WAYNE STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY GAME NOTES

2011-12 RECORDS:

Wayne State 18-9, 14-5 GLIAC
#4-Bellarmine 29-4, 16-2 GLVC
Lewis 17-12, 8-10 GLVC

SERIES:

Bellarmine leads Wayne State 3-2
Wayne State and Lewis are tied at 3-3

* OPENING WEEK STORYLINES

Wayne State begins its 95th season of intercollegiate men's basketball with a road contest, followed by its first home game of the season.

The Warriors open the 2012-13 season against No. 4 Bellarmine, a squad that reached the Division II semifinals last year on its way to a 29-4 season. WSU faced off against the Knights in its season opener in 2011-12, falling to Bellarmine 92-80 in Detroit.

WSU opens the home portion of its 2012-13 schedule against Lewis, a team that the Warriors lost to a season ago, 52-41.

The Warriors were 10-3 at home in 2011-12, including winning four of their first five games at the Matthaei.

* SEASON OPENER HISTORY

The Warriors are 5-6 in season openers under head coach David Greer.

WSU fell to Bellarmine, ranked No. 1 at the time, in its opening game of the 2011-12 season, 92-80. Mike Hollingsworth scored 24 of his game-high 28 points in the first half for WSU.

Cole Prophet added 16 points, four rebounds and three assists and Ian Larkin tallied nine points for WSU. All three players return for the Warriors in 2012-13.

* ON THE BENCH

David Greer returns for his 12th season as head coach of men's basketball at WSU. Greer is 167-138 and is the fifth-longest tenured head coach in WSU history.

Scott Davenport begins his eighth season as head coach at Bellarmine. The Knights have won at least 23 games in its past four seasons under Davenport.

Scott Trost begins his seven season with the Flyers with an overall coaching record of 102-74.

* RETURNING WARRIORS

Six letterwinners return for the Warriors, including three starters. WSU also brings back three of its top five scorers as well as guard Mike Hollingsworth (17.2 ppg in six games), who missed most of the season due to injury.
    
* NEW FACES

Four freshman join the roster and are joined by two redshirted juniors, a junior transfer and a sophomore transfer.

* IN THE RANKINGS

The Warriors appear in the initial National Association of Basketball Coaches/Division II men's basketball poll, receiving two votes. The top GLIAC team in the rankings is Findlay at No. 8. Conference opponents Michigan Tech and Hillsdale are also receiving votes.

* UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Warriors play three out of their first four games on the road. WSU opens its conference slate Nov. 29 in Tiffin, followed by a Dec. 1 matchup at Ohio Dominican.

After three of the first four games on the road, seven of WSU's next eight games are at home.

* SCOUTING BELLARMINE

The Knights are coming off a 2011-12 campaign in which they finished 29-4 overall and 16-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Bellarmine earned a Division II Midwest Regional title and advanced all the way to the national semifinals in 2011-12. They are searching to advance to the Elite Eight for the third straight season in 2012-13.

Two of Bellarmine's starters return from the 2011-12 season, including senior guard Chris Dowe (16.2 ppg in 2011-12) and junior guard Keisten Jones (11.4 ppg in 2011-12). Dowe was second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding (6.8 rpg) in 2011-12.

Overall, the Knights have two seniors, three juniors and 11 freshmen or sophomores on their roster.

* SCOUTING LEWIS


The Flyers are coming off another winning season, finishing the 2011-12 season with a 17-12 record overall and 11-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Last season was Lewis' sixth straight winning season.

The Flyers return second-leading scorer, sophomore guard Ryan Jackson (13.0 ppg), who was one of two Lewis players to average double digits in scoring in 2011-12.

Two of the five starters return for Lewis. Besides Jackson, sophomore forward Julian Lewis (7.9 ppg) also started 26 of 28 games played in 2011-12.

The Flyers have one senior and two juniors with the rest of the roster comprised of freshmen and sophomores.

* WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS

Fans can watch all of the home games via Warrior All-Access live video streaming for a $5.95 fee per game. A WSU Monthly All-Access Pass is available for $9.95.