Men's Basketball | 2/11/2015 1:00:00 PM

DETROIT -- With just five games remaining in the season, the Wayne State University men's basketball team (4-16, 4-13 GLIAC) will look to end with a high note and build momentum for next season beginning with a three game home stand. WSU will host Lake Erie (8-13, 5-12 GLIAC) on Thursday night and Ashland (16-7, 10-7 GLIAC) on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday is also the annual Hall of Fame game, where the five newest inductees will be honored at halftime of the men's game.

STORYLINES
Head coach David Greer notched his 200th victory at WSU on Thursday against Tiffin and is now 12 wins shy of Ron Hammye's program record for career wins. On Thursday, the Warriors begin a three-game home stand, which will conclude with Senior Night on Feb. 19.

THE SERIES
WSU leads the all-time series against Lake Erie 6-1. However, the Storm collected their first win in the series earlier this season, 72-67, in Painesville, Ohio on Jan. 22. All seven meetings have come in the Coach Greer era and the Warriors are 3-0 against LEC in Detroit.

WSU leads the all-time series with Ashland 29-21. The Eagles won the season's first meeting, 73-59, in Ashland Ohio on Jan. 24. Wayne State is 19-7 all-time against AU at home and Coach Greer is 16-9 against the Eagles in his 14 seasons at WSU.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Lake Erie is 8-13 overall and 5-12 in the GLIAC. Head coach Cliff Hunt is in his 10th season (126-138) at the helm. Senior forward Jamil Dudley leads the team with 13.1 points per game, while junior guard Andy Bosley is scoring 12.8 points per game and is the best three-point shooter in the league at 47.9 percent. Sophomore forward Nick Wells leads the team with 4.6 rebounds per game. As a team, LEC ranks fourth in three-point percentage at 36.5 percent.

Ashland (16-7, 10-7 GLIAC) is powered by the reigning GLIAC South Player of the Week, sophomore forward Wendell Davis. Davis is averaging 17.1 points per game (ranks third in GLIAC) and 7.8 rebounds per game (ranks second in GLIAC). Redshirt senior guard Brook Turson is the second best free throw shooter in the GLIAC at 88 percent. Head coach John Ellenwood is in his sixth season (81-74) leading Ashland men's basketball. AU has won six of its last eight games heading into Thursday's contest at Findlay. As a team, the Eagles are tied with WSU in rebounds per game (36.3), rank third in points allowed per game (63.7 PPG), fourth in scoring (73.4 PPG) and fifth in free throw percentage (72.5%).

IN THE POLLS
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced its 2014-15 Preseason Poll on Oct. 29th as voted on by local media members. The Wayne State University men's basketball team was predicted to finish third in the South Division with 90 points. Sophomore guard Clark Bishop was voted to the All-GLIAC Second Team as voted on by the league's head coaches. 

2013-14 RECAP
Last season, the Wayne State University men's basketball program knew it would be an uphill battle all-year long in the always tough GLIAC. That battle became more difficult when the Warriors lost Mike Hollingsworth to injury prior to the start of the season.  He was just the fifth player in WSU history with at least 990 points, 300 rebounds, 145 assists, 80 steals and 60 triples.

However, typical of David Greer coached teams, WSU fought its way to 12 wins including notable victories at Grand Valley State in overtime and a four-point win over No.16 Lake Superior State at home to end the season.

WSU missed the GLIAC Tournament for the first time since 2008 and will need to replace seven seniors who made a significant impact last season and in their careers.

LAST TIME OUT
The WSU men's basketball team traveled to Ohio Dominican on Saturday afternoon and looked to avenge an overtime loss earlier this season in Detroit. Cold shooting late in the second half doomed WSU as ODU collected the 82-68 victory. Chuck Key scored 14 second-half points to match his career-high of 16 points. The Warriors went the final 2:55 without a field goal and made just one field goal over the final 4:50 as ODU pulled away after WSU had cut its decifit to two (67-65). Joining Key in double figures were Gavin Toma with 13 points and Clark Bishop with 11. Five Panthers scored in double-digits led by 19 points from Mike DeLeon.

THE BEAT GOES ON
David Greer is in his 14th season at the helm of the Warrior basketball program during the 2014-15 academic year.  He is the fourth-longest tenured coach in program history and collected his 200th win with Wayne State last Thursday against Tiffin (2/5). Greer, who has directed the Warriors to a 200-177 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 State on Feb. 18, 2012.  Coach Greer passed Joel Mason for second place in victories with his 187th win in the victory over Ohio Dominican on Dec. 7, 2013.

NEELY INDUCTED INTO EMU HALL OF FAME
Current and longtime assistant coach Lorenzo Neely was inducted in the E-Club Athletic Hall of Fame. The Eastern Michigan University E-Club Alumni Chapter, the official varsity athletic letterwinners club, announced Neely as well as six other former standouts who were enshrined at the Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, Oct. 24. Neely is entering his 11th season with the WSU men's basketball program, all spent with head coach David Greer, and has been a collegiate coach for the past 16 years. He finished his Huron career with 1,528 points, 433 free throws, 317 rebounds, and his 521 assists rank second in EMU's all-time record book. Neely served as an assistant men's basketball coach at EMU for two seasons including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1998.

COMCAST/XFINITY
The final three men's and women's basketball home games will be broadcast live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN900.  Sean Baligian, Ryan Ermanni, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will bring you the action.

WDTK - THE PATRIOT
Russ McNamara will call all of the men's action this season on WDTK - The Patriot (92.7 FM / 1400 AM). Fans can also listen online at WDTKAM.com. WSU Hall of Famer Cliff Russell will return to provide his insights for each home game.

ALL-NEW MATTHAEI
The Matthaei has received a face lift over the course of the past decade. In January of 2014, a new scoreboard and videoboard were installed which features live action and replays. During the offseason, the Warriors added a new parquet floor and the sub-floor (circa 1965) was replaced. And finally a new basketball office expansion was completed in the fall on the northwest corner of the Matthaei. The new expansion includes six coaches offices, a theater-style film room and a reception area.

NEXT UP
The Warriors conclude the three-game home stand against Malone on Feb. 19 before ending the season at Walsh (Feb. 21) and Findlay (Feb. 26).