Complete PDF Notes

Lourdes (4-5, 0-3 WHAC)

Game #10: Wednesday, November 29, 7:30 p.m. EST

at Madonna (6-3, 2-1 WHAC)

The Activities Center - Livonia, Mich.

Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Lourdes returns to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play on Wednesday evening, as the Gray Wolves travel to Madonna for their lone contest this week.  Lourdes is looking to end a four-game losing skid overall.

Head Coach Josh Gibson: In his second season on the Lourdes bench Josh Gibson has an 11-27 (.289) record.  Overall as a men's collegiate head coach, Gibson has a 72-85 (.459) record in his sixth season.  He is only the second head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Lourdes and Madonna have split 16 previous meetings 8-8 dating back to Nov. 6, 2010.  Last season the two schools split a pair of contests, with the Crusaders winning 79-78 in overtime on the Gray Wolves' home floor.  Lourdes returned the results in Livonia, Mich. with a 67-62 win to snap a three-game Madonna winning streak in the series.  The Gray Wolves hold a 5-3 all-time edge in games played inside The Activities Center in Livonia.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes took a two-point lead into halftime on Wednesday against Concordia (Mich.) before shooting just 17.6% from the floor over the final 20 minutes, and dropped an 81-61 decision at home to the Cardinals.  Clif Snow led Lourdes with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Kadeim Jones added 17 points.  On Saturday, the Gray Wolves tied the game at the end of regulation and after the first overtime period, but Indiana-South Bend scored the first 11 points of double overtime to defeat Lourdes 76-69 in South Bend, Ind.  Malik Thurman paced the Gray Wolves with 17 points and eight boards while Snow added 14 points in the loss.

Scouting Madonna: The Crusaders have won back-to-back games after defeating Northwestern Ohio 78-76 on the road on Nov. 21, and enter the game against Lourdes after being idle for eight days.  Chris Dierker leads five Madonna players averaging in double figures, tallying 13.1 points per game.  Davon Taylor adds 13.0 points per night, and shares the team rebounding lead with Dierker at 6.8 boards per contest.  Joshua Reynolds (12.2 ppg), Jonathan Swift (11.6 ppg), and Stephan Umfress (11.3 ppg) are all scoring in double figures as well for the Crusaders, who are tallying 92.6 points per night as a team.

A Break in the Action: Lourdes has a rare Saturday bye this week in the middle of Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference action.  The Gray Wolves had been slated to host Marygrove this Saturday, but the Mustangs have closed their athletic department following the conclusion of the fall sports season, thus reducing the number of teams in the WHAC from 12 to 11 and providing a pair of byes for each member of the conference.  The Gray Wolves will also have a bye in the schedule on Jan. 20 when they were slated to travel to Marygrove.

Doubling Up the Effort: Clif Snow registered his first collegiate double-double last Wednesday against Concordia (Mich.), scoring a team-high 18 points while grabbing 10 rebounds as well.  The freshman became the first Gray Wolf to register a double-double on the year.  The last double-double by a Lourdes player prior to Snow was Anthony Swanigan, who scored 17 points and grabbed 13 boards on Dec. 20, 2016 at Rochester (Mich.).

Bonus Basketball: Saturday's double-overtime contest at Indiana-South Bend was the first multiple overtime game in program history.  The Gray Wolves had previous played eight overtime games since the program began in the 2010-2011 season, with each one ending after five extra minutes of basketball.  All-time Lourdes is 2-7 in games pushed beyond the 40 minutes of regulation.

Solid Free Throw Shooting: After struggling from the free throw line throughout the 2016-2017 season, and connecting at just a 65.0% clip through the first six games, Lourdes has turned things around at the free throw line.  The Gray Wolves are shooting 79.1% (38-for-48) over the last three games dating back to the contest at Michigan-Dearborn on Nov. 18.  The effort has increased the team's season average to 68.2% for the year.

70 (Or is it 60) is the Magic Number: Lourdes is 4-0 this season when scoring 70 points or more this season.  However, the Gray Wolves have yet to win a game this year when failing to reach the 60-point mark in a game.

Getting Defensive: Lourdes is allowing just 68.4 points per game on the season.  Through Nov. 24, the Gray Wolves' ranked 14th among all NAIA Division II schools allowing 69.0 points per game.  In addition, the Gray Wolves were 50th nationally in that same time frame, limiting the opposition to just 43.2% shooting from the floor, a mark that has dropped to 42.2% following the Indiana-South Bend game.

Lourdes Tabbed 10th in Preseason Poll: The Gray Wolves were selected to finish in 10th place in the WHAC this season in the preseason poll conducted of the league's head coaches.  Lourdes was picked just ahead of Lawrence Tech  and just behind Concordia (Mich.) in the league balloting.  Cornerstone was the unanimous pick to win the WHAC in 2017-2018, and is the preseason #1 team in the nation in NAIA Division II.

This and That: Clif Snow ranks among the top-40 in NAIA Division II shooting 87.2% from the free throw line ... Malik Thurman is shooting 55.2% from the floor, including 50.0% from three-point range ... Lourdes has made 51 more free throws that its opponents have shot ... the opposition is shooting just 57.4% from the free throw line against Lourdes.