Men's Basketball | 11/10/2016 9:00:00 AM

DETROIT -- After an exciting exhibition win over Division 1 opponents Detroit Mercy on Oct. 29th, the Wayne State University men's basketball program will officially begin the 2016-17 season in Kentucky this weekend participating in the G-MAC/GLIAC Challenge.  The Warriors will meet Kentucky Wesleyan at 8:15 p.m. on Friday and Alderson Broaddus at 2 p.m. on Saturday. 

THE SERIES
Wayne State has lost all three meetings against Kentucky Wesleyan including each of the last two seasons.  The first meeting came during the 1992 NCAA Regional Championship, where the Panthers won 90-72.

WSU leads the all-time series 2-1 vs. Alderson Broaddus.  The teams met last season during the G-MAC/GLIAC Challenge and the Battlers won that contest 82-75.  The first meeting occurred in 1927 and WSU won a 1995 meeting in Detroit 77-74.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Kentucky Wesleyan is the preseason favorite in the G-MAC after a 27-4 overall record in 2015-16 and looks to repeat as champions in a season that also included the G-MAC's first NCAA Championship Midwest Regional bid.  Preseason DII Bulletin All-American Jordan Jacks was a nightly double-double (13.9 PPG and 8.6 RPG) threat in his first year while senior guard Ken-Jah Bosley averaged 16.6 points per night last season.  Head coach Happy Osborne is in his fourth season leading the KWC squad.

Alderson Broaddus was picked to finish second in the Preseason G-MAC Coaches Poll. Last season, AB finished with an 18-10 overall record before falling in the semifinals of the conference tournament to Trevecca Nazarene.  Head coach Greg Zimmerman is in his 16th season as the top man at ABU.

EXHIBITION RECAP
Wayne State tipped off the 2016-17 season on Oct. 29th with an exhibition contest at Detroit Mercy and shocked the Titans 85-79.

The in-state rivalry will serve as the kickoff of the new "City College Series," a sponsorship formed with Michigan First Credit Union to raise money for DPS with the aid of a basketball game between local academic institutions in the city.  All proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to Detroit Public Schools to provide financial assistance for the district's K-5 classrooms with Michigan First contributing a matching donation for all tickets sold.

Marcus Moore led WSU with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds

Wayne State struck first on a jumper from Clark Bishop but Detroit responded, leading 8-4 at the first media timeout at the 15:54 mark. Ronald Booth connected from behind the arc at the 12:24 mark to give WSU a 15-12 lead.  Following a Bishop triple and a Marcus Moore fast break bucket, WSU trailed 21-20 with just over eight minutes to play before halftime. Bishop made a contested lay-up to give WSU a 26-24 advantage.  

Nick Mutebi grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back giving WSU a 31-30 lead at the 3:43 mark.  A George Spencer steal led to an easy fast break lay-up by Moore, giving WSU a 37-32 advantage with just under two minutes to play in the half.  With time expiring, Bishop connected from 30 feet to end the half on a high note.  At halftime, WSU led 40-36.

The strong play continued into the second half as WSU took a 51-42 lead at the 16-minute mark on a three-pointer from Moore.  An 8-4 run from the Titans cut WSU's lead to 55-50 and forced head coach David Greer to take a timeout to slow the rally with 13 minutes left on the clock.  At the 10:25 media timeout, WSU held onto a 57-55 lead.  The game was tied at 59-59 at the 8:25 mark for the first time since the four-minute mark of the first half.  After two free throws from Bishop at the 7:14 mark, the Green & Gold created some breathing room at 63-59.

Moore connected on two of the three free throws at the 5:34 mark after being fouled on a three-point attempt to give Wayne State a 67-63 lead.  Two second-chance points from Spencer gave WSU a 71-65 advantage with 4:19 left in regulation.  Spencer continued to power Wayne State, connecting on a triple and jumped the passing lane for a break away dunk to extend the visitors lead to 76-70.  Michael Lewis put a charge into the section of the crowd wearing WSU gear with four straight points to keep the Warriors ahead 80-72.  UDM made it interesting down the stretch trimming its deficit to 83-79 after a five-point possession with 24 seconds left to play.  Moore converted two of four free throws with under 20 seconds to play to seal the 85-79 victory.

FOUR WINS AWAY
David Greer is four wins away from matching Ron Hammye's program record of 212 victories, which he collected in his 13 seasons (1988-01).

IN THE POLLS
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced its men's basketball preseason poll on Oct. 26th and the Wayne State University men's basketball team was predicted to finish in a tie for sixth place in the GLIAC North Division with 15 points.  Saginaw Valley State was tabbed as the top team in the North Division, while Findlay was named the preseason favorite in the South Division.

AN EXPERIENCED GROUP
WSU returns 10 letterwinners and its top eight scorers from last season.  The group of 10 has played a combined 420 games and 9,095 minutes.

OUTLOOK
The Warriors compiled a 7-18 overall record along with a 7-15 mark in the GLIAC.  Head coach David Greer enters his 16th season as the top man on the Wayne State bench and carries a 208-199 record in his time with the Green & Gold.  On the top of his to-do list is return WSU to the GLIAC Tournament for the first time since 2013. Coach Greer led the Warriors to a GLIAC Tournament title in 2011 and a share of the regular- season title in 2012-13.

Headlining that group of experienced players returning is junior Ronald Booth, graduate student Michael Lewis, junior Marcus Moore and senior Clark Bishop.  Booth led the Warriors in scoring last season at 15.5 points per game, while Lewis averaged 11.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.  Moore chipped in 7.8 points and was the team's best passer at 3.3 assists per contest.  Bishop also tallied 7.8 points per night for a squad that played the ninth toughest schedule in Division II.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Every men's basketball home game beginning in 2017 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN 900.  Sean Baligian, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will call the action. 

LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every contest live on the radio on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 92.7 FM).  Fans can also stream the action online WDTKAM.com.