Complete PDF Notes

Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Lourdes begins the second half of the season while opening the 2014 calendar year on Saturday afternoon as the Gray Wolves host Marygrove in a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference battle.  Ranked 25th in the nation in the latest NAIA Division II poll, Lourdes is playing its seventh game this season as a ranked team.

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 61-49 (.555) 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 holds a 3-1 all-time advantage against Marygrove dating back to Jan. 3, 2011.  The Gray Wolves swept the season series from the Mustangs last year, winning 61-39 in Highland Park, Mich. and 71-56 in the rematch a Tam-o-Shanter.  Lourdes is 2-0 all-time against Marygrove at Tam-o-Shanter with the Mustangs lone win in the series coming in Highland Park, Mich. on Feb. 14, 2011.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes finished 1-2 at the Saint Xavier Midwest Tournament just before Christmas and has been idle for the last 12 days.  The Gray Wolves fell 79-66 to #21 Saint Ambrose in the opening round on Dec. 21, making just 13-of-25 shots from the free throw line.  Eric Worthey led the way with 24 points and seven rebounds for the Gray Wolves.  Lourdes rebounded with a 68-64 victory on Dec. 22 against Goshen behind 23 points and 18 rebounds from Zach Steinmetz.  In the fifth place game against league foe and #9 Davenport, Lourdes shot just 22.2% from the floor in the first half, falling 58-49.  Elvin Butler led the way with 12 points for the Gray Wolves.

Scouting Marygrove: The Mustangs snapped a season-opening 14-game losing streak on New Year's Eve with a 76-62 victory over British Columbia-Okanagan at the Tom Byron Classic in Santa Barbara, Calif.  Marygrove is facing Central Michigan in an exhibition game on Friday night before traveling to Lourdes on Saturday afternoon.  Darryll Dixon leads the way for Marygrove offensively averaging 17.0 points per game while Diante Taylor adds 16.4 points per night.  JuJuan Armstrong has tallied 13.0 points per game as well for the Mustangs.  As a team Marygrove is shooting 36.7% from the floor but opponents are connecting at a 48.3% clip.

Steinmetz Earns All-Tournament Team Honors: Zach Steinmetz was named to the Saint Xavier Midwest Tournament All-Tournament Team after averaging 15.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game over the three-game event.  He tallied 14 points and six boards in the loss to #21 Saint Ambrose before notching a double-double with 23 points and 18 boards in the win over Goshen.  Steinmetz concluded the weekend with eight points and seven boards against #9 Davenport.

Getting to the Glass: Lourdes is 18th in the nation outrebounding opponents by 6.5 boards per game this season.  Zach Steinmetz ranks 31st in NAIA Division II individually grabbing 8.5 caroms per night, and is 14th on the offensive end with 3.4 rebounds per game.  Steinmetz's 18 rebounds against Goshen in the Saint Xavier Midwest Tournament were the most by a Gray Wolf all season.

A Demanding Schedule: Lourdes is ranked among the top-25 this week, despite playing a demanding schedule.  Four of the five Gray Wolf losses have come to other members of the top-25, as Lourdes has played a total of five ranked foes, or one-third of its schedule, at the midway point of the season.

Worthey Still Shooting Well: Eric Worthey continues to lead Lourdes from the floor, shooting 60.4% on the year.  He is third on the team averaging 12.7 points per contest.  If you take out a four-game stretch from Nov. 26-Dec. 11 where he was just 33.3% (7-of-21), the fifth-year senior would be shooting 67.1% for the season.  

Butler Leading the Scoring: Elvin Butler continues to lead the Gray Wolves in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per contest.  He has tallied double figures in 13 of the team's 15 games this year.

Shooting Woes at the Stripe: Lourdes entered the Saint Xavier Midwest Tournament shooting 69.6% from the free throw line as a team.  The Gray Wolves, however, connected on just 59.0% (49-of-83) of its attempts in the tournament, and dropped to 67.0% for the season.  However, Lourdes has shot 73.7% from the charity stripe in WHAC play.  

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 fourth in the country in scoring defense, giving up just 61.0 points per night while allowing the opposition to shoot just 29.7% from the three-point range, 12th best in the nation.

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: Chris Walker made his collegiate varsity debut against Saint Ambrose ... nine different players have started at least one game for the Gray Wolves ... Eric Worthey became the fourth different player to score 20 or more points in a game this season with his 24-point effort against Saint Ambrose ... Lourdes has won nine straight games at Tam-o-Shanter dating back to last season.