DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball program (4-15 overall, 1-14 GLIAC) hosts Purdue Northwest (8-15 overall, 3-12 GLIAC) on Thursday night and Parkside (10-13 overall, 6-9 GLIAC) on Saturday afternoon.
STORYLINES
Wayne State will look to end its 12-game losing streak and find the win column for the first time in 2020 on Thursday against Purdue Northwest and then on Saturday versus Parkside. Â In addition, the Warriors are attempting to win for the first time at home this season.
THE SERIES
The Warriors have won three of the five games all-time against Purdue Northwest, including both home games in the series. Â The Pride won this season's first matchup (84-73) in Hammond, Ind. on Jan. 18th.
WSU trails 6-11 (4-3 at home) in the all-time series versus Parkside, which began in 1971. Â Wayne State won the first two matchups before the Rangers took the next seven. Â The teams met for the first time as league rivals last season with each side winning its home game, including an overtime setback for the Green & Gold in Kenosha, Wis. Â The Warriors won 71-70 on Feb. 14, 2019, but the Rangers won another overtime contest earlier this season on Jan. 16th. Â Head coach
David Greer is 2-4 (2-0 at home) vs. UWP.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Purdue Northwest (8-15 overall, 3-12 GLIAC) enters this week looking to build upon a 65-62 victory at Northern Michigan on Saturday. Â Head coach Boomer Roberts is in his second season as the top man on the bench. Â Junior forward Jyrus Freels is averaging a team-best 12.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Â Sophomore forward Anthony Barnard leads the team in rebounding (6.8 RPG), while scoring 11.4 points per night. Â Junior forward Jordan Doss is pouring in 10.4 points per night. Â As a team, PNW is averaging 74.5 points per contest and allowing 78.9.
Parkside (10-13 overall, 6-9 GLIAC) has lost six straight after dropping games at Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech last week.  The Rangers continue  a four-game road trip on Thursday at Ashland.  Head coach Luke Reigel is in his 17th season leading the program.  Sophomore guard Brandon Trimble is the team's top scorer at 13.8 points per game, while sophomore forward Brandon Hau is averaging 11.7 points per night.  Hau is one of the more efficient shooters in the league at 53 percent from the floor, including a 42 percent clip from behind the arc.  Sophomore center Joey St. Pierre is collecting 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.  As a team, the Rangers are scoring 66.0 points per game and allowing 67.8.
ABOUT LAST WEEK
Wayne State led 16-7 after seven minutes of action at 15th-ranked Grand Valley State last Thursday. Â A jumper by
Antonio Marshall pulled Wayne State within three at 23-20 with just over six minutes remaining before intermission. Â A three-pointer from Marshall as time expired in the stanza made the halftime score 41-30 in favor of the Lakers. Â Wayne State stayed within six points on a couple of Marshall buckets, then were within one (49-48) following a
Karim Murray layup, and a triple by
LJ DeWolf with 13:13 remaining. Â After a basket by Jake Van Tubbergen, DeWolf drained back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to give the Warriors a 54-51 lead with 11:38 left. Â The teams exchanged leads over the next few minutes, before a
Kylin Grant layup put the Warriors in front 58-57 with 9:20 remaining. Â The Warriors would run out of steam and fall 83-70.
The Warriors led 10-3 early in the first half at Davenport on Saturday and then 32-29 late in the stanza. Â The Panthers ended the half on a 12-0 run to lead 41-32. Â The momentum stayed with DU to begin the second half as they led 50-38 following two points by Robbie Bramhill at the 16:20 mark. Â Wayne State continued to chip away and
Brailen Neely's layup at the 9:48 mark brought WSU within five at 53-48. Â A 12-0 run by the Panthers stretched their lead to 17, 65-48, with 5:49 remaining. Â During that stretch (9:24 to 5:49) WSU went 0-4 from the floor before a jumper by Neely ended the scoring drought. Â Davenport would go on to collect the 81-61 victory. Â Neely notched his ninth game with 20 points or more this season, finishing with a game-high 23 points. Â James Gordon tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year. Â
Karim Murray chipped in with 10 points.
CLOSE GAMES
In 13 of the 19 games this season, Wayne State was leading, tied or trailed by less than four points with under five minutes to play. Â The Warriors are 1-5 in games decided by three points or fewer, including a pair of overtime games. Â The six games that do not meet those standards were Michigan Tech, Purdue Northwest, Saginaw Valley State, Ferris State, Grand Valley State and Davenport.
TORCHING THE NETÂ
On Jan. 11th vs. 18th-ranked Grand Valley State,
Brailen Neely recorded his second 30-plus point effort of the season finishing with 32 points. Â Neely had 33 points in the GLIAC opener at Ferris State in December. Â Last year (2018-19),
Javon Henderson had two 30-point outings (31 at Purdue Northwest and 36 vs. Davenport). Â The last time prior to Henderson, a Warrior had at least two 30+-games in a season was 2006-07 when Kris Krzyminski had four such affairs. Â Krzyminski tallied 34 and 41 points against Gannon, 32 vs. Clarion and 38 against Hillsdale.
ASSIST RECORDS
Brailen Neely's 17 assists at Purdue Northwest on Jan. 18th is the most in program history. Â He surpassed a 15-assist performance from Darrell Evans on Feb. 17, 2005, vs. Ashland. Â Evans also had the second-highest mark of 13 vs. Findlay (2/14/05) along with Grady Wicker against Northwood (2/9/80). Â Neely has 153 helpers this season, which ranks third all-time. Â The season record is 232 by Evans in 2004-05. Â Additionally, Neely is currently averaging 8.1 assists per contest to lead the league. Â That would be the high mark in program history if the season ended today.
GREER BACK FOR 19TH SEASON
Head coach
David Greer is in his 19th season as the top man on the Warriors' bench. Â 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. Â The win at Hillsdale on Nov. 27, 2019, was his 250th at Wayne State. Â The game on Jan. 30th vs. Lake Superior State was his 500th at Wayne State.
NEW BASKETBALL ARENAÂ
In May of 2019, it was announced that WSU Athletics and the Detroit Pistons would be partnering to construct a $25 million basketball arena on the west side of the athletic campus.
The approved plan includes construction of a 70,000 square-foot arena near the intersection of Warren and Trumbull avenues with seating capacity for approximately 3,000 fans, office space and locker room areas for both WSU's men's and women's basketball teams, a concessions area and other ancillary spaces. Â The arena will be ready for play in the 2021-2022 basketball season.
The Pistons G-League team will also call the new facility home.
WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
Every home women's and men's basketball game can be seen live on Warrior All-Access at WSUAthletics.com. Â A 24-hour pass is $5.95, while a monthly re-occurring subscription is $9.95 and a yearly pass is $69.95. Â Every game is archived in the on-demand section. Â All home football, volleyball, basketball, softball and baseball games will be available on the channel.
LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every contest live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM). Â Former Warrior standout Mike Lewis or Marcus Moore will serve as an analyst for home broadcasts during the 2019-20 season. Â Fans can also stream the action online at PatriotDetroit.com.Â
LOCKER ROOM REPORT
Check WSUAthletics.com every week to watch
David Greer's weekly locker room report. Â He will recap the week's previous games and preview upcoming opponents.
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