Men's Basketball | March 9, 2023

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The 11^th-seeded La Salle men's basketball team looks to advance to the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament semifinals on Thursday when it takes on third-seeded Fordham in the quarterfinals at Barclays Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
The Explorers will look to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2002, when they topped Temple, 72-66, to make their only A-10 semifinal appearance in school history. The winner between the Explorers and Rams will face either No. 2 Dayton or No. 10 Saint Joseph's in the semifinal round at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
 
The game will be nationally televised on USA Network. Explorers fans can also listen to the broadcast through GoExplorers.com/watch, with Kale Beers ­and Rich Tarr delivering the play-by-play and color commentary. 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 losing streak to end the regular season, the 11th-seeded Explorers earned a 73-56 victory over No. 14 Rhode Island in Tuesday's first round and an 81-70 win over No. 6 Duquesne in Wednesday's second round. In the Duquesne game, Jhamir Brickus poured in 23 points and Khalil Brantley netted 22 while helping La Salle overcome a six-point deficit in the second half to advance in the tournament.
• The Explorers will face Fordham for the second time this season. The Explorers lost a heartbreaking 66-64 game to the Rams on Jan. 14 at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center. In that game, the Rams made a jumper at the buzzer to win the game.
• The Explorers have four players averaging close to double figures in Brantley, Josh Nickelberry, Brickus, and Fousseyni Drame. The foursome has combined for 44.1 points per game, with Brantley scoring 14.2 per game, Nickelberry chipping in 11.2 per contest, Brickus scoring 9.8 per game, and Drame adding 8.9 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 595-343 career record and a 336-140 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 that he scored twice this year against Penn and UMass plus his game-high 23 points against Duquesne in the second round and his game-high 18 points against Rhode Island in the opening round.
• In the Explorers' win against Penn on Dec. 3, 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.
• Against UMass, Brickus scored 22 of his career-high 25 points in the second half. He also matched his career high in threes with six — all of which came in the second half — and his season-best in field goals made with nine.
• Brickus came up with big plays in the Explorers' win over Rhode Island on Jan. 7. 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 shot well from three-point range, as he ranks 11th in the A-10 in three-point field goal percentage at 38.4 (38-for-99).
• Brickus has scored in double figures in 16 contests this season.
• Brickus also has shown great stamina for La Salle, playing 32.7 minutes per game, which is good for 19th in the A-10.

LA SALLE HISTORY IN THE A-10 TOURNAMENT

• The Explorers have a 13-24 record in A-10 Tournament games since joining the conference in 1995-96.
• The Explorers have made the quarterfinals 12 times and the semifinals once. They only semifinal appearance was in 2002, when they fell to Richmond by a 68-60 count.

BIG GAME BRANTLEY

• Brantley currently ranks sixth in the Atlantic 10 in steals per game at 1.6, eighth in the conference in assists per game with 4.0, 11th in the conference in assists/turnover ratio at 1.5, 15th in the A-10 in points per game at 14.2 per game, 16th in the conference in minutes at 33.5, and 19th in the conference in free throw percentage at .755.
• The sophomore guard has scored in double figures in 25 of 31 games this year. He has also scored 20 points or more in six games, including 22 in La Salle's second-round win against sixth-seeded Duquesne.
• Brantley came up big in the Explorers' 77-75 overtime win over Rhode Island on Jan. 7, as he dropped a career-high 29 points in the win. He 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 La Salle's victory over UMass, Brantley came up with a block on Minutemen guard Noah Fernandes' shot attempt from the right side to end the game and seal the win. He also led the team with seven rebounds and six assists.
• 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 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, he 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.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST FORDHAM

• Thursday's contest is the 65th meeting between the Explorers and the Rams.
• The matchup between La Salle and Fordham dates back to 1954, with La Salle leading the series at 44-20.
• The Explorers have won seven of the last 11 meetings dating back to 2018. Those seven wins were part of a nine-game winning streak dating back to 2017.
• The Rams have won the last four games, but the Explorers only lost by single digits in each of those contests.
• The Explorers have gone 3-1 against Fordham in the A-10 Tournament, beating the Rams in 2001 (86-67 in first round), 2002 (83-63 in first round), and 2003 (74-62 in first round).

SCOUTING FORDHAM

• The Rams enter the tournament after putting together a 24-7 record and a 12-6 mark in A-10 play in the regular season. The 24 wins are the most victories for Fordham since 1990-91 when they won 25 games and their 12 wins in A-10 play are the most ever in school history.
• The Rams have struggled recently in the tournament, going 1-6 in their last seven games since 2016. In the quarterfinals, the Rams have gone 1-4 all-time, with their lone win being a 64-62 victory against La Salle in 2006.
• The Rams have two players averaging double figures in Darius Quisenberry and Khalid Moore. Quisenberry leads the way with 17.0 points per game, while Moore has averaged 15.4 points per game.
• Fordham is led by Keith Urgo, who is in his first season as head coach for the Rams. Before coming to the Bronx, Urgo served as the associate head coach for Penn State for the past 10 seasons.