Men's Basketball | 2/19/2015 9:00:00 AM

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (5-17, 5-14 GLIAC) will wrap up its home schedule on Thursday against Malone (10-15, 8-11 GLIAC) for "Senior Night" before traveling to Walsh (14-9, 10-9 GLIAC) for a Saturday contest against the Cavaliers. WSU will look to play the role of spoiler as Walsh currently is tied for the sixth seed in the GLIAC standing but have yet to clinch a playoff berth.

STORYLINES
The Wayne State University men's basketball squad will play its final home game of the season on Thursday against Malone.  WSU will honor its two seniors, Daniel Ball and DeMarius Miller, before tip-off Thursday.  The Warriors will conclude the regular season with two road games at Walsh on Saturday and at Findlay on Feb. 26.  Nearly 75 percent of all minutes (149.82 of 200 per game average) played this season for WSU have been by freshmen or sophomores.

THE SERIES
The all-time series with Malone is tied 2-2 with the Pioneers winning the season's first meeting 77-74 in Canton, Ohio.  Each of the last two contests have been decided by three points.  The series began in 1977 with a meeting during the Akron Classic before MU was a member of the GLIAC.

Walsh leads the series over WSU 2-1 but the Warriors secured their first ever victory over the Cavaliers last month, 77-60.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Malone is on the outside looking in at the GLIAC Tournament field at 10-15 overall and 8-11 in the league.  The Pioneers have alternated wins and losses since back-to-back defeats on Jan. 31 and Feb. 2. Head coach Tim Walker is in his sixth season (82-84) coaching Malone.  Freshman guard Ben Haraway leads the team at 13.7 points per game, while junior guard Stephen O'Daniel III (GLIAC South Player of the Week) is averaging 10.4 points per game.  Freshman forward Mitch Spotleson is the team's leading rebounder at 5.2 boards per contest.

WSU can play the role of spoiler with a win at Walsh on Saturday.  The Cavs are still looking to secure their playoff spot at 14-9 overall and 10-9 in the GLIAC, which is tied for second place in the south.  Walsh has won four of its last five games including two double-overtime wins. Jeff Young is in his 11th year (278-67) as head coach and is the winningest coach in program history. Junior guard Jesse Hardin Jr. is averaging a team-high 16 points per game, while sophomore forward Trey Fletcher is scoring 13.5 points per game. 

LAST TIME OUT
The WSU men's basketball team fell to Ashland on Saturday afternoon, 68-67.  The Warriors outscored the Eagles 44-40 in the second half but could not overcome its cold-shooting in the first half.  Chuck Key's layup put the deficit at two with 27 seconds left to play.  Ashland made four three throws down the stretch to make a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer from Clark Bishop a non-factor with the four-point deficit.

Gavin Toma finished with a game-high 22 points including four triples and grabbed seven rebounds while Bishop scored 13 points and Marcus Moore chipped in 10.  Wendell Davis led the Eagles with 15 points and eight rebounds.

REMATCHES
During the first match against Malone this season, the Warriors fell by three points in Canton, Ohio.  WSU shot 51 percent from the floor including 73 percent from beyond the arc, but it wasn't enough. Michael Lewis led WSU with a game-high tying 23 points, while Gavin Toma added 22 points.  Lewis also chipped in a team-best six assists, while tying for game-high rebounding honors with seven (along with Marcus Moore), who also dished out five assists.  Stephen O'Daniel III led Malone with 23 points, which included 5-of-7 from three-point range.  Ben Haraway had seven assists for the Pioneers.

Wayne State ended its nine-game losing streak in a big way with a 77-60 triumph over visiting Walsh on Jan. 31 at the Matthaei.   WSU had lost six games by an average of five points during the losing skid.  Michael Lewis led WSU with a game-high 18 points, while Chuck Key scored a career-high 16 to pace four Warriors in double figures.  Gavin Toma contributed 13 points, while Marcus Moore chipped in with 10 points and a game-best five assists as Wayne State was 16-of-28 from the field in each half.

A trio of Cavaliers - Trey Fletcher, Zac Carter and Jesse Hardin Jr. - each scored 15 points in the contest with Hardin Jr. totaling a game-high nine rebounds.

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 as Wayne State topped Tiffin on Feb. 5, 2015.  Greer, who has directed the Warriors to a 201-178 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 six men's and women's basketball home games were broadcast live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN900.  Sean Baligian, Ryan Ermanni, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson brought you all the action.

WDTK - THE PATRIOT
Russ McNamara called 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.

CLOSE CALLS
For the second time in three seasons, WSU has lost three overtime games in a year.  The only other season with three overtime defeats was 2003-04.

NEXT UP
WSU will conclude the season at Findlay on Feb. 26th.