Men's Basketball | February 27, 2024

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The La Salle men's basketball team (14-14, 5-10 A-10) will look to stretch its winning streak to four games as the Explorers hit the road to face the Duquesne Dukes (16-11, 6-8 A-10) Wednesday. The game will tip at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

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.

NEWS & NOTES

• La Salle completed a sweep of its three-game homestand, slamming Rhode Island 84-61 on Sunday afternoon.
• The squad had established a double-digit midway through the first half and took a 14-point lead into halftime.
• The Explorers kept the good times rolling in the second half, building the lead to as many as 27 points. Rhode Island did not pull within 20 the rest of the way.
• Khalil Brantley led all scorers with 22 points, it was his seventh game scoring 20 or more points this season and his eighth 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.
• Rokas Jocius set a new career-high with 20 points, breaking his previous mark of 19 points set against Saint Louis.
• 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. He is averaging 16.8 points per game over his last five contests.
• Jhamir Brickus scored 11 points to go with five assists. It was his 62^nd game scoring in double-figures and 32^nd with five or more assists. He surpassed assistant coach and La Salle legend Donnie Carr on the all-time assist chart, climbing to ninth all-time (405).
• The Explorers as a whole have been playing at an elite level for the last two weeks. Since 2/17, La Salle is ranked 29^th nationally in the Torvik ranking metric.

SCOUTING DUQUESNE

• Duquesne is 16-11 and 6-8 in the Atlantic-10. The Dukes have won two of their last three games.
• The team is coming off a loss at Fordham, 79-67, thanks to a 53-point second half from the Rams.
• Guard Dae Dae Grant leads the team in scoring with 17.3 points per game. He is in his fifth season after spending the first three years of his career at Miami (OH). Grant has scored over 2000 points in his career.
• Jimmy Clark III averages 14.9 points per contest. The JUCO transfer was named to the 2023 A-10 All-Defensive team.
• Keith Dambrot leads the Dukes in his seventh season. The Akron native is in his 32^nd season as an NCAA head coach. He also was a head coach at the high school level where he coached LeBron James. He is 520-304 in his NCAA career and 107-95 in Pittsburgh.

SERIES HISTORY

• La Salle and Duquesne have shared a home in the A-10 since 1995 when Explorers joined the league. Duquesne is a founding member of the conference.
• The two have met 81 times on the floor. Duquesne is La Salle's third most-played opponent in history behind only Saint Joseph's and Temple. The Explorers lead the all-time series, 46-35.
• The two met twice last season. The Dukes took the first battle at Tom Gola Arena, but the Explorers avenged the loss with an 81-70 victory in the A-10 tournament.