Men's Basketball | January 2, 2024

PHILADELPHIA  - The La Salle University men's basketball team begins Atlantic 10 play on Wednesday evening as it hosts George Mason at Tom Gola Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., with all of the action available on ESPN+.

Kale Beers, Rich Tarr, and Bron Holland will commentate the ESPN+ broadcast, and bring you an online radio broadcast via goexplorers.com. In addition, Explorers fans can follow the team on X @LaSalle_MBB and Instagram @lasallembb.

NEWS & NOTES

• The Explorers closed out the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 9-4 record, and are coming off a 71-66 loss to Howard on Saturday.
• Junior Daeshon Shepherd had 12 points and team-high 13 rebounds to register his first double-double of the season and the third for his career.
• Classmate Khalil Brantley had a team-high 17 points, but the Explorers suffered through a tough shooting night (37.7 FG%).
• The loss was the first of the season for La Salle inside Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center (7-1). The seven straight home wins to start the season were the most since the 2012-13 season (10).
• La Salle is looking to snap a four-game A-10 opener skid, with its last victory in a league opening game coming in a 69-60 victory over UMass on Jan. 5, 2019.
• Last season, the Explorers defeated URI in their home Atlantic 10 opener in overtime, 77-75. Khalil Brantley had 29 points in the victory.

SCOUTING GEORGE MASON

• The Patriots are 11-2 on the year and are currently ranked No. 19 in the latest Mid-Major Top 25.
• George Mason enters on a four-game win streak, including a 94-69 victory over North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30.
• Keyshawn Hall had 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting to lead four players in double figures.
• Hall paces the squad in scoring at 16.2 points per game, while Darius Maddox (13.6) and Amari Kelly (12.2) are also averaging 10+ points per contest.
• A 6-7 forward, Hall is also pulling down 9.5 rebounds per game to lead the team.
• George Mason ranks second in the A-10 in field goal percentage (47.9%) and also ranks second in field goal percentage defense (37.8%).

SERIES HISTORY

• The Explorers are 3-8 all-time against the Patriots, with all 11 of those matchups coming since the 2013-14 season.
• All three of La Salle's wins have come at Tom Gola Arena, including an 83-78 victory on Feb. 5, 2022.
• Jhamir Brickus tied for team-high scoring honors that day with 18 points, and connected on three of La Salle's 14 three-pointers.
• For the game, the Explorers shot 52.8 percent from the floor and 48.3 percent from three-point range.