Men's Basketball | February 16, 2024

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team (11-14, 2-10 A-10) returns home to Tom Gola Arena this Saturday to host the Massachusetts Minutemen (16-8, 7-5 A-10). The game will tip at 2:00 pm on ESPN+, tickets are available for purchase here.

An online radio broadcast via goexplorers.com will be available, as Kale Beers will provide the play-by-play. In addition, Explorers fans can follow the team on X/Twitter @LaSalle_MBB and Instagram @lasallembb.

LA SALLE NEWS & NOTES

• La Salle traveled down to North Carolina to face off against the Davidson Wildcats on Tuesday. The Explorers dropped the contest by a score of 71-56.
• The Wildcats got off to a hot start, holding a 16-4 lead after only nine minutes of game time. The Explorers cut the deficit to six several times in the first half, but a huge start to the second from Davidson put the game out of reach.
• Senior guard Khalil Brantley scored in double figures for the sixth straight game, leading the team with 16 points. It is the 18th time this season and the 57th time in his career he has crossed the 10 point threshold. Brantley has led the team in scoring in three straight games.
• 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.

SCOUTING MASSACHUSETTS

• UMass is 16-8 and 7-5 in the Atlantic-10. The Minutemen have won two straight and four of their last five.
• The team is coming off a notable victory over the previously first-place in the A-10 Richmond Spiders on the road, 69-59.
• Forward Josh Cohen leads UMass with 15.9 points per game, good for seventh in the conference. He also checks in at seventh in the league in rebounding, hauling in 6.7 per game. Before arriving in Amherst, Cohen starred at Saint Francis where he was named NEC Co-Player of the Year in 2022-23.
• Matt Cross forms the other half of UMass' star frontcourt. Cross is second on the team in scoring, adding 15.4 points per game. Hs is also second in the Atlantic-10 in rebounding with 8.3 boards per game.
• Frank Martin is in his second season with UMass, he previously was at the helm of South Carolina where he led the team to the 2017 Final Four. Martin is 319-225 overall in career and 31-24 during his time in Amherst.

SERIES HISTORY

• La Salle and UMass are longtime conference rivals. The Explorers joined the A-10 in 1995, while the Minutemen are founding members from 1976.
• The two have met 48 times, La Salle's fifth most played non Big-5 opponent in program history. UMass holds the series lead, 28-20.
• The Minutemen defeated La Salle, 81-65 on the road in January. Four Explorers scored in double-figures, with Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi leading the charge with 14 points. La Salle swept UMass last season.