CHAPEL HILL, NC – The La Salle men’s basketball team looks to get back on the winning list on Saturday when the Explorers take on one of the most historic programs in all of basketball, the North Carolina Tar Heels. This will be the first time La Salle will face North Carolina since La Salle legend Lionel Simmons set the Dean Dome scoring record by an opponent in 1988, the year the building opened.

The game will be broadcast on TheCW. Audio from the game 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 – LA SALLE 68, SAINT JOSEPH’S 82

• La Salle battled the Saint Joseph’s Hawks in the Big 5 Championship game on Saturday.
• After a bitter battle in the first half, the big man was injured Demetrius Lilley At the start of the second period, the Hawks were able to build a double-digit lead and secure the win.
• Freshmen Deuce Jones was impressed and led the Explorers with 19 points. Lilley also had an impact on the game, even though she only played 16 minutes. The forward scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds and set a career high with three three-pointers.
• The loss means La Salle will finish second in the Big 5, its best finish since the 2017-18 season.

NEWS AND NOTES

• This is the third straight season La Salle will face an ACC opponent, having played Wake Forest in 2022-23 and Duke and Miami (FL) last season. The Explorers have faced three of the four Tobacco Road teams in the last three seasons.
• The Explorers have not defeated an ACC opponent since 1974, when the Explorers defeated Clemson 67-63.
• McKeithan has been one of the best value-added players in college basketball this season. The guard is averaging more than 10 points per game compared to his performance last year. He takes third place^approx in the A-10 in the rating (18.8), 6th^Th in three points per game (2.6), sixth in free throw percentage (.867) and falls in the top 20 in several other categories. McKeithan has scored double-digit points in nine of La Salle’s 10 games.
• Demetrius Lilley grabs 7.7 boards per game, ranking 5th in the Atlantic-10. If the season ended today, he would be the Explorers’ best rebounder since All-Atlantic 10 forward BJ Johnson, who scored 8.3 points per game in the 2017-28 season.
• Guards Marrero and Shepherd return from a season ago. Shepherd scored in double figures for the fifth straight game against Saint Joseph’s. He averages 11.5 points per game. Marrero is averaging 7.5 points per game and is third on the squad in assists.
• Deuce Jones played one of the best games of his young career on Saturday. The rookie is averaging 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He is second on the squad in assists and was named A-10 Rookie of the Week for his efforts.

Looking for North Carolina

• North Carolina is off to a disappointing start to the season, with a record of 5-4 after starting the season ranked No. 10 in the AP poll.
• Despite that record, all four of UNC’s losses came against opponents ranked in the top 25. The Tar Heels most recently defeated ACC opponent Georgia Tech 68-65.
• North Carolina is led by a trio of talented guards: Elliott Cadeau, RJ Davis and Seth Trimble.
• Former North Carolina star Hubert Davis is patrolling the Tar Heels’ sideline in his fourth season as bench boss. Davis has an 83-35 record in his head coaching career.

SERIES STORY AGAINST NORTH CAROLINA

• North Carolina and La Salle will meet for the fourth time in program history.
• The Explorers are 1-2 against the Tar Heels, winning 65-52 in 1947.
• The two last met in 1988 in a high-scoring duel. Lionel Simmons scored 37 points, an opposing scoring record that stood for 35 years until Dalton Knecht tied Tennessee last season. Current special assistant to the head coach Joe Mihalich was an Explorers assistant on that team.