Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: After nearly two weeks off and non-conference play in the rear view mirror, Lourdes returns to the hardwood for the first time in 2022 on Wednesday evening as the Gray Wolves host Siena Heights.  Lourdes takes to the road on Saturday afternoon to face Michigan-Dearborn in a game that will be played at Madonna University.

Head Coach Dennis Hopson: In his second season on the Lourdes bench, Dennis Hopson is 40-20 (.667) 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 13-8 all-time series edge against Siena Heights in a series that began Nov. 12, 2011.  The Gray Wolves have won four straight meetings with the Saints after winning last year's contest 78-57 inside the Ebeid Rec Center.  Lourdes is 3-2 all-time against the Saints in the Ebeid Rec Center.  The Gray Wolves are 11-7 all-time against Michigan-Dearborn in a series that began Jan. 14, 2012.  The two schools have not met since Feb. 5, 2020 when the Wolverines snapped a two-game losing skid against Lourdes 86-78 in overtime in the Ebeid Rec Center.  

Wrapping Up Last Week (or Two Weeks Ago): Lourdes set a new school record for points in a game with a 117-78 victory at Penn State-Shenango on Dec. 20.  Nick Welch and Jackie Harris both had double-doubles with Welch tallying 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while Harris scored 17 points and pulled down 14 boards.  McRay White led six Gray Wolves in double figures with 23 points.  The Gray Wolves closed out 2021 on Dec. 23 with a 70-53 road victory at Rio Grande.  Harris tallied 22 points while Welch notched another double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Scouting Siena Heights: The Saints have dropped back-to-back games after suffering a 75-66 setback at Spring Arbor on Friday (Dec. 31).  Kevin Rice leads Siena Heights in scoring averaging 15.9 points per game while Curtis Bell III adds 14.4 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game.  Jayden Sims is also scoring in double figures for Siena Heights, tallying 10.9 points per outing.

Scouting Michigan-Dearborn: The Wolverines have dropped two straight games after falling 104-80 at Saint Francis (Ill.) on Friday (Dec. 31).  Elwood Tomlinson leads Michigan-Dearborn averaging 18.1 points per game while Maurice Anderson has added 11.1 points per night.  Jason Gigliotti has chipped in 10.7 points per night for the Wolverines while leading the team with 8.1 rebounds per contest.

Schedule Update: The Dec. 30 game at Rochester (Mich.) was postponed due to COVID-19.  It has been rescheduled for Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m. in Rochester Hills, Mich.

Rewrite the Record Books: Lourdes set a new school record earlier this season with 116 points against East-West in the season opener on Oct. 26 but re-broke the mark on Dec. 20 with 117 points at Penn State-Shenango.  In fact, the top three scoring games in program history have all happened this season as the Gray Wolves also tallied 115 points at Wilberforce on Nov. 13.  The previous record prior to this season was 114 points against Wright State-Lake in 2019.

On a Winning Streak: Lourdes current six-game winning streak is its longest of the season.  The last time the Gray Wolves won six straight games was from Jan. 13-31, 2021.  Prior to that, the longest stretch of wins was the program's school-record 11-game winning streak that took place from Nov. 23, 2019-Jan. 8, 2020.

Doubling Up: Nick Welch has registered back-to-back double-doubles and now has a team-leading six on the year.  Welch had 11 points and 14 rebounds against Rio Grande and after his 20-points, 10-board outing at Penn State-Shenango.  For the season Welch is averaging 14.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest.

Sharing the Wealth: Lourdes has five players averaging in double figures this season, led by Joey Holifield who is scoring 16.4 points per game.  Nick Welch (14.7 ppg), Jackie Harris (14.4 ppg), McRay White (13.6 ppg), and Little Anderson (10.2 ppg) are all scoring 10 or more points per outing as well.  The Gray Wolves have had at least four double digit scorers in every game except for the Indiana Tech contest, when three players tallied 10 or more points. 

Stellar Shooting: Joey Holifield is shooting 64.2% from the field for the Gray Wolves this season while Jackie Harris is connecting at a 42.0% clip from three-point range.  

Making Free Throws: Lourdes is shooting 75.6% from the free throw line this season as a team.  The Gray Wolves have only attempted 16 more free throws than their opponents but have made 34 more than the opposition.  Jackie Harris (89.5%) and Joey Holifield (85.5%) are leading the way.

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 did not allow a free throw attempt to Rio Grande in the team's last outing ... the Gray Wolves are outscoring their opposition by 21.6 points per night ... McRay White has blocked 16 shots in 14 games ... Brett Lauf is averaging 5.6 assists per contest ... Brendan Dafoe joined the team prior to the Penn State-Shenango game and scored four points and had five rebounds in his debut..