PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team (14-14, 5-10 A-10) completed a sweep of its three game homestand, taking down the Rhode Island Rams (11-16, 5-9 A-10), 84-61. It is the largest margin of victory La Salle has had in an Atlantic-10 game since defeating Fordham, 89-52 on January 2, 2021.
 
Four Explorers scored in double-figures, Khalil Brantley, Rokas Jocius, Daeshon Shepherd, and Jhamir Brickus.
 
Explorers' fans can follow the team on X/Twitter @LaSalle_MBB and Instagram @lasallembb.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half

• The Explorers took an early lead thanks to buckets from three different players in the first five minutes (7-4, LaS).
• La Salle got out to a 13-6 advantage via a quick 6-0 run that was capped off by an and-one from Brantley.
• The teams traded baskets, looking for an edge. Brickus hit a three pointer to push the lead into double-digits, 23-13.  
• Anwar Gill and Ryan Zan hit back-to-back jumpers to give La Salle a 14 point lead. Rhode Island scored three points, but Shepherd countered with a monstrous slam dunk.
• La Salle got out to a 33-16 lead thanks to six straight points from Shepherd.
• The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half, with Rhode Island draining a three to conclude the period, 42-28.

Second Half

• Brantley scored the first five points of the period for La Salle to kick start 10-4 burst for the Explorers. Jocius nailed a hook shot and Shepherd hit a three-ball to extend the lead to 20 points, 52-32.
• Following a URI dunk, Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi, Jocius, and Brickus hit three straight threes to raise the lead to 27 points, 61-34.
• David Green of Rhode Island hit a pair of threes of his own to bring the lead back down to 21 points, but Jocius answered the bell with five straight of (66-40, LaS).
• The teams traded runs down the stretch, with the Rams scoring six, and the Explorers scoring four. URI scored another four points to trim the deficit down to 21 (70-49, LaS).
• Rhode Island could not rally, scoring only nine points in the final five minutes.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• La Salle won the points off turnovers battle, 21-4.
• The Explorers have won three straight games for the first time since defeating Penn, Loyola (MD), and Lafayette in early December.
• Rokas Jocius set a new career-high with 20 points, breaking his previous mark of 19 points set against Saint Louis.
• Khalil Brantley scored 22 points, his 8^th time scoring 10 or more points in the last nine games. He also grabbed six rebounds, he has now pulled down five or more rebounds in three straight games.
• Daeshon Shepherd's 13 points and 8 rebounds mark the fifth straight game he has scored in double figures and the third time in four games he has pulled down at least seven rebounds.
• Jhamir Brickus scored 11 points to go with five assists. It is his 62nd game scoring in double-figures and 32^nd with five or more assists. He passed assistant coach and La Salle legend Donnie Carr on the all-time assist chart, with 405 on his career.

UP NEXT

• The Explorers hit the road to face the Duquesne Dukes on Wednesday.
• The game will tip off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.