Wayne State University Athletics

Men's Basketball 12/28/2022 11:36:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Men's Hoops Entertains Ashland on Friday To Conclude Non-Conference Slate

WSU will play its final non-GLIAC contest before resuming league play in January.

STORYLINES
Wayne State, which went 2-1 the last week of competition before exams, will play its final non-conference regular-season contest on Dec. 30th, as former GLIAC rival Ashland visits the Wayne State Fieldhouse for a 3 p.m. tip-off.

WSU enters the AU match-up at 4-5 overall, while the Eagles have won four straight, all in GMAC league play, to improve to 6-4 overall.

THE SERIES
Wayne State leads 34-30 in the all-time series, but Ashland has won five of the last eight meetings, including four of the last six contests in Detroit.

The series began more than 100 years ago with the two schools meeting in January (24-13 CCD win at Ashland) and February (33-28 CCD win at home) of 1922. The institutions did not meet again until February of 1974, then squared off as GLIAC rivals from the 1996-97 season through the 2020-21 campaign.

AU posted a 76-61 win in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament in Evansville, Ind., then notched a 59-50 victory in Ashland in November 2021.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Four players are averaging in double figures led by Brandon Haraway (15.4 PPG), who also leads the squad in free throws made (33). Victor Searls (14.0 PPG) leads AU in rebounding (7.1 RPG) and blocks (10), while Maceo Williams (10.8 PPG) is second in rebounding (6.2 RPG).

Simon Wheeler (10.0 PPG) has team-high totals of 41 assists and 17 steals, while James Manns has drained a squad-best 20 triples.

John Ellenwood is in his 14th season at Ashland and has an overall record of 227-145 with the Eagles.

LAST WEEK (Dec. 9-11)
In the 74-55 win over Purdue Northwest on Dec. 9th, Wayne State led 37-32 at halftime.

Five Wayne State players scored in double figures with Antonio Marshall recording a game-high 16 points. Carmelo Harris added 15 points, while Avery Lewis notched his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and a game-best 10 rebounds. Ray Williams, Jr. contributed 12 points with Kaimen Lennox chipping in with 10 points.

The Warriors concluded their pre-exam slate with a 66-52 setback to visiting Wisconsin-Parkside.

The Rangers scored on two of their first three possessions for a 4-0 lead, and after a jumper by Williams, Jr., UWP's Colin O'Rourke connected twice in 70 seconds from beyond the arc giving the guests a 10-2 advantage. The margin was 14 (16-2) following a triple by Parkside's Sanmi Fajana.

Two free throws by Lennox ended the scoreless drought of 5:30 by the Warriors. WSU's deficit remained between 11 and 14 points until a 7-0 run by the Rangers extended the difference to 20 (34-14) with 3:15 left before intermission. Parkside led 38-21 at the break after shooting 57 percent (13-of-23) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, including 5-of-8 from three-point range.

UWP had its largest lead of the game at 52-28 (24 points) with 15:08 left in the contest after out-scoring Wayne State 14-7 to start the second half.

A Marshall three-pointer after an offensive rebound by Williams, Jr. cut the margin to 10 (60-50) with 3:50 left. Six consecutive points by Parkside sealed the win.

Marshall was the lone Wayne State player in double figures with 15 points. Kylin Grant grabbed a team-best six boards, including four offensive rebounds. Harris chipped in with nine points, five rebounds and a game-high four assists.

WARRIOR UPDATE
Freshman Carmelo Harris leads a quartet of Warriors averaging in double figures after nine games. Harris (14.8 PPG), Antonio Marshall (13.9 PPG), Avery Lewis (11.6 PPG) and Ray Williams, Jr. (10.1 PPG) pace the WSU offense.

Marshall has made 20 triples, while Harris is just behind with 18 three-pointers as the duo has accounted for 38 of WSU's 62 made shots from beyond the arc.

Three individuals are averaging at least four boards per contest with Lewis grabbing a team-high 59 rebounds (6.6 RPG). Williams, Jr. (5.4 RPG) and Marshall (4.4 RPG) are the other two crashing the boards.

Marshall and Lennox have combined for 47 of Wayne State's 102 assists on the season, with Marshall leading the squad with 14 steals.

INTRODUCING COACH SMOTHERS
Wayne State officially began a new era in the men's basketball program last month as 2020 Hall of Fame inductee Bryan Smothers became just the second former WSU student-athlete to lead the program (joining Newman Ertell who lettered from 1921-25, then became head coach in 1929 for the College of the City of Detroit).

Smothers is the 11th head coach (including interim) since Detroit Junior College began playing basketball in January of 1918.

The 2022-23 campaign is the 105th season of Wayne State basketball (no games were played in 1943-44 due to World War II).

LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every Wayne State contest live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM). Fans can also stream the action online at PatriotDetroit.com. Former Warrior Andy Dold will serve as the analyst for the Dec. 30th game.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
Every regular season home game will be streamed via Warrior All-Access at WSUAthletics.com.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Kylin Grant: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#11 Carmelo Harris: G; 5' 11"; Freshman

#22 Kaimen Lennox: G; 6' 2"; Junior

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

#1 Antonio Marshall: G; 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior

#23 Ray Williams, Jr.: G/F; 6' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#5 Kylin Grant
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#11 Carmelo Harris
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: G

#22 Kaimen Lennox
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G

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

#1 Antonio Marshall
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#23 Ray Williams, Jr.
: 6' 5"; Junior
: G/F