Wayne State Weekly Game Notes

2009-10 RECORDS:
Wayne State 10-8, 8-6 GLIAC
Saginaw Valley 12-7, 9-5 GLIAC
Lake Superior 11-8, 9-5 GLIAC

SERIES:
Saginaw Valley leads 31-30
WSU leads Lake Superior 40-19

LAST MEETINGS:
SVSU won 56-53 at WSU on 1/14/10
WSU won 73-61 at home on 1/16/10

RADIO: WDTK (1400 AM)

ONLINE AUDIO: wdtkam.com

LIVE STATS: livestats.prestosports.com/waynestate/

VIDEO: B2 via wsuathletics.com (LSSU game only)

* GAMES 19-20 STORYLINES

Wayne State wraps up its second four-game road trip of the season this week with contests at Saginaw Valley on Thursday and Lake Superior on Saturday.

Last week, the Warriors ended a four-game road losing streak by posting back-to-back wins at Tiffin and Ashland.

WSU trails both SVSU and LSSU by one game in the battle for the fourth and final home playoff spot.

* TIFFIN RECAP

Wayne State started strong, building up a 19-7 lead in the first 11 minutes behind a balanced scoring attack. The host Dragons responded with a 20-8 run over the final nine minutes to pull even at halftime (27-27).

The Warriors began the second half with a 12-4 run to open an eight-point advantage (39-31). Bryan Wright scored five points during the run with Ike Udanoh adding four points.

WSU's final 15 points came from the foul line as the Warriors connected on 19-of-22 from the charity stripe in the second half.

Udanoh led four Warriors in double figures with 18 points. He also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. # Jerry Oden contributed 16 points with Wright adding 15 and Bryan Smothers# finishing with 11 points.

* ASHLAND RECAP

The contest was tied twice early on (2-2 and 4-4) before the Eagles went on a 7-1 run to open their largest lead of the game at 11-5. The Warriors responded with a 7-2 run as Larry Edwards drained a triple from the corner along with buckets from Ian Larkin and Wright.

After back-to-back hoops by Ashland made it 17-12, Wayne State tallied six consecutive points as a pair of Udanoh baskets were sandwiched around a jumper by Wright.

Evan Yates made a layup with 5:22 remaining in the first half putting the Eagles in front 30-29. Ashland would score just one more point the rest of half, as Wayne State rattled off 13 points. Smothers had six points and an assist in the final 4:40.

In the first 5:30 of the second half, the Warriors held a 12-4 scoring advantage to open a 19-point lead at 54-35.

Three WSU players tallied 17 points – Oden, Udanoh and Smothers – with Wright adding 10 points, five assists and four steals.

* ON THE BENCH

David Greer, just the ninth head coach in school history, is in his ninth season at WSU with a record of 123-116.  He is the fifth-longest tenured coach in 92 seasons of WSU basketball.

Saginaw Valley's Frankie Smith has a 33-38 mark in his third year with the Cardinals.

Steve Hettinga has compiled an 45-33 record in his third year with the Lakers.

* SCOUTING SAGINAW VALLEY

The Cardinals had their six-game winning streak end with back-to-back losses at Hillsdale and Findlay last week.

Avery Stephenson (17.6 points per game) leads a trio of players averaging in double figures.  Keithan Jackson (15.0) and Greg Foster (13.3) are the other two.

Jackson has made a team-high 36 triples, while Stephenson has made 82 free throws.

Jackson also leads SVSU in rebounds (215) and blocked shots (15), with Greg Foster having team-high totals in assists (65) and steals (24).

Saginaw Valley has had a different leading scorer in each of the last four games.

* SCOUTING LAKE SUPERIOR

The Lakers enter Thursday's game against Northwood on a two-game losing streak.  However, LSSU has won its last five home games.

Scott Perkins leads in scoring at 18.2 points per game.  Nearly half of his field goal attempts have been from beyond the arc (44-119).

Micah Hudson has made a team-best 47 three-pointers, while Kyle Hunt has grabbed a team-high 123 rebounds.

Hunt also leads the team in assists (81) and steals (27).

Derek Kinney leads in offensive rebounds with 38.