Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: After four straight games away from home, Lourdes returns to the friendly confines of the Ebeid Rec Center on Tuesday evening.  The Gray Wolves host Northwestern Ohio looking to bounce back from Saturday's loss at Madonna.

Head Coach Dennis Hopson: In his second season on the Lourdes bench, Dennis Hopson is 33-19 (.635) with the Gray Wolves and as a men's collegiate head coach.  He is only the third head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Lourdes leads the all-time series against Northwestern Ohio 13-10 dating back to Dec. 30, 2010.  The Gray Wolves won both of last season's meetings against the Racers.  Lourdes posted a 75-65 win inside the Ebeid Rec Center on Jan. 16, 2021 before downing UNOH 77-57 in Lima, Ohio one week later.  The Gray Wolves are 4-1 all-time against the Racers inside the Ebeid Rec Center.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes trailed by as many as 15 points on Wednesday at Indiana Tech before a fierce second half rally propelled the Gray Wolves to a 74-65 victory over the Warriors in Fort Wayne, Ind.  Joey Holifield paced Lourdes with 25 points while McRay White added 20 points and 10 rebounds.  On Saturday, Madonna led wire-to-wire, defeating the Gray Wolves 86-78 in Livonia, Mich.  Holifield tallied 20 points while Nick Welch posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Scouting Northwestern Ohio: The Racers snapped a three-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon with a 71-69 victory at home against Lawrence Tech.  Biggz Johnson paces Northwestern Ohio averaging 12.9 points per game while Ben Westrick has added 11.9 points per night.  Westrick is also the Racers leading rebounder, grabbing 5.9 boards per outing.  As a team, UNOH is scoring 63.6 points per game while allowing 73.4 per night.

Perfection (Or Close To It): Joey Holifield has been nearly perfect shooting the basketball this season.  The sophomore is shooting a blistering 76.4% (42-of-55) from the floor while also connecting at a 96.6% (28-of-29) clip from the free throw line.  Holifield made his only three-point attempt as well.  

Scoring Machine: In addition to making nearly every shot he has taken, Joey Holifield has led the Gray Wolves in scoring through the season's first six games.  Holifield is averaging 18.8 points per game after three straight 20+ scoring games.  The Lourdes guard tallied a season-high 25 points at Indiana Tech before pouring in 20 more on Saturday at Madonna.  In the two games combined last week, Holifield was 16-of-18 from the floor.

Double Trouble: McRay White and Nick Welch both had double-doubles for the Gray Wolves last week.  White tallied scored a season-high 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds at Indiana Tech for his second consecutive double-double as well as his second of the year.  Welch poured in 14 points and grabbed 10 boards on Saturday at Madonna for his second double-double of the year as well.  Jackie Harris has the team's fifth double-double of the year, having begun the season with one against East-West.

Running the Offense:  Brett Lauf has been control of the Gray Wolf offense this season.  He scored 10 points and handed out six assists at Indiana Tech before following that effort up with an 11-point, eight-assist outing at Madonna.  For the season Lauf is averaging 7.7 points and a team-leading 5.0 assists per game.

From the Line: Lourdes has been solid from the free throw line this season.  The Gray Wolves have connected at a 78.7% clip from the charity stripe.  Lourdes has made 13 more free throws than its opponents (85-72) while attempting 11 less shots (108-119).

A Model of Consistency: Lourdes has used the starting combination of Joey Holifield, McRay White, Little Anderson, Nick Welch, and Brett Lauf have started every game but one as a unit this season.  Anthony Mills started one contest in place of Anderson as the lone change.

Making Shots: As a team, Lourdes is shooting 51.7% from the floor through the first six games of the year.  Inside the three-point arc, the Gray Wolves are connecting at a sizzling 64.6%.  Three Gray Wolves are shooting 55% or better from the field this season.

Lighting Up the Scoreboard: Lourdes is averaging 94.7 points per game through the first six contests of the season.  The Gray Wolves have produced their top two scoring games in program history this season already, having tallied a school record 116 points against East-West before adding 115 in the win over Wilberforce.  Lourdes has never had more than two 100+ point games in a season prior to this year, scoring more than 100 twice in both 2017-2018 and 2018-2019.  

Team Captains: The Gray Wolves have named tri-captains for the 2021-2022 season.  McRay White, Nick Welch, and Brett Lauf will also serve in the team's leadership roles this year.

Lourdes Tabbed Third in Preseason Poll: The Gray Wolves were selected to finish in third place in the WHAC this season in the preseason poll conducted of the league's head coaches.  Lourdes was picked just ahead of Madonna and just behind Rochester (Mich.) in the league balloting.  Indiana Tech is the favorite to win the WHAC in 2021-2022.

This and That: Lourdes is 162-165 all-time in the program's 12th season ... the Gray Wolves have two NAIA National Championship appearances (2012 and 2013) ... the Gray Wolves are 40-25 all-time inside the Ebeid Rec Center.