WAYNE STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY NOTES

2011-12 RECORDS:
Wayne State (14-8, 11-5 GLIAC)
Ferris State (15-7, 12-3 GLIAC)
Grand Valley (14-9, 10-6 GLIAC)

SERIES:
WSU trails Ferris State 39-36
WSU trails Grand Valley 44-27

LAST MEETINGS:
FSU 90, WSU 88 (3/12/2011 - NCAAs)
WSU 59, at GVSU 52 (2/19/2011)

RADIO:
WDTK 1400 AM (wdtkam.com)

VIDEO:
http://www.wsuathletics.com/showcase/#liveevents

LIVE STATS:
livestats.prestosports.com/waynestate/

GAMES 23 & 24 STORYLINES

Wayne State concludes the home portion of its regular-season schedule with two key home contests this week vs. North Division-leader Ferris State, and Grand Valley.

The Warriors are tied-for-third in the GLIAC overall standings but only one game separates numbers three through seven.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The Bulldogs won two of three meetings last season (all of which occurred in a 23-day span) to take a 39-36 lead in the all-time series.  WSU has a 19-15 record at home vs. FSU.

The Warriors have won three of the last five contests against the Lakers, but trail 44-27 in the all-time series.  WSU has a 16-21 mark at home vs. GVSU.

NORTHWOOD RECAP

WSU had its five-game winning streak come to an end last Saturday as visiting Northwood posted a 70-63 triumph at the Matthaei.

The first four baskets of the game were all triples and there were three lead changes in the first four minutes before the Warriors had their largest lead of the game (12-8) with 15:50 remaining following a jumper by Stacey Waters.

Four straight Northwood points knotted the game for the fourth time in the opening five minutes.  After two more ties (at 14 and 16), Dale Brundidge scored on a jumper at the 12:20 mark giving WSU its last lead at 20-19.

The Timberwolves lead remained between one point and three points for the next five-and-a-half minutes until a conventional three-point play by Ian Larkin tied the game at 28.

Northwood finished the half on a 10-6 run for a 38-34 lead at intermission.  NU's Bobby Lewis led all players with 14 points at halftime, while Larkin had 10 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Wayne State cut the deficit to one twice in the first 2:30 of the second half, both times on triples, the first by Waters and the second by Larkin.

The Timberwolves lead was between two and five points until a fast-break lay-up by Lewis at the 9:27 mark made it a seven-point contest (55-48).

The Warriors were able to pull within four points on three different occasions, but could never get it to a one possession game.

Lewis tallied a game-high 28 points and had a double-double with a game-best 11 rebounds as the visitors shot 49 percent (25-of-51) from the floor including 47 percent (6-of-13) from beyond the arc.

Larkin led WSU with 20 points, while Ike Udanoh chipped in 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.  Wayne State finished the game with just four turnovers but shot 29 percent (4-of-14) from three-point range and 42 percent (27-of-65) overall from the floor.

ON THE BENCH

David Greer, just the ninth head coach in 94 years of WSU basketball, is in his 11th season at WSU with a 163-137 record.

He is the fifth-longest tenured coach at WSU. The 22 victories by the Warriors in 2010-11 were the most since the 1998-99 NCAA qualifying squad compiled a 25-5 record.

Wayne State's 14 GLIAC wins last year are the most since the same 1998-99 team took first place with a 16-3 mark.

Bill Sall has compiled a 161-136 mark in his 11th season at Ferris State.

Grand Valley's Ric Wesley has a 186-56 record in his eighth season with the Lakers.

SCOUTING FERRIS STATE

The Bulldogs have won six straight and lead the GLIAC North Division with a 12-3 league ledger.  FSU has a 5-2 road GLIAC record this year.

Junior guard Kenny Brown has led Ferris in scoring 15 times this season and is averaging a team-best 16.9 points per game.

Classmate Daniel Sutherlin is second at 12.4 ppg, while senior Jerrell Sanders is at 10.3 ppg.

Sutherlin is shooting a team-high 44.4 percent (84-of-189), while Brown has made a squad-best 61 triples.

Sutherlin and Sanders are one-two in rebounding with 177 and 164 boards, respectively.

Senior Dontae Molden leads FSU in both assists (63) and steals (40), while Sanders has a team-high 23 blocked shots.

SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY

The Lakers have won four straight heading into Thursday's contest at Findlay.

Senior guard James Thomas has led GVSU in scoring 14 times this season and is averaging a team-best 15.0 points per game.

Center Nick Waddell is second at 11.5 ppg, while junior Breland Hogan is at 10.3 ppg.

Waddell is shooting a team-high 55.5 percent (101-of-182), while Thomas has made a squad-best 49 triples.

Thomas and Waddell are one-two in rebounding with 152 and 120 boards, respectively.

Hogan leads the Lakers in both assists (77) and steals (33), while junior Tyrone Lee has a team-high 22 blocked shots.