La Salle Explorers
Date: Saturday January 3rd, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM ET
Venue: Charles E. Smith Center (Washington, DC)
TV: USA Network
Ranks: 253rd (KenPom), 242nd (Bart Torvik), 253rd (Haslametrics), 242nd (EvanMiya), 196th (Sports Illustrated)
2024-25 Record: 14-19, 5-13 (T-13th in A10)
2025-26 Projected Record: 8-23, 4-14 (T-13th in A10)
NET Ranking: 267th (Q4 game)

Head-to-Head: 28-22. GW's 71-60 win in Foggy Bottom last season snapped a four game losing streak in the series as the Revs got revenge following a heartbreaking 73-67 loss in Philadelphia.

In the away contest, the two teams went into halftime tied at 35. Neither squad had a double digit lead in the game, and a made shot by CJ put the Revs up by 1 with two and a half minutes left to go. Unfortunately, GW would not score again until Jacoi made an inconsequential jumper in the final seconds. During that final stretch, the Explorers went a perfect 6-6 from the line. La Salle also did a great job not fouling, holding a GW team that often gets to the FT line to just 11 attempts. They also won the rebounding battle by 10. Drumgoole finished with 19 points to lead GW, while both Sean Hansen and Slim pitched in 11 and 10 points respectively (Castro also added 9 boards).

GW came out firing away in the home game, jumping out to a 17 point halftime lead while shooting 57% from the field. La Salle never led after the first two minutes of the game. The second half did not go as well, with the Revs cooling off considerably - shooting under 29% from the field and 1/9 from 3. It's good that the team built up the lead that they did early on as La Salle wasn't really able to cut much into the deficit. Slim led all scorers with a dominant 22 point, 16 rebound performance while both CJ and Tricky had 13 apiece. The two guards went a perfect 11-11 from the FT line. Unlike the previous contest, the FT differential was significantly in GW's favor, as the Revs attempted 30 compared to just 5 for La Salle.

Offensive Efficiency: 262nd (KenPom), 277th (Bart Torvik), 291st (Haslametrics), 246th (EvanMiya)
Defensive Efficiency: 230th (KenPom), 190th (Bart Torvik), 205th (Haslametrics), 229th (EvanMiya)
Pace: 328th (KenPom), 323rd (Bart Torvik), 301st (Haslametrics), 281st (EvanMiya)
Offensive Shot Quality Rank: 187th
Defensive Shot Quality Rank: 224th
Rim & 3 Rate: 78% (284th)

Strengths (2025-26 Season):
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: 13.21 ORPG (61st; 2nd in A10)

Weaknesses (2025-26 Season):
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.04 AST/TO (272nd; 13th in A10)
Steals Per Game: 6.1 SPG (272nd; 11th in A10)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.3 TO/G (274th; 13th in A10)
Blocks Per Game: 2.6 BPG (284th; 12th in A10)
Turnovers Forced Per Game: 10.86 TO/G (303rd; 12th in A10)
Scoring Margin: -5.2 PPG (310th; 13th in A10)
Fastbreak Points: 8.07 PPG (314th; 12th in A10)
Winning Percentage: 28.6% (314th; 14th in A10)
Field Goal Percentage: 41.8% (320th; 14th in A10)
Turnover Margin: -2.4 TO/G (327th; 13th in A10)
Three Point Percentage Defense: 36.7% (329th; 13th in A10)
Three Point Percentage: 29.8% (330th; 13th in A10)
Scoring Offense: 66.9 PPG (339th; 14th in A10)
Effective Field Goal Percentage: 46.1% (347th; 14th in A10)
Three Pointers Per Game: 5.3 3PM/G (353rd; 14th in A10)
Three Point Attempts Per Game: 16.8 3PA (356th; 14th in A10)

Projected Starting Lineup:
#10 G Jaden Johnson (Sophomore; Walker Mill, MD) - 8.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.7 apg; 37% FG, 18% 3-PT, 71% FT per 34.2 mpg/35 GP at Old Dominion last season
#4 G Truth Harris (Graduate Student; Mount Vernon, NY) - 8.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1 spg; 39% FG, 44% 3-PT, 81% FT per 22.2 mpg/33 GP at Radford last season
#2 G Jaeden Marshall (Graduate Student; Hinesville, GA) - 10.3 ppg, 3 rpg, 1.1 apg; 44% FG, 37% 3-PT, 78% FT per 22.5 mpg/31 GP at Niagara last season
#99 G Rob Dockery (RS Sophomore; Washington, DC) - 2 ppg, 1 rpg, 1 apg; 25% FG, per 7 mpg/1 GP at Texas A&M last season
#5 F Josiah Harris (Graduate Student; Wilmington, DE) - 8.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg; 53% FG, 59% FT per 22.4 mpg/33 GP at Radford last season

Key Bench Players:
#24 F Jerome Brewer Jr. (RS Junior; Camden, NJ) - 13.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.5 bpg; 49% FG, 30% 3-PT, 74% FT per 29.4 mpg/19 GP at East Texas A&M during 2023-24 season
#1 G Ashton Walker (Freshman; Virginia Beach, VA)
#3 G Eric Acker (Junior; East New York, NY) - 5.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.7 apg; 42% FG, 29% 3-PT, 44% FT per 15.7 mpg/18 GP at La Salle last season
#27 F Edwin Daniel (Junior; Washington Heights, NY) - 12.7 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 3.9 bpg; 48% FG, 40% 3-PT, 62% FT per 28 mpg/36 GP at Connors State College (JUCO) last season
#25 F Bowyn Beatty (Junior; Canberra, Australia) - 2.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg; 32% FG, 17% 3-PT, 73% FT per 14.2 mpg/16 GP at Sacramento State last season

Key Losses:
Corey McKeithan (Graduated; Windsor, CT) - 15.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1 spg; 42% FG, 38% 3-PT, 91% FT per 34.5 mpg/33 GP
Deuce Jones (Transferred to St. Joe's; Trenton, NJ) - 12.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.6 spg; 40% FG, 33% 3-PT, 74% FT per 28.8 mpg/33 GP
Daeshon Shepherd (Graduated; Norristown, PA) - 10 ppg, 4.2 rpg; 40% FG, 23% 3-PT, 74% FT per 29.8 mpg/33 GP
Jahlil White (Graduated; Whitesboro, NJ) - 9.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.5 spg; 43% FG, 39% 3-PT, 65% FT per 27.3 mpg/29 GP
Demetrius Lilley (Transferred to Binghamton; Philadelphia, PA) - 7.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg; 39% FG, 31% 3-PT, 74% FT per 19.3 mpg/26 GP
Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi (Transferred to William & Mary; Stockholm, Sweden) - 5.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg; 44% FG, 35% 3-PT, 72% FT per 20.9 mpg/33 GP
Mac Etienne (Graduated; New York, NY) - 5.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg; 51% FG, 58% FT per 18.5 mpg/33 GP

Preview:
Happy trails to Fran Dunphy, who announced last February that he would be hanging it up as head coach after 33 years at the Division 1 level. Dunphy spent time at Philadelphia area schools Penn, Temple, and La Salle - his alma mater. The legendary coach won 625 games and made 17 NCAA tournaments. His three year tenure back home on West Olney Ave won't get a lot of attention, but when you consider he was out of coaching for a few years, took over when player eligibility was changing, and NIL started to become a factor he did a great job at 77 years old. I'm not sure other coaches at that age would get back in the game, even if it was for their alma mater. It was always going to be a short stint as head coach at La Salle, but he stepped up when the school needed it the most and I'm sure the Explorer community appreciates that. He also notched a win against local rival St. Joe's in his final regular season game as coach! That had to feel good. Dunphy has since assumed the role of special assistant to the president at the school.

It's not a secret that La Salle is experiencing financial issues as an institution. The Fitch Ratings, which assess an entity's ability to meet financial commitments, downgraded the school to a 'BB-' back in March, raising potential future concerns. The decline in enrollment won't help matters. Over the summer, a piece came out that warned that La Salle's accreditation could be in jeopardy as well. The school no doubt has tough sledding ahead but they are far from the only school going through it.

Things haven't been much different on the basketball court. La Salle has finished under .500 in the A10 in each of the last eight years, and you have to go back to the 2012-13 season when they last won double digit games in the league. That was the team that made the Sweet 16 under John Giannini. This is a tough job, and as a result you have to hire unconventionally. The hiring of Darris Nichols seemed like a strange one on the surface. His best finish at Radford (his hometown school) the last four years was 151 on KenPom. However, Nichols strikes me as the kind of blue-collar guy needed to get the job done, or at least as well as it possibly can be done currently.

Nichols played for Bob Huggins at West Virginia, so it's not surprising that his teams bring a certain level of toughness. Expect the Explorers to play slowly - that was a trademark of all his teams at Radford. Given La Salle is likely to have less talent than most A10 teams, minimizing the number of possessions in a game makes a lot of sense. Surprisingly, his last two teams in the Big South leaned more offensively than defensively. The success on offense can be attributed to a commitment to crashing the glass for extra opportunities. Nichols has carried that over to this season, where La Salle is top 40 in offensive rebounding percentage. He likes to say "rebound that jawn" during practices, emphasizing the importance of crashing the glass. They even have that on merch now. This year's GW team has been the best on the defensive glass since CC became head coach, but the Revs will still need to focus on boxing out. I would expect Nichols to stock up on shooting long-term, as his last three teams were top 100 in three point percentage. At least for this year though La Salle doesn't have much shooting to work with (they are shooting just a tick over 30% from 3 against D1 competition). The three point shot isn't generally emphasized in his system overall, so expect plenty of rim attacks. Defensively, there isn't much that the Explorers have done well so far. They have done a decent job keeping opponents off the FT line, but teams are also shooting 37% from 3 against them and they aren't putting up much resistance. In La Salle's last game, George Mason had ZERO turnovers all game. That seems impossible.

The good news for Nichols is that he effectively got to shape this year's roster to his liking with most of last season's team departing. That includes Corey McKeithan, La Salle's high-usage option who was top 100 in field goal attempts nationally. Expectations for McKeithan weren't that high going into last year, but he was one of the bigger surprises in the league in terms of productivity. At Rider, he wasn't more than a supporting player. Deuce Jones took home the Rookie of the Year award in the league before transferring to rival St. Joe's. He has since been dismissed from Hawk Hill, and is apparently a bit of a head case. It's all the more impressive that Dunphy managed to get him to behave while at La Salle. Jones was reportedly spotted at the La Salle-GMU game the other day, so maybe he's looking to return to Explorer Town. Athletic wing Daeshon Shepherd also departed after staying with the program his entire career.

The only player from last year that returns is Eric Acker, who missed the early part of last year due to injury. Acker had a great freshman campaign at LIU before transferring up to La Salle. This season, Acker is having a career best year from 3 (36%) but is shooting under 40% from the field for his career and is a terrible 58% from the line. Acker is a proficient passer (2.7 apg) but can be prone to turning the ball over. He had some big performances in November, posting double figure games in back-to-back contests against Penn State and Villanova.

Nichols brought both Truth Harris and Josiah Harris with him from Radford. Despite having the same last name, the two are not related. Truth, who hails from Mount Vernon (the one in NY, not GW's residence) is a good three point shooter. Last year, he shot 44% from deep on roughly three attempts per game. He is having a really tough season so far, as he's just 2/19 from deep. Part of that may be recovering from an injury, as he missed La Salle's first eight games. Josiah, a Delaware native, makes his mark up front. He began his career at St. Francis Brooklyn (which no longer has an athletics program) before spending the last two years with Nichols in VA. He is a decent finisher around the rim (albeit a bit raw on that side of the ball) and fits the Nichols philosophy of crashing the glass. For his career, Josiah averages over seven boards a game and has already posted three double-doubles on the year (including a 16 point, 10 rebound performance against GMU on Wednesday). He is prone to fouling, as he has nearly fouled out in three straight contests so GW would be wise to go at him. A third player in Justin Archer also played under Nichols at Radford before spending a year at Georgia State in 2024-25. Unfortunately, he just had shoulder surgery a few days back and will be sitting the rest of the year. Archer was another glass-crashing presence so that's a big loss for them.

La Salle's two primary options have been Jaeden Marshall (Niagara) and Jerome Brewer Jr. (McNeese). Marshall, a Georgia native, is the biggest three point threat on the roster. While he's a mediocre shooter for his career (just 33%) he is good at the FT line (91% so far this year, which is 30th nationally). He is probably better served as a second (or maybe third) option, but La Salle needs him to be the alpha this year. Marshall has scored in double figures in five straight games. He managed to get to the line 11 times against Michigan, which is pretty impressive. Marshall is not a good defender (-1.76 DBPR per EvanMiya) but the Explorers need his offense.

Brewer, who hails from Camden, returns closer to home after spending the last three years down south. He redshirted last year at McNeese, partly due to an injury he sustained back in February of 2024. At East Texas A&M, he was very effective at getting to the rim and finishing at a high clip. He's a mediocre shooter from deep, but is a fairly decent rebounder which should fit well with the Explorers. Brewer was sidelined for most of December due to injury, but was able to return for the conference opener against Mason. He had 21 points in his first game back.

The two swing pieces for me on this roster are Rob Dockery (Texas A&M) and JUCO import Edwin Daniel. Both players are also good rebounders/defenders and match the Nichols style of play. Dockery could not find playing time in College Station, but was a three-star wing prospect out of HS. Being from DC (he played at Jackson-Reed - Jun's school), I'm sure he will be motivated to have a good game. Dockery can score at all three levels, move the ball on offense, and is a good on-ball defender. He is fairly turnover-prone, so it will be up to GW to take advantage of that.

Daniel put up outrageous numbers at the JUCO level. On a 32-4 team, he averaged a double-double (12.7 ppg, 12.6 rpg) while blocking nearly four shots a game in 28 minutes. While that kind of production hasn't fully translated, Daniel has still been reasonably effective as a rebounder and shot blocker. He can also score inside when needed. Of course, staying on the court has been a challenge recently, as he's committed at least three fouls in four straight games despite averaging just 15 minutes a night.

Nichols also added Jaden Johnson (Old Dominion) and Damon Strand (Albany) in the backcourt from the portal. Johnson is probably the closest thing to a pure PG on the roster. He missed all of OOC play due to injury but started in his game back against the Patriots. While he isn't an efficient shooter, Johnson (a former GW recruit) did put up five assists in the game so La Salle's offensive flow should be a bit better moving forward as he shakes off the rust. It's worth mentioning that he had a great game against the Revs last year while he was with ODU. In that game, he scored 16 points, and pitched in seven assists and four rebounds (although also had five turnovers). Johnson made three triples in that contest and went on to make just three shots from deep total the rest of the year (lol).

Strand began his career at the JUCO ranks (Raritan Valley CC) before moving up to D1 ball last year. He's primarily a floor stretching option, shooting a mediocre 33% from deep but is even worse from 2. Impressively, he's a perfect 17/17 from the line the past two years. He didn't play in their most recent game and I'd imagine in conference play he's probably a spot option at best - Strand is a non-factor on defense.

Up front, Nichols brought in Noah Collier (William & Mary) and Bowyn Beatty (Sacramento State) for additional depth. Collier must have been the player La Salle got in exchange for Fasasi. He began his career at Pitt back in the 2020-21 season, and has been injured for much of the year - playing in just three games so far. He will likely be questionable going into tomorrow's game. When healthy, he gives Nichols another guy that can rebound and convert near the tin. Beatty adds real size to the roster as a 7 foot big man. He didn't really do much more than crash the glass during his time at Sacramento State but having depth up front is never a bad thing.

Finally, a pair of freshmen in Ashton Walker and Nas Hart round out the roster. Walker, who committed to Nichols at Radford, has been the more impactful of the two. He has good size for a guard at 6'5". While Johnson was out, he did a commendable job orchestrating the offense with a 2.25 assist to turnover ratio - pretty good for a first-year. He's only 30% from 3 (0 for his last 11) and 62% from the line so far, but has a lot of upside moving forward if he stays with La Salle. Hart, a NJ native, is likely behind a deep stable of big men and is unlikely to crack the rotation. He brings additional size at 6'10".

The first thing that comes to mind when looking at this game is what happened to GW the last time they took on a 250-ish ranked team on KenPom. The loss against Delaware will continue to sting probably the rest of the year. The team was looking ahead to the Florida matchup. Have they learned their lesson this time around? Conference play is a bit different, and I'd expect them to lock in. At the same time, the next game after this is against Dayton at UD arena which the guys are more likely to get up for. The other similarity is that like the Blue Hens, La Salle has dealt with a number of injuries all season. The projected starting lineup/key bench players listed above is a crapshoot and not likely to be accurate for this game. Why? La Salle has gone with 13(!) different starting lineups in 14 games. It's hard to build momentum when players are going in and out constantly but for the opposing team it becomes harder to scout as well.

I'll also point out that GW lost to Radford at their place by 10 back in December of 2022 when Nichols was coaching there. Of course, that was year 1 under CC and he can't be faulted for scheduling that stupid home-and-home (thanks a lot Jamion) but hopefully that serves as a bit of motivation as well. The teams are very different now, but man that was a low point in the last several years of GW basketball. Ultimately, if we play with energy and win the hustle plays, GW should be able to win this one at home (and maybe even cover). I'm looking to see if they can put together 40 minutes of strong defensive effort.

Projected Score: GW 85, La Salle 69. 93% chance to win (KenPom). Bart Torvik also forecasts a 93% chance at a W. ESPN predicts a 92.6% chance for GW to move to 11-4.
 

Played a little zone. Wasn’t great.

Need to rotate better on defense 

Beating us off the dribble repeatedly 

Delaware? 

They are continually getting open underneath 

Autry comes through

Marshall not moving  his feet 

70-55  Much better

Finally woke up. 75-55.