Men's Basketball | February 13, 2024

Box Score DAVIDSON, N.C. – The La Salle men's basketball team (11-14, 2-10 A-10) fell on the road to the Davidson Wildcats (14-10, 4-7 A-10), 71-56 on Tuesday night. Khalil Brantley and Daeshon Shepherd led the charge for the Explorers, with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
 
La Salle will be back at Tom Gola Arena on Saturday, February 17 at 2 p.m. as UMass visits Philadelphia. Tickets are available here. Explorers fans can follow the team on X/Twitter @LaSalle_MBB and Instagram @lasallembb.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half

• The game began with a lid on the basket, neither side was able to score for the first 3:11 of game time. Davidson drew first blood with a layup followed closely by a bucket from Shepherd.
• The Wildcats scored 14 of the next 16 points to take a 16-4 lead with 11:05 remaining in the half.
• La Salle began to find its stride, with threes from Brantley and Shepherd. La Salle took off on a 10-4 run to cut into the deficit, putting the tally at 20-14, Wildcats.
• The scoring slowed considerably for the next few minutes of action, with only two points from each side.
• Davidson scored a couple of consecutive baskets to put the lead back into double-digits (26-16, DC).
• La Salle responded with two straight of their own to cut the lead back to six, 26-20. Davidson scored a final basket to end the period and take a 28-20 lead into halftime.

Second Half

• Davidson opened the second half with the hot hand, scoring six points in quick order to extend the lead to 34-20. Brantley scored the first basket of the second for La Salle. The Wildcats held a 38-24 lead by the conclusion of the run.
• Slowly but surely, the Explorers began to cut into the deficit. Brantley drilled a three-pointer to bring the game within single digits with 11:52 remaining, 43-34.
• La Salle got the lead down to six points thanks to a pair of free throws from Jhamir Brickus. Davidson threw a counter punch with four straight points to put the lead back at 10 (49-39, DC).
• The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes, with La Salle trying to break through and cut deeper into the Wildcats' lead. The score held at 53-43 at the under-eight timeout.
• Andres Marrero drilled a three out of the timeout to cut the lead back to seven, but Davidson again responded, this time with an 8-2 run (61-48, DC).
• The Explorers made one final push down 64-50, scoring two baskets in quick succession to trim the deficit to 10.
• La Salle could not complete the comeback effort as time ran out. Davidson took the game by a score of, 71-56.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Khalil Brantley led the Explorers with 16 points. The guard scored in double figures for the sixth straight game. It is the 18^th time this season and the 57^th time in his career.
• Daeshon Shepherd impressed with 14 points and seven rebounds. It is his second straight game scoring over 10 points. Seven rebounds are his most since grabbing the same number when the Explorers hosted No. 16 Dayton.
• La Salle's bench outscored Davidson, 12-7.

UP NEXT

• The Explorers return home to Tom Gola Arena on Saturday as UMass comes to Philadelphia.
• Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 and the game will be aired live on ESPN+. Tickets are available at GoExplorers.com.