PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team opens the home portion of the Atlantic-10 slate on Wednesday at the Explorers are set to face reigning A-10 regular season champion Loyola Chicago. The game will tip at 6:30 p.m. eastern.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. The game audio will also be streamed with Kale Beers providing play-by-play. Additionally, Explorers fans can follow the team on X/Twitter @LaSalle_MBB and Instagram @LaSalleMBB.
LAST TIME OUT - LA SALLE 70, DAYTON 84
- La Salle fell to the Dayton Flyers, 84-70 on the road on New Year's Eve.
- The team battled in a back-and-forth first half before the Flyers closed the half on a 19-3 run to go into halftime up 36-21.
- The Explorers came into the second on the offensive, cutting the advantage to six points, 48-42. Dayton countered, forcing three turnovers in 30 seconds to go back up 16 points with nine minutes left.
- Despite another comeback effort that cut the lead to single digits, Dayton closed the game strong to seal the win.
- Corey McKeithan led La Salle with 19 points. Eric Acker and Daeshon Shepherd also played key roles, scoring 18 points each.
NEWS AND NOTES
- La Salle has yet to lose a men's basketball game in John Glaser Arena, with a perfect 6-0 record. This is the first time the Explorers earned a perfect non-conference home record since the 1999-00 season.
- Dating back to February 17th of last season, the Explorers have claimed victory in their last eight home contests. They have not dropped a home game in 326 days.
- Rebounding has been established as the Explorers' calling card this season. La Salle ranks second in the A-10 in rebounding (39.6), its most rebounds per game since 1990-91 (40.2). After the Immaculata game on Dec. 21, the Explorers have recorded two games with over 50 rebounds for the first time since 2011 (4).
- La Salle has also been explosive on the offensive end. The Explorers rank third in the Atlantic-10 in both scoring (78.1) and pace of play (71.1).
- McKeithan has returned to form after a few down games. The guard has reached double-figures in back-to-back games. He has now scored 10 or more points in 11 contests this season. McKeithan is 9th in A-10 in scoring (16.9 ppg).
- Demetrius Lilley is pulling down 6.8 boards per game, ranking 10th in the Atlantic-10.
- Shepherd is second on the team in scoring, adding 11.6 points per game. He added a season-high eight rebounds to go with 18 points against Dayton. Shepherd is averaging 16.0 points and is shooting 62.5% from the field in his last three games.
- Deuce Jones has impressed in his rookie campaign. He became the first Explorer to win Rookie of the Week twice in the same season since 2011-12 earlier in December. Jones leads the A-10 in assists amongst freshmen (2.4 apg) and is second in scoring (9.7 ppg).
- Jahlil White rounds out the starting five. The graduate transfer from Temple is averaging 9.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He grabbed nine boards at Dayton.
- Acker has found his rhythm after sitting out the first 10 games of the season. He is averaging 12.8 points and 3.0 assists per game in his first four games. In his last two, the LIU transfer is averaging 16.0 points and 4.5 assists.
SCOUTING LOYOLA CHICAGO
- Loyola Chicago is 9-5 on the season, including a 1-4 mark away from Gentile Arena. The Ramblers have only played one true road match this season, a win over Princeton.
- Des Watson is the headliner for the Ramblers. A familiar face to A-10 fans, Watson spent two seasons at Davidson before transferring to Loyola where he was named Second Team All-Conference last season.
- Drew Valentine is at the helm of the Ramblers in his fourth season. He is 67-44 in his four years with the team. Valentine had previously been an assistant with the program for four seasons. He is the older brother of former Michigan State star and NBA player Denzel Valentine.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST LOYOLA CHICAGO
- La Salle and Loyola Chicago met for the first time as conference foes in 2023, La Salle leads the all-time series, 5-2.
- The two met once last season in Chicago in the regular season finale. The Ramblers took the contest, 64-54.
