Photo: Dom Williams/La Salle Athletics
For the first time since the 2005-06 season, the La Salle men’s basketball program has won all three of its season opening contests by double-digit margins. Knocking off American, Lafayette and Cornell all at home, La Salle has turned the new John Glaser Arena into a fortress.
Under legendary head coach Fran Dunphy, the Explorers made gradual improvements over the past two seasons going from 15 wins in 2023 to just 16 wins by the end of 2024. However, having been selected dead last in the A10’s 2024-25 Preseason Poll, La Salle is smashing early expectations and playing some of the best basketball of Dunphy’s tenure.
“You hope that [this start] builds some confidence and if we do all the right things we’re going to get some separation from some teams,” said Dunphy following a win over Lafayette. “If you remember two years ago, we played Lafayette and they beat the pants off us. That was a large part of the discussion going into this game.”
Leading the way in La Salle’s historic 3-0 start has been the offseason transfers additions that Dunphy and his staff brought in to replace some key weapons lost to the portal.
Though returners like Andres Marrero and Daeshon Shepherd remain, this new cast has given the Explorers an instant offensive spark with both the program’s top scorers representing portal recruits.
Pacing the production, Rider transfer Corey McKeithan is currently La Salle’s primary contributor averaging 18.3 PPG and 3.3 APG. A three-point specialist during his stint with the Broncs, McKeithan has quickly taken to leading Dunphy’s offense and in the win over Lafayette finished with 14 points and five assists.
Against Cornell, he led all scorers with a game-high 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting to thrust La Salle comfortably ahead of the Big Red in the closing minutes of the second half.
“[McKeithan] has been great since day one, just brought in immediately and now done a really good job of running our team,” Dunphy said. “He’s really led and probably didn’t have that role at Rider in terms of playmaking but he’s done a really good job at it [for us].”
Arriving from local rival Temple this offseason, former All-AAC Freshman selection Jahlil White is second in scoring for the Explorers averaging 12.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG as a three game starter.
Against Lafayette, the 6-foot-7 wing led the physical battle on the interior for La Salle with a season-high double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds, adding a pair of steals and a block.
Additionally, Penn State transfer Demetrius Lilley has seemingly found his footing after a slow start, claiming 13 boards in the Lafayette win before contributing a season-high 16 points over Cornell.
According to Marrero, who was recruited to La Salle prior to Dunphy’s arrival, acclimating all these new pieces has been a process but it doesn’t feel like this team has only played together a week.
“I think we’ve created a culture here that people, as soon as they get here, adapt to it,” Marrero said. “It wasn’t really hard [getting the transfers adjusted], we had setbacks during the summer but we’re good now and they’ve been really good for us.”
Though there will be tougher tests on the horizon for the Explorers, the early season growth is evident.
Arriving in Glaser Arena, a venue actually befitting of the one-time National Champion La Salle Explorers, there’s an energy surrounding this program that had long been missing.
Behind a talented transfer class, La Salle has thrived on that atmosphere and its ultimately played a significant role in lifting this program to its historic 3-0 start.
“It’s fun to be in here [at Glaser],” Dunphy said. “Everybody comes in here and says it’s just a different atmosphere. Has it helped us? Of course, anytime you’re playing home games and have a good sized crowd [it helps]. Hopefully we can continue to play at a decent level so even more people will come to watch us.”
