Men's Basketball | February 6, 2024

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team (11-11, 2-7 A-10) will play its second straight home game at Tom Gola Arena this Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. as the Explorers host the Saint Louis Billikens (8-14, 1-8 A-10). The game will stream on ESPN+, with an online radio broadcast via goexplorers.com, with Kale Beers on the play-by-play.

One lucky student could also walk away with a new 40" TV. Explorers fans can follow the team on X/Twitter @LaSalle_MBB and Instagram @lasallembb. Tickets are available at goexplorers.com.

LA SALLE NEWS & NOTES

• The Explorers are coming off a close loss against Big 5 rival Saint Joseph's, 88-82 on Saturday afternoon.
• La Salle led most of the game, taking a 44-38 lead into halftime. The Hawks did not take the lead in the second half until there were six minutes remaining in the contest.
• 3,147 fans were in attendance, the largest crowd Tom Gola Arena has seen since the 2018 season opener.
• Senior guard Jhamir Brickus had another outstanding performance, leading La Salle in scoring (24), rebounds (8), and assists (8). This was Brickus' third straight game scoring in double figures and first game this season leading the team in rebounds. The guard knocked down 6-8 from deep.
• Sophomore Rokas Jocius had his second straight career performance, scoring a career-high 15 points to go with six boards. This follows up the forward pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds last week at Rhode Island.

SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS

• Saint Louis has dropped the last six games and are 8-14 on the year. The Billikens are 0-7 on the road this season.
• The squad most recently played host to Fordham on Saturday. Rams' guard Elijah Gray nailed the game-winning jumper with just over a second left to hand Saint Louis the 67-65 defeat.
• Gibson Jimerson paces the Billikens with 14.8 points per game, good for 13^th in the A-10. He has twice been named an All-Conference selection during his time at Saint Louis.
• Senior Terrence Hargrove Jr. adds 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest from his forward spot. He has scored in double figures in five of the last six games.
• Travis Ford is in his 27^th season as a head coach and 8^th with Saint Louis. He has won 20 or more games in four season with the team, including the last two. Prior to his time in the Gateway City, Ford coached at fellow A-10 program UMass for three years before heading to Oklahoma State.

SERIES HISTORY

• La Salle and Saint Louis first met on the floor in 1951.
• The Billikens have won nine of the last 10 meetings dating back to 2018.
• The Explorers' last win against Saint Louis was on Feb. 3, 2021, when they posted an 82-75 victory at Tom Gola Arena at Trumark Financial Center.
• The two sides met last season in Saint Louis, with the Billikens earning an 84-71 victory. La Salle led early in the second half, but a 15-6 run buried the Explorers. Daeshon Shepherd put up 12 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.