WAYNE STATE WEEKLY GAME NOTES

2012-13 RECORDS:
#22-Wayne State 12-2 overall, 11-0 GLIAC
Ferris State 8-8 overall, 7-5 GLIAC
#30-Grand Valley 13-3 overall, 10-2 GLIAC

SERIES:
Ferris State leads Wayne State 39-37
Grand Valley leads Wayne State 44-28

LAST MEETINGS:
WSU won 72-69 (OT) at home vs. FSU on Feb. 16, 2012
WSU won 80-67 at home vs. GVSU on Feb. 18, 2012

WEEK 9 STORYLINES

Wayne State improved its GLIAC road record to 5-0 with a pair of wins in the Upper Peninsula.

The Warriors have won seven consecutive contests and 12 of their last 13 matches.

WSU faces a pair of strong GLIAC North Division squads this week with a trip to Ferris State on Thursday before hosting Grand Valley on Saturday in a game that will be televised live on Xfinity channel 900.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Wayne State has won two of the last three meetings in Big Rapids.  Of the last 10 games at Ferris State, nine have been decided by eight or fewer points and five by five points or less.

WSU is 6-4 in its last 10 home games against the Lakers.  The Warriors have won the last two meetings and three of four overall.

LAST WEEK

WSU began its three-game road trip with a 70-59 triumph at Michigan Tech followed by a 65-59 victory at Northern Michigan.

David Greer became WSU's all-time leader in GLIAC regular-season victories with his 120th on Jan. 17.

Ian Larkin scored Wayne State's first 10 points of the MTU contest on 4-of-4 shooting (including two triples) in just the first four minutes of the match.

The Warriors hot shooting from long distance continued as Bryan Coleman sandwiched two three-pointers around a shot from beyond the arc by Cole Prophet in a 90-second span midway through the first half pushing the WSU lead from 14-10 to 23-14.

Larkin scored six of the game's first eight second half points to help Wayne State grab a 36-32 lead.  A Huskie three-pointer made it a one-point game (38-37) at the 16:00 minute mark, but the Warriors responded with a 12-3 run to open a 10-point advantage (50-40).  MTU never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

Besides the performances of Larkin and Gerald Williams-Taylor in the opening 20 minutes at NMU, it appeared as if the 11:00 a.m. start was too early for WSU.  Larkin tallied 11 points and six rebounds in the first half, while Williams-Taylor chipped in six points.

Northern Michigan scored the first five points of the second half to open an eight point lead.  Larkin ended the drought with a triple that ignited a 10-0 Warrior run.  In addition to Larkin's shot from downtown, he had a conventional three-point play, while Williams-Taylor added a bucket along with a pair of free throws.

The contest was tied five times (30, 32, 34, 38 and 41) over the next six minutes including the final time on three-pointer by NMU.  Larkin connected on a jumper and then split a pair from the foul line giving WSU the lead for good at 44-41.

SCOUTING FERRIS STATE

The Bulldogs had a four-game winning streak end last week with a pair of road setbacks (75-66 at Northwood and 69-58 at Lake Superior).

Senior guard Kenny Brown leads the team in scoring (16.8 points per game) and three-pointers made (31), and is tied with sophomore guards Drew Lehman and Dietrich Lever for the team lead in steals (19).

Lehman is second in both scoring at 14.2 ppg and assists (39), while senior forward Daniel Sutherlin is third in scoring at 11.2 ppg and first in rebounding (7.0).

Lever has a team-high 45 assists with freshman center Jared Stolicker leading FSU in blocked shots (28), while ranking second in rebounding (6.4).

The Bulldogs lead the GLIAC in turnovers per game (10.3) and rank second in blocked shots (4.2 per game).

SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY

GVSU enters Thursday's home game vs. Saginaw Valley on a five-game winning streak.  The Lakers last loss was at home, 83-79, to Walsh on Jan. 3.

Sophomore guard Ryan Sabin leads Grand Valley in scoring (11.3 ppg)and three-pointers made (31).

Senior guard Breland Hogan is second in scoring (9.2 ppg), and first in both assists (40) and steals (18).

Sophomore forward Kristers Zeidaks leads the squad in rebounding (5.8 rpg) and blocked shots (19), while senior forward Tyrone Lee is second in rebounding (5.3 rpg) and third in scoring (8.8 ppg).  Junior guard Rob Woodson leads the Lakers in field goal percentage (60.8/31-of-51).

Grand Valley leads the GLIAC in both scoring defense (58.1 ppg) and field goal defense (37.8 percent).

IN THE RANKINGS

Wayne State is ranked seventh nationally in the most recent Massey Ratings, which were released on Jan. 22.

Ferris State is 115th, while Grand Valley is 16th.

Two of WSU's non-league foes - Bellarmine (13th), and Drury (21st) are ranked in the top 25.

WSU leads the Midwest Region just ahead of Kentucky Wesleyan (10th).

WSU's SOS (strength of schedule) is eighth nationally.

ON THE WAYNE STATE BENCH

David Greer is in his 12th season as the WSU men's basketball head coach.  Greer has a 179-140 record with the Warriors and is the fifth-longest tenured head coach in WSU men's basketball history.
Greer tied Newman Ertell (1929-48) for third place in wins at WSU last Saturday with 179.
He became WSU's all-time leader in GLIAC wins with the Warriors victory at Michigan Tech on Jan. 17.

ON THE OPPOSING BENCH

Bill Sall is in his 11th year at Ferris State and has compiled a 170-148 record.

Grand Valley's Ric Wesley has a 199-63 mark in his ninth year with the Lakers.

CATCH WARRIOR BASKETBALL THIS SATURDAY ON XFINITY CHANNEL 900

Join Ryan Ermanni, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson as they call the action for both games (men and women) against Grand Valley.