Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Lourdes takes to the road this week for the first time this season as the Gray Wolves embark upon their longest road trip of the season, four games.  Lourdes heads to Aquinas on Wednesday evening to open Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play before traveling to Wilberforce on Saturday for non-league action.

Head Coach Dennis Hopson: In his second season on the Lourdes bench, Dennis Hopson is 31-17 (.646) 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 holds a 10-9 series advantage against Aquinas dating back to Nov. 30, 2011.  The Gray Wolves dropped their lone meeting with the Saints last season on Feb. 13, 2021, falling 75-59 in Grand Rapids, Mich.  Aquinas holds a 6-4 series edge in games played on the Saints' home floor.  Lourdes and Wilberforce will be meeting on the hardwood for the first time ever in men's basketball on Saturday.

Wrapping Up Last Week: The Gray Wolves remained undefeated with a 98-50 victory over Miami-Hamilton on Saturday as part of Homecoming weekend.  Jackie Harris came off the bench to score 21 points while McRay White added 18 more.  Nick Welch pulled down a team-leading 12 rebounds.

Scouting Aquinas: The Saints are coming off a 97-76 victory on the road at Penn State-Greater Allegheny on Friday evening (Nov. 5).  Sammie Ryans leads Aquinas averaging 17.3 points per game while Jesse Hillis adds 13.7 points per night.  Jaylen Rutherford is contributing 12.0 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds per contest this season for the Saints.

Scouting Wilberforce: The Bulldogs enter the week having won three consecutive games after downing Warner 93-85 on Friday (Nov. 5).  Wilberforce hosts Indiana-Kokomo on Friday before entertaining Lourdes.  Calija'won Davis leads the Bulldogs in scoring, averaging 22.3 points per game.  James Ringo and Jontavius Littles have added 14.7 points per game while Bobby McFadden has chipped in 13.3 points per night.  Jabril Hunter has scored 11.3 points per outing.

WHAC Openers: Lourdes is 5-5 in program history in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference openers.  The Gray Wolves have won two straight league openers after downing Northwestern Ohio 75-65 to begin last year's league slate.  Lourdes has opened conference play with Aquinas three times, falling all three times (2011-2012, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018).

Super Sub: Jackie Harris has been solid coming off the bench for the Gray Wolves in the first two games of the year.  He is averaging 20.0 minutes per contest while scoring 18.5 points and grabbing 8.5 rebounds per contest.  Harris is shooting 50.0% from the floor, including 41.2% (7-of-17) from three-point range.  The junior transfer tallied a team-high 21 points in the win over Miami-Middletown on Saturday.

Making Shots: As a team, Lourdes is shooting 59.0% from the floor through the first two games of the year.  Inside the three-point arc, the Gray Wolves are connecting at a sizzling 72.1%.  Joey Holifield is connecting at a 76.9% (10-of-13) clip while Little Anderson is shooting 66.7% (12-of-18) from the floor.

Controlling the Paint: After scoring 58 points in the paint in the season opener against East-West, the Gray Wolves poured in 42 more in the win over Miami-Middletown.  Lourdes is also controlling the glass, posting a +24 rebounding margin through the first two games of the season.

Pulling Down Boards: Nick Welch has registered a pair of double figure rebounding games to begin the year.  The fifth-year senior had 13 rebounds in the opener as part of a double-double (20 points) before grabbing 12 more boards against Miami-Middletown.  Dating back to his final game he appeared in last season, Welch has three consecutive double figure rebounding efforts.

Lengthy Road Trip: The four-game road trip the Gray Wolves are embarking upon is the team's longest since Dec. 12-22, 2015 when Lourdes also played four straight games on opponents home courts.  Lourdes went 1-3 during their last four-game trip.

A Record-Setting Effort: Lourdes opened the 2021-2022 season in style against East-West, setting a new program record for points in a game.  The Gray Wolves tallied 116 points against the Phantoms, surpassing the old record of 114 set on Nov. 13, 2019 against Wright State-Lake.  The game marked the seventh 100-point effort all-time in program history.

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 160-163 all-time in the program's 12th season ... the Gray Wolves have two NAIA National Championship appearances (2012 and 2013) ... the Gray Wolves are 61-94 all-time in road games ... Lourdes has yielded just 14 assists to opponents while forcing 42 turnovers.