Complete PDF Notes

Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: After earning its first national ranking in program history last week, Lourdes looks to continue its stretch of solid basketball this week with a pair of games.  The Gray Wolves will host Point Park on Wednesday evening at Adrian College in non-conference action before returning to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play on Saturday, traveling to Indiana Tech.

Head Coach Andre Smith: In his third season both on the Lourdes bench and overall as a men's collegiate head coach, Andre Smith has a 59-46 (.562) record.  He is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.  Smith was the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2012-2013.

Series Notes: Lourdes is 2-0 all-time against Point Park dating back to Nov. 11, 2011.  The Gray Wolves defeated the Pioneers earlier this season 65-54 in West Mifflin, Pa. as both Eric Worthey and Elvin Butler scored 13 points for Lourdes.  Nick Brown led Point Park with 21 points.  The two schools met for the first time at the Maple City Classic hosted by Siena Heights in the 2011-2012 season with Lourdes posting a 73-71 victory over the Pioneers in the opening round of the tournament.  Lourdes is 4-2 all-time against Indiana Tech dating back to Oct. 30, 2010.  The Gray Wolves swept last year's series with a 57-51 win at Adrian College in December before downing the Warriors 59-45 in Fort Wayne in February.  Lourdes is 3-0 all-time against Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Ron Dukes scored on a lay-in with 4.1 seconds remaining on Wednesday evening to lift Lourdes to a 57-55 victory over Aquinas in Grand Rapids, Mich.  Jake DuPree scored 13 points while Zach Steinmetz added 12 points in the victory.  On Saturday afternoon at Tam-o-Shanter the Gray Wolves led from start to finish on the way to a 66-56 victory over Concordia (Mich.).  Elvin Butler tallied 18 points while Steinmetz and Eric Worthey each added 12 points in the victory.

Scouting Point Park: The Pioneers are coming off of a 106-84 victory over Alice Lloyd on Saturday afternoon, their first game in two weeks.  Point Park ranks 16th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 89.9 points per game, with five players averaging in double figures.  Gabe McNeal, who is 12th in NAIA Division II averaging 23.6 points per game, leads the way while Nick Brown adds 20.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest.  Matt Noszka (15.9 ppg), Robbie Heatherington (12.2 ppg), and Alan Heter (11.3 ppg) are also scoring in double figures for the Pioneers.

Scouting Indiana Tech: The Warriors will host Lourdes on Saturday afternoon riding a five-game winning streak following a 70-65 victory at home against Siena Heights last Saturday afternoon.  Rontray Chavis leads Indiana Tech averaging 16.2 points per game while grabbing 9.6 rebounds per contest.  Nick Lewis adds 12.3 points per night for the Warriors.  As a team Indiana Tech is allowing just 62.5 points per game, a mark that ranks eighth in NAIA Division II.

A First Place Showdown: When Lourdes and Indiana Tech meet one another on the hardwood Saturday, first place in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference will be on the line.  Both teams enter the week 5-1 in league play, and are also tied with Cornerstone and Madonna for the WHAC's top sport.

Best Start in Program History: Lourdes 8-2 start is the best 10-game start in program history.  Last year the Gray Wolves started the year out 6-4 before defeating #20 Indiana Tech in game number 11 to improve to 7-4.  The fastest Lourdes has won eight games in a season was game number 13 of the 2012-2013 season.  

Ranked For the First Time: Lourdes was ranked 18th in the nation in last week's NAIA Division II Coaches poll, the first time ever the Gray Wolves have been in the top-25.  Lourdes received votes in the poll at the end of each of the last two seasons, but never enough to become ranked.

Home Away From Home: Lourdes will host Point Park at Adrian College due to Winter Wonderland invading Tam-o-Shanter.  The Gray Wolves are 1-0 all-time in home games at Adrian, collecting a 57-51 win over #20 Indiana Tech last December.

Defense Picks Up Where it Left Off: Lourdes played the stingiest defense of any NAIA Division II team during the 2012-2013 season, allowing just 51.3 points per contest while also leading the nation allowing the opposition to shoot just 36.8% from the floor.  Already this season the Gray Wolves rank third in the country in scoring defense, giving up just 56.1 points per night while allowing the opposition to shoot just 40.3% from the field, 12th best in the nation.

Lourdes Tabbed Fourth in Preseason Poll: The Gray Wolves were selected to finish in fourth place in the WHAC this season in the preseason poll conducted of the league's head coaches.  Lourdes was picked just ahead of Northwestern Ohio, and just behind Cornerstone.  Davenport was tabbed as the conference's preseason favorite for 2013-2014 after winning the conference title two straight seasons.

Captains Named: Lourdes has two captains on the roster this season.  Serving in the leadership role for 2013-2014 are Elvin Butler and Jake DuPree, both first time captains.

This and That: Lourdes was a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line in the second half against Concordia (Mich.) ... Jerome Talton is shooting 87.0% from the stripe on the year ... Elvin Butler ranks 16th in the country shooting 48.8% from three-point range.