Washington, D.C. – The La Salle men's basketball team will look to add its third straight victory as the Explorers face Big 5 rivals, the Saint Joseph's Hawks at 7:30 on Thursday night at Capital One Arena. This will be the fourth time the Explorers and Hawks have battled this season, the most of any matchup in Division I this season, as well as the first time La Salle has played an opponent four times in a single campaign.
The game will be nationally broadcast on USA Network. 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 - #14 LA SALLE 78, #11 MASSACHUSETTS 71 (A-10 FIRST ROUND)
- La Salle finished a back-and-forth first half with a defensive push, holding the Minutemen scoreless for the final 4:13 of the first half to take a 39-30 lead into halftime.
- UMass came out of the halftime break firing, taking a 52-48 lead. La Salle responded to tie the game at 62 with a few minutes remaining.
- The game was tied again at 67 with 2:57 on the clock. La Salle scored seven straight points, including five at the free throw line to secure the win and advance out of the first round for the fourth straight season.
- Corey McKeithan dazzled, setting a new career-high with 30 points, the most of any Explorer this season while playing the entire 40 minutes. His scoring outburst is the second most by a La Salle in the A-10 tournament in program history, as well as the most points scored by an Explorer since Jhamir Brickus poured 41 against Temple in November of 2023.
NEWS AND NOTES (REGULAR SEASON STATS)
- Rebounding has been established as the Explorers' calling card this season. La Salle ranks fifth in the A-10 in rebounding (36.8), its most rebounds per game since 2010-11 (38.6). The Explorers rank in the top 100 nationally in the category. After the Immaculata game on Dec. 21, the Explorers have recorded two games with over 50 rebounds for the first time since 2011 (4).
- The Explorers are fifth in the conference both in turnover margin (+1.1) and in turnovers (10.8).
- McKeithan leads La Salle in scoring with 15.1 points, good for 13th in the conference. He has scored at least 20 points in back-to-back games and double-figures in nine straight. He set a career-high in free throws made (11) and tied his career-high in threes (5) against the Minutemen.
- Deuce Jones has dazzled in his rookie campaign. He holds the La Salle program record with his seven Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week awards and is the A-10 Rookie of the Year. The guard leads the A-10 in both points (12.5) and assists (2.7) per game by a freshman.
- Mac Etienne has started 15 games, including the last 14. The redshirt junior is averaging 5.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. He set a career-high with 39 minutes played against the Minutemen.
- Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi has started the last four games. He is having what may be the best stretch of his career, recording double-figures in four consecutive games and tying his career-high in rebounds with seven against UMass.
- Ryan Zan made his first start of the season against the Minutemen and rewarded Fran Dunphy with a strong performance. He recorded season-highs in points (9) and rebounds (5).
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST SAINT JOSEPH'S
- Saint Joseph's is La Salle's most-played opponent in program history, with 132 meetings.
- The Hawks hold the advantage, 72-60. The two began sharing a conference in 1995 when La Salle joined the Atlantic-10. Both are founding members of the Big 5.
- The two have met three times this season. Once at Wells Fargo Center in the Big 5 Classic title game and once at each campus location. La Salle met the Hawks again to conclude the regular season in front of a sold-out crowd at John E. Glaser Arena. The Explorers took the final match, 81-74, behind 27 points from Deuce Jones.
- For the first time in the 115-year history of La Salle and Saint Joseph's, the teams will meet four times.
- The two have met three times in a season five times, most recently in 2021-22 when the two met in the A-10 First Round. Before the 2020-21, it had not happened since 1934-35.
- La Salle and Saint Joseph's will be the 27th pairing to meet four times in a season since 1975. The most recent pairing to be fated to meet four times are Oregon State and Stanford in 2009.
