Game Notes (PDF)
DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (1-0) will travel to GLVC country to face the Flyers of Lewis University (3-0) on Saturday.
GAME STORYLINES
Lewis and Wayne State is quickly becoming an exciting rivalry. Two seasons ago, Lewis made the NCAA Tournament over the Warriors while last season the Warriors snuck into the field instead of Lewis. This will be the fifth consecutive year the teams have faced one another with each school going 2-0 at home.
SCOUTING LEWIS
The Flyers are 3-0 to start the season with wins over Olivet Nazarene, Ferris State and Northern Michigan. Ryan Jackson led for Flyers in double figures vs. the Bulldogs with 22 points. Lewis trailed at halftime by a basket but outscored the Bulldogs 40-32 in the second half to win 78-72. LU won 78-68 at Northern Michigan on Sunday behind 22 points from Julian Lewis (9-10 FG). Head Coach Scott Trost is in his eighth season with the program and has averaged 17 wins per season since the 2006-7 season.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State leads the all-time series 4-3 over Lewis University. The Warriors are 1-3 at Lewis but the one win was a first round NCAA Tournament win in 2004. WSU won last season by the slimmest of margins (70-69) paced by 23 points and six assists from
Chene Phillips in the Warriors home opener.
Ian Larkin's dunk with 73 seconds remaining was the final points of the game.
LAST TIME OUT
WSU began its 2013-14 regular-season with a convincing 93-73 victory over visiting Wilberforce University (0-6).
Gavin Toma paced five Warriors in double figures with a career-high 19 points.
Bryan Coleman contributed 18 points and six rebounds along with a game-high four steals. Phillips collected 14 points and dished out six assists.
Deon Dismuke added 13 points off the bench on 6-of-6 shooting and chipped in with seven assists to no turnovers.
Michael Lewis made 5-of-8 from the floor and finished with 12 points, while
Michael Martin tallied eight points and eight rebounds in only 14 minutes.
IN THE POLLS
The GLIAC released the 2013-14 Preseason Poll on Nov. 7th as voted on by 24 media members. Wayne State University was predicted to win the GLIAC North Division with 172 points and 10 first-pace nods. Also picking up first-place votes in the North Division Poll were Grand Valley (6), Michigan Tech (5), and Ferris State (3). Findlay was a unanimous choice to win the South Division receiving all 24 first-place votes.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
An up-and-down game with the Bulldogs of Wilberforce lended itself to a high-scoring affair. Coach Greer's squads are usually a defensive-minded team with ball control being a priority but the 2013-14 version of the Warriors showed they can score at will when needed.
COACH GREER
David Greer is in his 13th season at the helm of the Warrior basketball program during the 2013-14 academic year. He is the fourth-longest tenured coach in program history. Coach Greer's squad returns nine letterwinners of which there are seven seniors including three starters from a squad that finished 17-10 (16-6 GLIAC) last season. Greer, who has directed the Warriors to a 185-148 record, was voted the 2012-13 GLIAC Coach of the Year by his peers. Greer coached his 300th WSU (non-exhibition) game vs. Northwood on Feb. 11, 2012, and his 200th GLIAC game vs. Grand Valley on Feb. 18, 2012. He has a 6-7 mark in season openers at WSU, and an 11-2 record in home openers.
2012-13 RECAP
The Warriors won a share of the regular-season conference championship last season, the first for the WSU men's basketball program since the 1998-99 season, and played in the NCAA tournament for the 13th time in program history (fourth appearance under Greer).
PRESEASON ALL-GLIAC
Mike Hollingsworth was voted All-GLIAC First Team while
Chene Phillips was a Second Team All-GLIAC selection by the league's head coaches.
Hollingsworth led the Warriors with a 14.6 points per game average last season and was twice named GLIAC Player of the Week. He shot 49.4 percent from the floor and was third on the team in assists with 53 along with being voted to the All-GLIAC First Team.
Phillips was fourth on the Warriors averaging 11.5 points per game a season ago. A 6-foot-2 transfer after his sophomore season from Liberty University, Phillips started all 27 games for Wayne State last season and was first on the team in steals (45) and second on the squad in assists (94). Phillips also went to the charity stripe with great frequency, sinking 114 free throws last season.
COMCAST/XFINITY
Three games will be broadcast on Comcast Channel 900 in 2013-14, with home dates against Tiffin (Dec. 5), Michigan Tech (Jan. 23) and Northwood (Feb. 6) being shown throughout the state. Ryan Ermanni, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will provide Warriors fans with the live action.
ON THE CALL
Russ McNamara will call all of the men's action this season on 1400 AM and 92.7 FM The Patriot. Former Tartar and WSU Hall of Fame inductee Cliff Russell will provide analysis for every home game.
WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
The 2013-14 school year will mark the fourth season of Warrior All-Access at WSUAthletics.com. Not only will all home WSU basketball, football and volleyball games be available for viewing by a world wide audience on a pay-per-view basis, but also the Warrior Daily ~ a video each weekday, available for free on WSUAthletics.com featuring interviews with WSU coaches and staff, and student-athletes.
Fans wanting to watch Wayne State events via Warrior All-Access will need a high-speed internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 or higher. Games will be sold on an individual basis with special viewing packages also available. Warrior All-Access will also feature On-Demand Audio and Video with the stored archived video and audio on WSUAthletics.com.
