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Men's Basketball 2/8/2021 3:55:00 PM Cameron Weidenthaler, Assistant Media Relations Director

Men's Basketball to Play at GVSU on Tuesday

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (6-3 GLIAC) will look for its fourth straight win at Grand Valley State (5-4 GLIAC) as the rivals meet on Tuesday (4:00 PM) in a make-up game from Jan. 30-31.

STORYLINES
The Warriors have won three straight games and have the best winning percentage in the South Division plus the second best winning percentage overall. However, the schedule toughens as the Green & Gold prepare for four consecutive road games, including a make-up game at Grand Valley State on Tuesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 PM.

THE SERIES
Wayne State trails 35-51 in the all-time series against Grand Valley State, including a 13-27 mark on the road. Head coach David Greer is 14-15 vs. the Lakers (6-9 on the road) in his time with the program. WSU dropped both meetings last season. Prior to that, the Warriors had won four of five. The last Wayne State road win in the series came on Feb. 8, 2018, in Grand Rapids. WSU's last win in Allendale was on Feb. 1, 2014, in overtime (69-64).

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Entering this week, GVSU is 5-4 after splitting the weekend series at Ferris State. The Lakers lost by three (68-65) on Friday before winning 70-51 on Saturday.

Head coach Ric Wesley is in his 17th season at the helm. Senior forward Christian Negron is the team's top scorer at 13.3 points per game and rebounder with 9.7 boards per night. He is also shooting over 58 percent from the floor. Senior guard Jordan Harris is averaging 12.8 points per contest, while senior forward Jake Van Tubbergen is averaging 11.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Redshirt senior guard Deleon Brown (10.9 PPG) and senior guard Isaac Gassman (10.6 PPG) are also averaging in double figures. As a team, GVSU is scoring 66.8 points per night and allowing 61.4 points per game. The Lakers are shooting .458 from the floor, .331 from behind the arc and .774 at the free throw line.

LAST WEEK RECAP
WSU swept Purdue Northwest out of the Matthaei powered by strong first halves in both contests. The Warriors won 72-56 on Friday and held off an impressive late charge by the Pride on Saturday to win 92-89.

Darian Owens-White posted a game-high 19 points on Friday, while Avery Lewis collected his second collegiate double-double with 15 points and 11 boards.

On Saturday, Owens-White paced five starters scoring in double-digits with 27 points to go with a career-high 11 rebounds to post his first double-double of the season. Antonio Marshall and Brailen Neely both scored 15 points, while Neely dished out seven assists. Lewis tallied 14 points, while Ray Williams, Jr. chipped in with 13 points.

CLEANING THE GLASS
The Warriors have excelled rebounding the basketball so far this season. WSU ranks second in the league in rebounding margin per game (+3.2), winning the rebounding battle in six of the nine games. In addition, Wayne State ranks second in the GLIAC in total rebounds per game at 37.7.

SUCCESS AT THE LINE
The Warriors went 25-of-26 (.962) against Davenport on January 16th from the charity stripe. That percentage is the second-best single-game performance at the free throw line with at least 15 made over the last 20 seasons. WSU finished 20-of-22 (.909) at the line on Saturday vs. Purdue Northwest.

In addition, Darian Owens-White has made 36 straight free throws and is shooting .942 at the free throw line, which ranks second in the conference.

SPREADING IT AROUND
In the win over Davenport on January 16th, all five starters scored in double figures. It was the first time that has happened since December 7, 2019. The Warriors accomplished the feat again on Saturday against the Pride.

GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK X2
Junior Darian Owens-White was named GLIAC South Division Player of the Week on January 19th.

It is the first weekly honor of his career and the first for a WSU men's basketball player since Brailen Neely earned the award on Feb. 17th last season.

In just his third and fourth games back after a 22-month hiatus due to an injury, redshirt junior Darian Owens-White found his scoring touch.

Owens-White tallied 55 points in the two home court victories over Davenport. For the week, he was 15-of-32 (47 percent) from the floor, including 9-of-14 (64 percent) from beyond the arc. Owens-White was a stellar 16-of-17 (94 percent) from the charity stripe, while adding nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Owens-White was selected GLIAC South Division Player of the Week on Feb. 8th after helping the Warriors to a home sweep of Purdue Northwest.

In the sweep of the Pride, Owens-White totaled 46 points on 15-of-38 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three-point range. He was 12-of-12 from the charity stripe, while contributing 14 rebounds, four assists and four steals.

MATTHAEI MOMENTUM
Wayne State is 5-0 this season inside the Matthaei, which is double the amount of home court wins from last season. Below are home records for the last six campaigns, prior to this year:

2019-20: 2-9
2018-19: 6-7
2017-18: 10-5
2016-17: 9-3
2015-16: 4-9
2014-15: 4-8

BENCH SCORING
It was a welcome sight to see WSU's bench carrying the weight in the season-opening win with 28 points, which is 10 more than the Warriors received in any game last year from non-starters. The Green & Gold followed that with 17 points off the bench during the January 16th contest vs. the Panthers.

On average, the Warriors are getting 12.7 points per game from their bench this season compared to 5.5 points per contest during the 2019-20 season.

GREER BACK FOR 20TH SEASON
Head coach David Greer is in his 20th season as the top man on the Warriors' bench. Greer is the all-time leader in both wins and seasons.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
Every home game can be viewed live on Warrior All-Access for free this season. Simply log on to WSUAthletics.com and click the video camera icon at the bottom of the home page to see the streaming schedule or watch past games. In addition, that video camera icon can be found on the schedule page next to each game.

LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every contest live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM). Fans can also stream the action online at PatriotDetroit.com.

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Players Mentioned

#33 Avery Lewis: F; 6' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore

#1 Antonio Marshall: G; 6' 4"; Junior

#11 Brailen Neely: G; 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior

#14 Darian Owens-White: G; 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior

#23 Ray Williams, Jr.: G/F; 6' 4"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#33 Avery Lewis
: 6' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore
: F

#1 Antonio Marshall
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

#11 Brailen Neely
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#14 Darian Owens-White
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#23 Ray Williams, Jr.
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: G/F