SYRACUSE, N.Y. (LE MOYNE ATHLETICS) –

The Le Moyne College men’s basketball team will take on Villanova University in its second game of the season on Friday, November 10. The game will be played on campus in the Finneran Pavilion.

The Dolphins, who faced Villanova on the road five times between 1951-52 and 1958-59, return seven letterwinners and two redshirts, including all four members who started at least 20 games, from last year’s squad, which went 15-15, including 11-9 in Northeast-10 Conference action. The Dolphins were the sixth seed in the NE10 Championship and scored the final five points of the game to defeat Saint Michael’s College, 77-74, in the first round before falling to eventual regional runner-up Bentley University. The Dolphins return their top two scorers from last year, graduate students Isaiah Salter and Luke Sutherland, two of their top three rebounders, Sutherland and graduate student Mike DePersia, and top two assist leaders, Salter and DePersia. Salter averaged 11.7 points and 3.0 assists per game in his first season as a Dolphin, Sutherland posted 11.2 points and 4.3 rebounds and DePersia recorded 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists. For his efforts on the defensive side of the ball, DePersia was named to the inaugural Northeast-10 Conference All-Defensive Team.

The Wildcats, who won the national championship in 2016 and 2018, went 17-17 overall in 2022-23 and posted a mark of 10-10 in Big East competition in their first season under head coach Kyle Neptune. They won six of their final eight games of the regular season and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament.

The Wildcats, who went 7-2 at the Finneran Pavilion last year and are 41-5 there over the last five seasons, return nine letterwinners and added four veteran players in the transfer portal, while bringing in one freshman. They return two of their top three scorers and their top rebounder. The Assistant Director of Basketball Operations for the Wildcats is Rob DePersia, the older brother of Mike DePersia.

The complete 2023-24 Le Moyne College men’s basketball schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.