Wayne State Men's Basketball Weekly Game Notes

2012-13 RECORDS:
#25-Wayne State 13-3 overall, 12-1 GLIAC
Lake Superior 11-7 overall, 8-6 GLIAC

SERIES:
Wayne State leads 41-21

LAST MEETING:
WSU won 76-54 at LSSU on Feb. 23, 2012

WEEK 10 STORYLINES

Wayne State rebounded from its first loss in league play (72-68 at Ferris State in double overtime) with a 62-56 win over Grand Valley on Saturday.

The Warriors have just one game this week - Saturday at home vs. Lake Superior - before playing eight conference games over the final four weeks of the regular season with only three contests at home.

ALL-TIME SERIES

After having a seven-game winning streak (2002-08) in the series, Wayne State has won just two of the last seven meetings vs. Lake Superior.

WSU won six straight at the Matthaei (1997-2008), but the Warriors are just 1-2 in the last three home contests vs. the Lakers.

LAST WEEK

Wayne State, ranked No. 22, battled tough Thursday evening at Ferris State despite losing Mike Hollingsworth late in the first half only to fall 72-68 in double overtime to the Bulldogs.  The setback ended WSU's seven-game winning streak.

Wayne State jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the first five minutes as four different WSU players made shots.  FSU's Kenny Brown had five points sandwiched around a triple by Hollingsworth to knot the game at 13.

The score was tied four more times in the opening 20 minutes with the Bulldogs taking a 30-24 lead at intermission.

FSU's Daniel Sutherlin scored on the first possession of the second half giving the hosts its largest lead of the game at 32-24.

A 9-1 Warrior run tied the game at 33.  The contest was tied two more times but it wasn't until a lay-up by Ian Larkin with 1:45 left did WSU regain the lead for the first time since 13-10.

FSU tallied the next five points, but a lay-up by Cole Prophet with 26.5 seconds left and then another Prophet basket with 9.8 remaining on the clock tied the game at 55.

FSU's Brown sent the game into the second overtime by hitting a baseline jumper with 0.9 seconds left to tie the game at 63.

The Warrior defense did not allow a made field goal in the second overtime session, but the Bulldogs went 9-of-10 from the foul line.  Meanwhile, WSU had a bucket by Bryan Coleman and three free throws by Prophet.

Larkin recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Prophet added 17 points, six assists and four steals in a career-high 50 minutes.

Wayne State went on a 15-0 run to start the second half and defeated visiting Grand Valley State 62-56 Saturday afternoon at the Matthaei.

GVSU's largest lead of the contest was 5-2 following a jumper by Ricardo Carbajal and a triple by Ryan Sabin.

The Lakers pulled within one a couple of times (15-14, 18-17) in the final seven minutes before intermission but that would be as close as they would get.

During the aforementioned 15-0 run to start the second half (first 6:45), Grand Valley went 0-6 from the field, 0-3 from the foul line (fourth free throw attempt didn't happen because of a lane violation) along with three other turnovers.

Larkin notched his third double-double of the season (and second in 48 hours) by recording a game-high 16 points along with a contest best 12 rebounds.  Gerald Williams-Taylor garnered his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

SCOUTING LAKE SUPERIOR

The Lakers have won three of their last four contests including an 89-55 triumph over Finlandia on Jan. 30.

Junior guard Derek Billing leads LSSU in scoring (16.4 points per game), triples (44) and steals (41).

Senior forward Derek Kinney has team-high totals in rebounding (8.3 rpg) and blocked shots (15), while ranking second in scoring (14.4 ppg).

Sophomore guard Tony Davis has a squad-best 51 assists with Billing right behind with 49 helpers.

Sophomore guard Alex Williams has connected on 41 three-pointers and is third in scoring at 10.8 ppg.

Junior forward Cameron Metz is second in rebounding (4.3 rpg) along with Billing.

Metz and Kinney each scored 16 points in Wednesday's victory over the Finlandia Lions.

IN THE RANKINGS

Wayne State is ranked ninth nationally in the most recent Massey Ratings, which were released on Jan. 31.

Lake Superior is 105th.

Two of WSU's non-league foes - Bellarmine (8th), and Drury (13th) are ranked in the top 15.

WSU is second in the Midwest Region just behind Bellarmine.  Besides Drury, Michigan Tech is 15th and Grand Valley 20th.  WSU's SOS is seventh nationally.

ON THE WAYNE STATE BENCH

David Greer is in his 12th season as the WSU men's basketball head coach.  Greer has a 180-141 record with the Warriors and is the fifth-longest tenured head coach in WSU men's basketball history.

Greer moved past Newman Ertell (1929-48) for third place in career wins with last Saturday's victory.

He became WSU's all-time leader in GLIAC wins with the Warriors victory at Michigan Tech on Jan. 17.

ON THE OPPOSING BENCH

Steve Hettinga is in his sixth year at Lake Superior having compiled a 95-81 record.  His 14-year collegiate head coaching mark stands at 190-188 including stints at Olivet (1997-2004) and MacMurray College (2006-07).

Hettinga also served as an assistant coach at Olivet (1993-97) and as head coach of the IBL's Grand Rapids Flight (2004-05).

2013 GLIAC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT FORMAT

The top three teams in each division, plus the next two best conference records will qualify for the eight-team league tournament.

Neither Malone or Walsh are eligible for the GLIAC tournament as they are in transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II.

If either team finishes in the top three in the South Division, the South Division will have two spots in the GLIAC tournament with the extra spot being a wild card team.

If both teams finish in the top three in the South Division, the fourth place South squad will qualify along with three wild card teams.