Wayne State Men's Basketball Weekly Game Notes

2012-13 RECORDS:
#37-Wayne State 15-6 overall, 14-4 GLIAC
Ferris State 14-9 overall, 13-6 GLIAC
Grand Valley 16-7 overall, 13-6 GLIAC

SERIES:
Ferris State leads WSU 40-37
Grand Valley leads WSU 44-29

LAST MEETINGS:
FSU won 72-68 (2-OT) at home on Jan. 24, 2013
WSU won 62-56 at home vs. GVSU on Jan. 26, 2013

WEEK 13 STORYLINES

Despite splitting its two home games last week, Wayne State remained in first place in the GLIAC overall standings with a 14-4 conference record.

WSU closes out the home portion of its regular-season schedule on Thursday vs. Ferris State in a game which will be televised on Xfinity channel 900.

The Warriors begin their three-game road swing to end the regular-season with a Saturday afternoon contest at Grand Valley.

ALL-TIME SERIES

In the last eight meetings between FSU and WSU, the teams have alternated victories.  Wayne State is 20-15 all-time in Detroit having won eight of the last nine.

The Warriors have won the last three meetings vs. the Lakers including the last contest in Allendale (59-52 on 2-19-11).  WSU's last two losses at GVSU (2009 and 2010) were by a combined six points (58-55, 47-44).

LAST WEEK

After losing its third straight game, WSU bounced back with a 20-point win over Northern Michigan.

The contest vs. Michigan Tech had 17 lead changes and 12 ties, with the largest lead of the game coming midway through the first half (MTU 18-10), but WSU answered with a 10-0 run and led 25-22 at the break following a triple by Bryan Coleman.

Huskie Ali Haidar scored the first seven points of the second half to give the visitors a 29-25 advantage.  WSU didn't take the lead again until the 10:10 mark on a lay-up by Gerald Williams-Taylor, who finished with career-highs of 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Ian Larkin gave the Warriors their only lead of the extra session (55-54) by splitting a pair from the charity stripe.  Five straight points put MTU ahead for good.

Haidar tallied a game-high 29 points along with 14 rebounds.

WSU never trailed in the first 5:30 of the NMU contest and had a pair of four-point leads.  The Wildcats Scooter Johnson scored on a jumper then a triple on the ensuing NMU possession giving the guests its only lead of the game at 9-8.  The Warriors lead was eight (17-9) after a Wildcat scoring drought that lasted 7:15.

Wayne State closed out the opening 20 minutes on an 11-4 run for a 28-13 advantage at intermission.  NMU's Johnson led all scorers at the break by scoring 12 of his team's 13 points.

Northern Michigan pulled within 13 twice early in the second half, but a 17-7 Warrior run in less than a seven minute stretch pushed the lead to 23 (50-27) at the midpoint of the second half.

Larkin and Chene Phillips tied for game-high scoring honors with 16 points apiece.  Williams-Taylor added 11 points, while Coleman chipped in 10 points off the bench.

SCOUTING FERRIS STATE

The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven games starting with the double-overtime victory over WSU.

Senior guard Kenny Brown leads the team in scoring (16.2 points per game), three-pointers made (44), and steals (30).

Sophomore guard Dietrich Lever has a team-best 71 assists with freshman center Jared Stolicker leading FSU in blocked shots with 36.

Sophomore guard Drew Lehman is second in both scoring at 13.3 ppg and assists (54), while senior forward Daniel Sutherlin is third in scoring at 11.3 ppg and first in rebounding (6.2).

The Bulldogs lead the GLIAC in turnovers per game (10.1), rank second in blocked shots (4.2 per game) and third in free throws made per game (15.6).

SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY

GVSU enters Thursday's game at Saginaw Valley having lost four of its last six contests.

Sophomore guard Ryan Sabin leads Grand Valley in scoring (11.2 ppg) and three-pointers made (39).

Senior guard Breland Hogan is second in scoring (9.5 ppg), and first in both assists (64) and steals (37).

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 (5.4 rpg) and third in scoring (9.3 ppg).  Junior guard Rob Woodson leads the Lakers in field goal percentage (59.0/49-of-83).

Grand Valley leads the GLIAC in both scoring defense (58.9 ppg) and field goal defense (39.2 percent).

IN THE RANKINGS

Wayne State is ranked 28th nationally in the most recent Massey Ratings, which were released on Feb. 20.  Ferris State is 60th, while Grand Valley is 35th.

All three of WSU's non-league foes are ranked in the top 25 - Drury (7th), Bellarmine (14th) and Lewis (23rd).

Eight of the top 30 squads nationally are from the Midwest Region - Wisconsin-Parkside (15), Southern Indiana (16), Michigan Tech (21) and Indianapolis (30).

ON THE WAYNE STATE BENCH

David Greer is in his 12th season as the WSU men's basketball head coach.  Greer has a 182-144 record with the Warriors and is the fifth-longest tenured head coach in WSU men's basketball history.

Greer trails the legendary Joel Mason (1948-66) by four wins (186-182) for second place all-time at WSU.  Mason led the 1956 Tartar squad to an NCAA tournament win over DePaul before a setback to Kentucky.

ON THE OPPOSING BENCH

Bill Sall is in his 11th year at Ferris State and has compiled a 176-149 record.  FSU has won four GLIAC North Division Championships and reached the NCAA Divison II Tournament three times under his direction.

Grand Valley's Ric Wesley has a 202-67 mark in his ninth year with the Lakers.