Men's Basketball | February 9, 2024

RICHMOND, Va. – The La Salle men's basketball team (11-12, 2-8 A-10) will head south on I-95 to face off against the Richmond Spiders (16-6, 8-1 A-10) on Saturday afternoon at Robins Center. The game will tip at 2:00 pm on ESPN+ while also being simulcast on Monumental Sports Network. Fans can check local listings for channel availability information.

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

• The Explorers fell Wednesday to Saint Louis at Tom Gola Arena in a high-scoring affair, 102-84.
• SLU jumped out to an early advantage and did not trail for the entirety of the game despite the second consecutive 80-plus-point performance from the La Salle offense. It is the second time this season the Explorers have had two straight games crossing the 80-point marker, with the first coming in back-to-back Big 5 overtime battles against Temple and Penn.
• La Salle has been scorching the net from deep as of late, with two consecutive contests hitting 10 or more three-pointers.
• Senior forward Anwar Gill had one of the best games of his career, scoring a season-high 24 points and grabbing five rebounds. His 24 points are the second-highest total of his career, behind only a 26-point outburst in an overtime victory at The Palestra against Penn last season. The senior also set a career-high in free throws made Wednesday, knocking down eight from the stripe.
• Khalil Brantley put up the second double-double of his career, with 18 points and 10 rebounds. It is the fourth straight game the guard has scored in double-figures.
• Rokas Jocius remarkably had his third straight game setting a new career high. The sophomore forward set a new best in points with 19, breaking a mark of 15 he set last Saturday vs Saint Joseph's. In the contest prior to that at Rhode Island, Jocius set a career-best in rebounds with 13.

SCOUTING RICHMOND

• Richmond is 16-6 on the season and 8-1 in the Atlantic-10. The Spiders suffered their first defeat of the season last Saturday at crosstown rival VCU.
• The team sits at second in the A-10 standings behind only #18 Dayton. The Spiders are one of six A-10 teams in the top 100 of the NCAA NET Rankings, checking in #75, third in the league.
• Jordan King is the player to watch for Richmond. The guard is a graduate transfer from ETSU where he was twice named Third Team All-Southern Conference. He is averaging 19.9 points per game, second in the Atlantic-10. He has been named A-10 Player of the Week in two of the last four weeks.
• Neal Quinn and Isaiah Bigelow create a formidable front-court duo. Quinn contributes 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. A Third-Team Preseason All-Conference selection, Quinn also ranks 7^th in the league in assists (3.9) and 9^th in blocks (1.4) per game. Bigelow adds 11.1 points and is 9^th in the conference in rebounds, with 6.9 per game.
• Chris Mooney is one of the longest-tenured coaches in the nation. He is in his 19^th season at Richmond. The Philadelphia native is 383-303 in his career and 341-264 at Richmond.

SERIES HISTORY

• La Salle and Richmond first met on the floor in 1955, with the Explorers taking the win, 91-80. La Salle advanced to the national championship game later that season where it fell to San Francisco, 77-63 in a game featuring Tom Gola and Bill Russell.
• Richmond holds the all-time series lead, 23-18. The two have shared a home in the Atlantic-10 since the Spiders joined the conference in 2005.
• The two sides met last season in Philadelphia, La Salle won that matchup 68-62 for the Explorers' fifth straight win. Jhamir Brickus scored 13 points, while Brantley added nine points, seven rebounds, and five assists.