Men's Basketball | 2/5/2015 9:00:00 AM

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (3-15, 3-12 GLIAC) lost back-to-back overtime games at Tiffin (7-14, 3-11 GLIAC) and against Ohio Dominican (6-13, 4-10 GLIAC) earlier this season. The Warriors will aim to avenge those close calls this week as the Dragons visit Detroit on Thursday night and WSU travels to Columbus on Saturday afternoon.

STORYLINES
Head coach David Greer is one win shy of 200 victories with the Warriors. WSU concludes the regular season with four of seven games at home inside the Matthaei. Freshman Chuck Key has scored in double-digits in four of his last five games. WSU's two best offensive outputs of the season occurred last week with 74 points against Walsh (1/29) and 77 points versus Malone (1/31). In those games WSU shot 57.1 percent (32-56) and 50.9 percent (28-55), respectively, which are the top two shooting performances of the season.

THE SERIES
WSU leads the all-time series with Tiffin 13-2 but the Dragons won the season's first meeting on Jan. 15, 65-59, in overtime. Coach Greer is 11-2 against his former team. WSU has never lost to TU in Detroit. WSU also lost this season's first matchup with Ohio Dominican in overtime, 70-64, on Jan. 17. It was the Panthers first ever win over WSU as the Warriors lead the all-time series 6-1, with all games coming in the Coach Greer era.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Tiffin snapped a four-game losing streak on Jan. 31 with a 66-60 win over Ashland. The Dragons are 7-14 overall and 3-11 in league contests. Head coach Jerry Buccilla is in his second season (18-30) at the helm. Junior forward Khaleal McCormick is the team's leading scorer at 16.2 points per game and led TU to an OT win with 22 points in the previous meeting with WSU. Also scoring in double figures for the season is senior guard Ashton Khan at 11.8 points per game and freshman guard Alex Brown at 10.8 points per game.

Ohio Dominican enters the week 6-13 overall and 4-10 in the GLIAC. ODU topped Lake Erie on Monday, 81-76, to end a three-game losing streak. Head coach Dan Evans is in his second season (11-34) with the Panthers after six seasons as an assistant coach at Hillsdale. Junior forward Trent Weaver leads ODU in scoring at 14 points per game and rebounding with 7.8 boards per game, which ranks fourth in the league. Junior guard Chad Nelson (12.5 PPG) is also averaging double figures for the season. Freshman guard Ronnie Williams is the fourth best long-range shooter in the conference at 45.6 percent (31-68) from behind the arc.

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
WSU suffered its third overtime setback in the last 19 days with a 71-67 loss to Findlay Monday evening at the Matthaei. It was a back-and-forth first half with 10 lead changes, three ties and the biggest lead was five (Findlay 29-24 at intermission). The second half was much the same with five lead changes, five ties and WSU holding a six-point advantage (57-51) with 1:49 remaining.

A jumper by Gavin Toma made it a four-point lead and sophomore forward Michael Lewis extended the margin to six with a lay-up with 1:49 left.  The Warriors would not score for the rest of regulation or the first three minutes of overtime. Meanwhile, Findlay which made 12 triples and nine two-point baskets, had Elijah Kahlig hit back-to-back three pointers in the final 90 seconds to send the game into the extra session.  WSU made just two field goals while UF went 3-of-4 from the field and hit all eight free throws to secure the win.

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 is one wins shy of 200 victories with Wayne State. Greer, who has directed the Warriors to a 199-176 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 four 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 will play three straight at home beginning with Lake Erie on Feb. 12 at 7:30 PM.