Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: With huge WHAC tournament implications on the line, Lourdes begins its final trip of the regular season this week, playing the first two of three straight contests away from home.  The Gray Wolves will head to Marygrove on Wednesday evening before visiting Madonna for a Saturday afternoon contest.  

Head Coach Andre Smith: In his sixth season both on the Lourdes bench and overall as a men's collegiate head coach, Andre Smith has a 93-89 (.511) 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 6-3 all-time advantage against Marygrove in a series that dates back to Jan. 3, 2011.  The Mustangs won the first meeting this season, 82-79, at Tam-o-Shanter on Jan. 13.  The series is tied 2-2 in games played in Detroit, Mich.  Lourdes is 7-6 all-time against Madonna in a series that dates back to Nov. 6, 2010.  The Crusaders won the first meeting this year 78-73 at Tam-o-Shanter on Jan. 2.  Lourdes leads the series 4-2 in games played in Livonia, Mich.

Earlier This Season: Lourdes trailed by 19 early in the second half on Jan. 13, rallied to take a lead late, but could not hang on, and fell 82-79 to Marygrove at Tam-o-Shanter.  E.J. Blackwell scored 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Lourdes while Zach Steinmetz also registered a double-double with 10 points and 14 boards.  Diante Taylor led Marygrove with 25 points while Isaac Gillum added 24 points.  On Jan. 2, Lourdes fell behind by 18 points to Madonna, only to close to within five for a final margin, falling to the Crusaders 78-73 at Tam-o-Shanter.  Steinmetz led five Gray Wolves in double figures with 19 points while Tyler Stewart paced Madonna with 17 points.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes shot 63.6% from the floor on Wednesday evening and defeated Concordia (Mich.) 70-51.  Zach Steinmetz led the Gray Wolves with 24 points while Julian Johnson added 19 points and E.J. Blackwell chipped in 18 points.  On Saturday, Lourdes battled from 16 points down against top-ranked Davenport, but could not complete the comeback, falling 74-67 at Tam-o-Shanter.  Blackwell led Lourdes with 22 points while Johnson added 17.

Scouting Marygrove: The Mustangs have dropped two straight games after falling 107-67 to Madonna on Saturday.  Nate Taylor leads Marygrove scoring 23.2 points per game while Diante Taylor adds 12.6 points per night.  Isaac Gillum and Elijah Ingram are scoring 10.8 and 10.5 points per game respectively.  Sirafino Davis ranks seventh nationally blocking 2.32 shots per contest.

Scouting Madonna: The Crusaders have won three straight games following a 107-67 triumph over Marygrove on Saturday.  Madonna will head to Michigan-Dearborn on Wednesday before hosting Lourdes.  Khalil Malone leads the Crusaders averaging 13.9 points per contest while Chris Dierker adds 12.7 points per game.  Dierker also leads the team grabbing 8.0 rebounds per night.  As a team, Madonna ranks 17th nationally holding teams to just 31.9% shooting from three-point range.  

Down the Stretch in the WHAC: Lourdes enters the week tied for 10th place in the WHAC standings with four games to play.  However, the Gray Wolves are only one games behind Siena Heights and Northwestern Ohio for the eighth and final tournament qualifying position for the postseason WHAC tournament.  The Gray Wolves play three of the four teams that are in the logjam for eighth through 12th place over the final four games, heading to Marygrove and Northwestern Ohio before hosting Siena Heights in the season finale.

Quite the Shooting Night: Lourdes shot a season's best 63.6% last Wednesday evening in the victory over Concordia (Mich.).  The Gray Wolves had shot 63.5% in the season opening win at Saint Xavier, the only other time this season the team has finished over 59% for the night.  In fact, Lourdes has shot better than 50% in a game just four times in 25 contests.

All or Nothing at the Free Throw Line: Lourdes has shot better than 77% from the free throw line in six of its last eight games.  However, in the two other games, the Gray Wolves shot 54% from the charity stripe or lower.

Limiting Scoring Yet Again: The Gray Wolves enter the week ranked seventh in NAIA Division II allowing 65.9 points per game this season after finishing in the top-five nationally in scoring defense each of the last four seasons.

More National Rankings: Lourdes has improved to 73.0% from the free throw line this season, and now ranks 28th in all of NAIA Division II.  In addition, the Gray Wolves are holding teams to 42.7% shooting from the floor, a mark that is 40th nationally.  Offensively, Lourdes is shooting 35.9% from three-point range, the 48th best percentage in the country.

Individually Among the National Leaders: Zach Steinmetz ranks 39th in the country averaging 8.2 rebounds per contest.  Julian Johnson ranks 44th in the country handing out 4.17 assists per night and is 47th in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.38 while E.J. Blackwell.

This and That: The win against Concordia (Mich.) snapped Lourdes' seven-game losing skid, the longest in program history ... Zach Steinmetz surpassed 1,300 points in his career last week, entering this week with 1,323 ... Steinmetz needs five rebounds for 800 career boards ... E.J. Blackwell is 56 points shy of 900 over his two seasons at Lourdes ... Julian Johnson has handed out 100 assists this year.