PHILADELPHIA, PA – The La Salle men's basketball team (7-14, 3-5 A-10) returns to John. E Glaser Arena on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 2:30 p.m., to battle Atlantic 10 and Big 5 rival Saint Joseph's (13-8, 5-3 A-10), presented by IBX.
A Storm Is Brewing
During A-10 play, redshirt junior forward Jerome Brewer Jr. leads the Explorers with14.6 points per game, which rounds out the top 15 in the league. Brewer is also shooting a team-best 56.6% (43-for-76) from the field during league play, the eighth-best field goal percentage during the A-10 slate.
Brewer has recorded 20+ points in three A-10 games this season, including 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting in his last game at Fordham. He leads La Salle with 32.5 minutes per game in league play, which ranks 10th in the A-10.
Marshall Leads The Way
Graduate student guard Jaeden Marshall leads the team with 13.3 points per game and 41 3-point field goals. Marshall is shooting 50% (11-for-22) from beyond the arc over his last three games.
Marshall is shooting 66-of-73 (90.4%) from the free-throw line this season, the best free-throw percentage in the A-10 while ranking 24th in the nation.
He is averaging 18 points over his last four games and will look to get back on track after scoring just six points at Fordham on Wednesday. Marshall enters the game against Saint Joseph's with 957 career points.
What's Up, Dock?
During A-10 play, redshirt sophomore guard Rob Dockery is averaging 11.5 points, a team-high 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and a team-best 1.9 steals per game while shooting 50.8% from the field.
Against Fordham, Dockery stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, a career-high nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals, going 6-for-6 from the foul line.
Post Presence
In league play, graduate student forward Josiah Harris is averaging 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He ranks fourth in the A-10 with nearly 2.5 offensive rebounds per game and sixth in the league with three double-doubles.
New Kids On The Block
Both teams have head coaches (Darris Nichols - La Salle, Steve Donahue - Saint Joseph's) in their first season as the leaders of their respective programs.
Per the NCAA stats website, the last time that happened during the same season for both squads was 70 seasons ago during the 1955-56 campaign. Jim Pollard was in his first season at La Salle, and Jack Ramsay was in his first season with Saint Joseph's. Both Pollard and Ramsay are members of the Collegiate Basketball and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Rookie
Ashton Walker continues to impress during his rookie season. Walker leads all A-10 freshmen in minutes (519) and assists (68). He ranks in the top five among A-10 freshmen in points per game (7.2) and rebounds per game (3.3).
Getting To The Line
In A-10 play, La Salle is fourth in the league with 189 free throw attempts, averaging 23.6 attempts during the eight-game stretch. The Blue and Gold are shooting nearly 79% from the charity stripe over their last three games compared to their season average of 71.9%. La Salle has made at least 20 free throws in six different games this season, including three A-10 contests.
Starting Shuffle
Through 21 games, the Blue and Gold have rolled out 15 different starting lineups. 13 players have started at least one game this season.
Floor General
During A-10 play, sophomore point guard Jaden Johnson is tied for fourth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6), is tied for fifth in the league with 31 assists, and ranks sixth in the league in assists per game (3.9).
Injury Bug
La Salle has had 88 games missed by 10 players, which is believed to be the second most in the nation, trailing only Binghamton, which has missed nearly 120 games by 10 players this season.
The Series
The series began on Dec. 17, 1909. La Salle won the first meeting 22-18. Saint Joseph's leads the series 81-64. The teams met four times last season, with Saint Joseph's winning three of the four matchups, including an 82-68 victory in the Big 5 Classic Championship game and a 75-70 win in the A-10 tournament.
Scouting The Hawks
Saint Joseph's has won their last two games and enters today's contest with a 5-3 record in A-10 play. The Hawks currently sit in fourth place in the league standings. Saint Joseph's ranks first in the A-10 and 19th in the nation with 5.1 blocks per game.
Jaiden Glover-Toscano leads the team and is ninth in the A-10 with 15.5 points per game. Derek Simpson is the team's second leading scorer with 13 points per game. Simpson ranks seventh in the A-10 with 16.6 points per game during conference play, while Glover-Toscano is ninth with 16.3.
Justice Ajogbor is one of the nation's premier shot blockers. He ranks second in the A-10 and 13th in the NCAA with 49 blocked shots.
Next Up
La Salle will travel to take on Loyola Chicago on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. EST.
