Wayne State Men's Basketball Weekly Game Notes

2010-11 RECORDS:
    Wayne State 3-1, 0-0 GLIAC
    Lake Erie 2-2, 0-0 GLIAC
    Ashland 3-1, 0-0 GLIAC

SERIES:
    First meeting between WSU and Lake Erie
    WSU leads Ashland 25-18

LAST MEETINGS:
    WSU has never faced Lake Erie
    WSU won 74-63 at home vs. AU on Feb. 18

RADIO:  WDTK (1400 AM)

ONLINE AUDIO:  wdtkam.com

LIVE STATS:  livestats.prestosports.com/waynestate

VIDEO: Warriors All-Access via wsuathletics.com
    
* GAMES 5-6 STORYLINES

Wayne State recorded a 3-1 mark during its four-game non-conference slate including a pair of in-region wins over Central State and Lewis.

After an eight-day layoff from competitive action, the Warriors begin GLIAC play this week with two home contests.

WSU hosts league newcomer Lake Erie on Thursday before a Comcast contest against Ashland on Saturday.  

* ALL-TIME SERIES

This will be the first meeting between the Warriors and the Storm.

WSU won twice last year against Ashland to take a 25-18 lead in the all-time series.

* WEEK 2 RECAP

Wayne State battled fourth-ranked Bellarmine University even throughout the first half, but eight three-pointers in the second half by the host Knights led to an 87-73 setback for the Warriors at Knights Hall on Nov. 21.

A late first half WSU rally included four points by Mike Hollingsworth and a jumper by Bryan Smothers which gave the Warriors a 36-35 lead.  Stevie Loveless made a pair of foul shots with 4.5 seconds remaining to give the hosts a 37-36 advantage at intermission.

After holding the Knights to 1-of-8 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes, Bellarmine connected on 8-of-18 in the second half to pull away.

Smothers, who scored a career-high 26 points in last year's WSU win over Bellarmine, scored a team-best 23 points.  Hollingsworth chipped in with 14 points while Ike Udanoh and Bryan Coleman each added 10 points.

Wayne State concluded its stretch of four games in eight days with a 117-61 victory over the visiting Marygrove College Mustangs on Nov. 23.

The Warriors' triumph was not as easy as the final score would indicate as the contest was tied seven times in the first 11-plus minutes.

After the Mustangs had taken a 24-23 lead, WSU outscored the guests 29-7 as Marygrove made just one field goal attempt in the final 6:30 of the opening 20 minutes.

The Warriors recorded the first seven points of the second half for a 59-31 advantage.  Wayne State's lead would never be less than 26 the rest of the way.

Stacey Waters had a career-high 30 points, including six triples, while Ian Larkin also had a career-high 15 points.  WSU held a 65-30 scoring advantage in the second half, and an 85-34 scoring margin in bench points.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS

Streaming video of Wayne State's home basketball games is available via Warrior All-Access for $5.95 per game, while a WSU Monthly All-Access Pass is available for $9.95.

* ON THE BENCH

David Greer, just the ninth head coach in school history, is in his 10th season at WSU with a 130-122 record.  He is the fifth-longest tenured coach at WSU.

Lake Erie's Cliff Hunt has compiled an 85-56 mark in his sixth year as the varsity head coach with the Storm.

John Ellenwood is in his second year with the Eagles and has a 16-16 record at AU.

* SCOUTING LAKE ERIE

The Storm began the year with wins over Wilberforce (83-65) and Northwestern Ohio (92-62) before back-to-back setbacks at IUP (80-76) on Nov. 23 and Mercyhurst (92-66) on Nov. 27.

Ethan Bradshaw has led LEC in scoring the last three games and is averaging a team-best 18.0 points per game.  Brandon Smith is second in scoring (9.8 ppg), while making a team-high seven triples.

Garrick Sims leads the Storm with 31 rebounds (7.8 rpg), while both Smith and Eric Worthey have grabbed 25 caroms.

Bradshaw and Smith are 1-2 in assists with 18 and 10, respectively.

* SCOUTING ASHLAND

The Eagles had their three-game winning streak snapped with a 64-59 setback on Sunday at Edinboro.

Ashland visits Hillsdale on Thursday before heading to Detroit.

AU defeated Lourdes (80-70), Millersville (64-60) and Rio Grande (85-62) to start the season.

Evan Yates and Kale Richardson have each led the team in scoring twice and rebounding twice.

Richardson is leading the squad in scoring (17.5 points per game) and rebounding (7.8 boards per game), while Yates is second in rebounding (7.3 rpg) and third in scoring (11.5 ppg.).

Ronnie Steward is first in assists (9) and second in scoring (11.8 ppg).

Both Steward and Richardson have made six three-pointers on the season.

WSU-LEC SERIES NOTES

• This will be the first meeting between the teams

• Wayne State will visit LEC on Jan. 29

WSU-AU SERIES NOTES

• WSU leads 25-18 in the all-time series

• Wayne State is 12-6 vs. Ashland under Greer

• The Warriors have won six of their last eight home games vs. the Eagles

* TELEVISION

Both WSU contests (men and women) on Saturday vs. Ashland will be televised live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast Channel 900.  Dave Zoran and Eric Pate will call the action with Joe Abramson serving as the sideline reporter.