and Rams will face No. 6 Duquesne in the second round on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
 
The game will be televised on ESPN+. Explorers fans can also listen to the broadcast through GoExplorers.com/watch, with Kale Beers, Rich Prendergast and Rich Tarr delivering the play-by-play, color commentary, and sideline reporting. In addition, Explorers fans can follow the team on Twitter @LaSalle_MBB and Instagram @lasallembb.
 
There will also be a pre-game and postgame reception at McMahon's Public House. Click here to register for the event!
 
NEWS & NOTES

• After going on a five-game winning streak, the 11th-seeded Explorers ended the regular season on a five-game losing streak, falling to George Mason (70-66), Duquesne (91-74), George Washington (92-85), Dayton (77-53), and Loyola Chicago (76-73), respectively. In the Loyola Chicago game on Saturday, the Explorers trailed by as many as 13 before rallying to have a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer. However, they could not make last-second three-point attempt, allowing the Ramblers to escape with the win.
• The Explorers will face Rhode Island for a third time this season. The Explorers won the first meeting, 77-75, in overtime on Jan. 7 at home, but the Rams took the second matchup, 72-70, on Jan. 28 at Rhode Island.
• The Explorers have four players averaging close to double figures in Khalil Brantley, Josh Nickelberry, Fousseyni Drame, and Jhamir Brickus. The foursome has combined for 43.6 points per game, with Brantley scoring 14.0 per game, Nickelberry chipping in 11.6 per contest, Drame adding 9.0 per game, and Brickus scoring 9.0 per game.
• 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 593-343 career record and a 336-140 mark in conference games. 

LA SALLE HISTORY IN THE A-10 TOURNAMENT

• The Explorers have a 12-24 record in A-10 Tournament games since joining the conference in 1995-96.
• The Explorers have made the quarterfinals 11 times and the semifinals once. Their last quarterfinal appearance was in 2015, when they dropped a 67-66 contest to Davidson. They only semifinal appearance was in 2002, when they fell to Richmond by a 68-60 count.
• Last season, the Explorers advanced to the second round of the 2022 A-10 Championship by beating rival Saint Joseph's, 63-56, in the first round at Capital One Arena. The Explorers' win over the Hawks was the third against them that season. It also marked the 12th victory for the Explorers in tournament history and the fifth time since 2015 that they made the second round of the event.
• Unfortunately, the Explorers' 2022 campaign ended in the second round with a 71-51 loss to fifth-seeded Saint Louis. The loss denied the Explorers their 12th trip to the quarterfinal round in tournament history and first appearance in the round of eight since 2015.

BUCKETS FOR NICKELBERRY OFF THE BENCH

• Nickelberry has been getting buckets for the Explorers while coming off the bench, as he has scored 163 points in his last 11 games and led the team in scoring in five of those games, including a career-high 28 points against Duquesne. Nickelberry's 28 points tied his career high, which he achieved against Holy Cross on Dec. 4, 2021.
• Along with his 28 points against Duquesne, the senior guard poured in a game-high 21 points against UMass, a game-high 18 points in the Explorers' win over St. Bonaventure and a game-high 16 points against Saint Joseph's. Nickelberry has averaged 14.8 points per game during this stretch after also netting 17 points against Loyola Chicago, a team-high 16 against Rhode Island and 12 against George Washington.
• Nickelberry ranks second on the team in points per game (11.6), fifth in the A-10 in 3-point field goal percentage (.403), and seventh in the A-10 in 3-pointers made per game (2.4).
• Nickelberry posted his sixth 20-point game of the season after his 28-point performance against Duquesne. He has 10 career 20-point games and has scored in double figures in 30 career contests. Nickelberry also has led the team in scoring 16 times in his career at La Salle.
• Nickelberry put together one of his best scoring performances of the season in the first game of the Jamaica Classic, dropping 26 on ACC foe Wake Forest. In the game, Nickelberry shot at an efficient clip, going 6-for-11 from 3-point range, 7-for-14 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
• Nickelberry produced the best two-game scoring span of his Explorer career after pouring in 42 combined points in the first two games of the season against Villanova and Wagner. For the second straight season opener, Nickelberry dropped 22 points against the Wildcats on 7-of-12 shooting, including 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. Against Wagner, Nickelberry netted 20 points.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST RHODE ISLAND

• Tuesday's contest is the 44th meeting between the Explorers and the Rams.
• The matchup between La Salle and Rhode Island dates back to 1977, with URI leading the series at 33-10.
• The Explorers and Rhode Island were former members of the East Coast Conference before they became members of the Altantic-10.
• The Explorers will meet Rhode Island in the A-10 Tournament for the fifth time in their history. The Explorers will look to beat the Rams in the tournament for the first time after falling to them in 1996 (85-59), 1999 (83-58), 2004 (55-42), and 2019 (76-57), respectively.

SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND

• The Rams enter the tournament at 9-21 and 5-13 in A-10 play falling to Davidson, 68-54, last Saturday at home.
• Since playing the Explorers on Jan. 28, the Rams have lost eight of their last nine games to end the regular season.
• The Rams have two players averaging double figures in Ishmael Leggett and Jalen Carey. Leggett leads the way with 16.6 points per game, while Carey has averaged 10.0 points per game.
• Rhode Island is led by Archie Miller, who is in his first season as head coach for the Rams. Coaching his 11th season overall after being the head coach at Dayton and Indiana, Miller has a 215-142 career record.