STORYLINES
Wayne State begins league play with a pair of tough road games against GLIAC North Division opponents.  WSU visits 23rd-ranked Ferris State on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before heading up to Lake Superior State for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off on Saturday.  The Warriors are looking to extend their winning streak to four after dropping the season-opening game to Ohio Dominican in double overtime.  WSU did not win four consecutive games last season, and a four-game winning streak would match the longest since the second half of the 2017-18 campaign.  In addition, the three road wins surpasses the total from last season (2) and is one shy of the 2017-18 road win total (4).
 

THE SERIES
Wayne State trails 40-47 (15-28 on the road) in the all-time series against Ferris State.  A 90-89 win to start league play last year for the Warriors, snapped a six-game series winning streak for the Bulldogs. Head coach David Greer is 13-14 (4-10) against FSU in his time with WSU. 
 

The Green & Gold leads 45-29 (18-18 on the road) in the all-time series vs. Lake Superior State.  The Lakers have won three of the last four meetings with Wayne State last winning on Jan. 6, 2018, in Detroit.  The Warriors have not won in Sault Ste. Marie since 2012.  Coach Greer is 13-13 (4-8 on the road) against LSSU.
 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
No. 23-Ferris State enters this week at 10-1 overall.  The only loss was at home to Lewis (79-77).  Head coach Andy Bronkema is in his sixth season with the program. 
 

Junior guard Walt Kelser is the team's leading scorer at 17.0 points per game, while junior forward Dorian Aluyi is grabbing a team-high 7.7 rebounds per contest.  Senior guard D'Angelo Hughes is dishing out 4.5 assists per night.  Senior center Cole Walker is making over 45 percent of his three-point attempts, while scoring 11.9 points per game.  Aluyi is pouring in 11.3 points per matchup, while sophomore forward Mason Pline is scoring 10.8 points per contest.  As a team, Ferris State is averaging 89.5 points per night and allowing 74.5 points per game.
 

Lake Superior State starts GLIAC action at home against Ashland on Thursday night at 3-3 overall.  Head coach Steve Hettinga is in his 13th season with the Lakers.
 

Senior forward Ke'Montrece Collins is scoring a team-best 15.2 points per game, while leading the roster in rebounding at 6.5 boards per night.  Sophomore guard C.J. Robinson is averaging 10.3 points per contest.  Sophomore guard Justin Fischer is the team's top passer at 3.7 assists per game.  As a team, the Lakers are scoring 77.3 points per contest and allowing 79.8 points per matchup.
 

LAST TIME OUT
The Warriors won 65-60 at Hillsdale on Nov. 27th behind 20 points from Karim Murray and double-double from Nate Talbot.  A late first-half triple from James Gordon IV gave WSU a 32-27 advantage at intermission.  The Chargers erased a seven-point lead in a hurry, tying the game at 45-45 with 11:57 left in the second half.  Baskets from Talbot and Murray gave the Green & Gold a 49-45 lead at the 10-minute mark. 
 

Davis Larson cut WSU's lead to one, 57-56, with a layup at the 3:53 mark.  An offensive rebound by Kylin Grant led to a jumper by Gordon to give the Warriors a 59-56 advantage at the 1:24 mark.  Following a Hillsdale timeout, a contested jumper by Dylan Lowry cut WSU's deficit to 59-58.  Neely made both ends of a one-and-one to return the margin to three, 61-58, with 50 seconds to play.
 

The WSU defense stood tall on the ensuing possession and a HC foul produced two successful free throw attempts by Murray, which pushed the margin to 63-58 at the 28-second mark.  A triple from Connor Hill trimmed the home deficit to 63-60 with 18 seconds left to play.  Another one-and-one at the charity stripe by Brailen Neely gave the Warriors a 65-60 lead.  That would be the final score as two missed free throws by WSU.
 

INSTANT OFFENSE
Senior guard Brailen Neely has provided an instant offensive threat for the Warriors.  The Oakland transfer played 48 minutes in the season opener and scored 23 points before totaling 26 points at Lake Erie.  He has made at least three triples in three of the four games this season, including four on two occasions.
 

Neely has also provided a spark all over the court with eight steals to go with 20 rebounds and 21 assists.
 

DOUBLE-OVERTIME THRILLER
Wayne State and Ohio Dominican started the season in style on Nov. 8th.  The Warriors fell 87-86 in double overtime.  It was the first overtime game to begin a season for WSU since the 2001-02 season when the Warriors lost to Northwood in one overtime.
 

GREER BACK FOR 19TH SEASON
Head coach David Greer is in his 19th season as the top man on the Warriors' bench.  He equaled the school record for years as head men's basketball coach last season, joining Newman Ertell (1929-48) and Joel Mason (1948-66) at 18 years on the WSU bench. 
 

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Karim Murray notched his sixth career double-double at Lewis on Nov. 16th with 20 points and 10 rebounds.  He had four last season, including a 23-point and 13-rebound performance vs. Ferris State on Nov. 29, 2018.
 

Nate Talbot posted WSU's second double-double at Hillsdale last week with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

FRESH FACES
The Warriors added seven newcomers during the offseason, including four transfers who hope to push the Green & Gold back into the postseason.  Three of those transfers are joining the squad from DI programs, including James Gordon IV (Toledo), Brailen Neely (Oakland) and Naji Ozeir (Michigan).  The other transfer is Avery Lewis, brother of former Warrior Michael Lewis, who will sit out this season due to GLIAC transfer rules.
 

The incoming freshmen include Kylin Grant (Detroit Renaissance), Nate Talbot (Lake Orion) and Cadin Augustine (Ypsilanti).
 

The newcomers have announced their presence early in the season as Gordon has totaled 59 points and 30 rebounds in four games, while Talbot has 28 points, 21 rebounds in 100 minutes played, Grant has 12 points, 27 boards in 94 minutes and Augustine has posted seven points, 15 rebounds in 74 minutes played.
 

LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every contest live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM).  Former Warrior standout Mike Lewis will serve as an analyst for home broadcasts during the 2019-20 season.  Fans can also stream the action online at PatriotDetroit.com.