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La Salle MBB puts out 2022-23 non-conference schedule

08/17/2022, 4:45pm EDT
By Owen McCue

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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La Salle went back to the past to turn things around this season, naming 1970 grad Fran Dunphy its next head coach.

Familiar with the Big 5 from his playing days and previous head coaching stints at Penn and Temple, Dunphy also tabbed some other formidable foes to test the Explorers in their non-conference schedule, which the program announced on Wednesday.

La Salle’s season opens Nov. 7 at Villanova looking to break an eight-game skid against the Wildcats dating back to 2012. It’s a matchup of the two new coaching faces in the Big 5 as Kyle Neptune takes over for Jay Wright at ‘Nova. The Explorers then come home for games against Wagner (Nov. 12), which won 21 games last season, and Queen's University, N.C. (Nov. 15), which just made the jump from Division II to Division I this season.


Junior guard Jhamir Brickus is one of the returners for the Explorers in 2022-23. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Dunphy’s squad will head to Montego Bay, Jamaica from Nov. 18-20 for the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic. La Salle opens the tournament against Wake Forest on Nov. 18 and will play either Georgetown or Loyola Marymount on Nov. 20.

La Salle will stay in Philadelphia over its next five games. The stretch starts with home games against Binghamton (Nov. 26) and Temple (Nov. 30) before a trip to the Palestra to face Penn (Dec. 3). La Salle has lost three straight to the Owls, but took down the Quakers, 76-74, last season.

The Explorers continue with home games against Bucknell (Dec. 6) and Drexel (Dec. 10) before a road trip to Cincinnati (Dec. 17). Drexel and La Salle have played the City 6 rivalry game for seven straight seasons with the Explorers winning the last two matchups.

La Salle’s non-season slate concludes with a home game against Lafayette (Dec. 21) and a road game at Howard (Dec. 29). The matchup with the Leopards will be a special one for Dunphy who coached first-year Lafayette coach Mike Jordan on two Ivy League champion and NCAA Tournament teams at Penn.

It looked like Dunphy might need to completely overhaul the roster at one point this season, but after entering the transfer portal, junior guard Jhamir Brickus (8.9 ppg) and sophomore guard Khalil Brantley (8 ppg) are back at La Salle. The team’s third leading scorer, senior guard Josh Nickelberry, also returns after averaging 11.2 ppg last season.

Junior guard Anwar Gil (4.4 ppg) made 12 starts last season and graduate forward Mamadou Doucoure and sophomore guard Daeshon Shepherd are also back from last year’s rotation.

The Explorers added some reinforcements as well via the transfer portal. Twin brothers Hassan and Fousseyni Drame, both 6-7 forwards, transferred from St. Peter’s. The program also announced the addition of freshman 6-10 forward Rokas Jocius, who played two seasons with Vilniaus Perlas Energija of the Nacionalinė krepšinio lyga, the second-highest league in Lithuanian basketball.

La Salle MBB Non-Conference Schedule

Mon., Nov. 7 at Villanova
Sat., Nov. 12 vs. Wagner
Tues., Nov. 15 vs. Queen's University (N.C.)

Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic
Fri., Nov. 18 vs. Wake Forest University (Montego Bay, Jamaica)
Sun., Nov. 20 vs. Georgetown/Loyola (Montego Bay, Jamaica)

Sat., Nov. 26 vs. Binghamton
Wed., Nov. 30 vs. Temple 
Sat., Dec. 3 at Penn
Tues., Dec. 6 vs. Bucknell
Sat., Dec. 10 vs. Drexel 
Sat., Dec. 17 at Cincinnati
Wed., Dec. 21 vs. Lafayette
Thurs., Dec. 29 at Howard


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