Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: For the first time since 2013, Lourdes is participating in NAIA postseason play beginning on Friday.  The Gray Wolves, the 15th seed in the Naismith Quadrant, head to Bourbonnais, Ill. for an opening round game against second-seeded, and 11th-ranked, Olivet Nazarene.

Head Coach Dennis Hopson: In his second season on the Lourdes bench, Dennis Hopson is 53-24 (.688) 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 and Olivet Nazarene will be meeting on the hardwood in men's basketball for the first time ever on Friday evening.

Wrapping Up WHAC Tournament Action: Lourdes built a 23-point halftime lead on Feb. 23 on the way to registering a 79-59 victory over fifth-seeded Rochester (Mich.) inside the Ebeid Rec Center in quarterfinal play.  Nick Welch and Joey Holifield each scored 16 points to lead the Gray Wolves while Brett Lauf came off the bench to add 15 more.  Little Anderson chipped in 12 points in the Lourdes win.  The Gray Wolves made 16 three-pointers and shot 53.1% from beyond the arc on Feb. 26 while defeating 25th-ranked Indiana Tech 89-79 in Fort Wayne, Ind. in semifinal play.  Anderson poured in 28 points while Holifield scored 20 more.  Welch chipped in 18 while Lauf tallied 11 in the victory.  In the title game on Feb. 28, the Gray Wolves jumped out to a 12-point halftime lead at Madonna on the way to a 79-61 victory over the Crusaders.  Charles Swain led Lourdes with 21 points, making five triples, while Welch had 17 points and 13 rebounds.  Anderson added 14 points as the Gray Wolves finished the game with five players in double figures.

Scouting Olivet Nazarene: The Tigers enter the tournament having won 18 straight games.  Olivet Nazarene won both the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles.  The Tigers downed Lincoln (Ill.) 87-82 on Feb. 28 in the conference tournament championship game.  Alex Gross paces Olivet Nazarene averaging 23.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game.  Tyler Schmidt adds 19.9 points per outing while Landon Pflederer chips in 10.8 points per night.  Barik Olden and Chade Chitty are both scoring in double figures as well at 10.7 and 10.0 points per game respectively.

First WHAC Tournament Title: Lourdes had never captured a WHAC regular season or tournament title in the program's history which dates back to 2010-2011 prior to this year's championship.  The Gray Wolves were playing in their second tournament championships game all-time against Madonna, having fallen on the road at Davenport 52-42 on Feb. 27, 2012.

Lourdes in the NAIA National Tournament: Lourdes is 0-2 all-time in NAIA postseason action.  The Gray Wolves last played in the NAIA National Championships on March 7, 2013, falling 62-60 in overtime to seventh-ranked Indiana Wesleyan in the first round.  Lourdes also dropped a 58-49 decision to Oregon Tech in round one at the end of the 2011-2012 season.

Setting the School Record: With 24 victories on the year, Lourdes has reached the 20-win plateau for the third time in program history.  The Gray Wolves last won 20 games in 2019-2020, the first season under Coach Dennis Hopson.  The 24 victories also set a new school mark for wins in a year, surpassing the 2012-2013 team which won 22 games that year.

Downing A Ranked Foe: Lourdes defeated 25th-ranked Indiana Tech 89-79 in the WHAC semifinals on Feb. 26, marking the Gray Wolves' 13th win all-time against a NAIA top-25 foe.  Lourdes has won four of its last five games against ranked teams dating back to Nov. 26, 2019.  

Swain Has Career High: Charles Swain registered his career high as a Gray Wolf with 21 points in the WHAC title game at Madonna. The junior made 5-of-9 shots from three-point range.  Swain's previous high of 13 points came earlier this year against Michigan-Dearborn.

Double Figures are the Norm: Joey Holifield has posted double figures in 30 of the Gray Wolves' 31 games this season, including the last eight contests.  The team's leading scorer at 15.7 points per game, the only time Holifield failed to reach 10 points in a game was against Rochester (Mich.) on Jan. 15 when he tallied eight points.

A Rare Feat: Brett Lauf registered the first triple-double in Lourdes history on Senior Day Feb. 12.  He scored 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and handed out 10 assists in the win over Michigan-Dearborn.  Ironically, none of his totals were career highs, as he had accomplished double figures in each category separately in the past.

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.

Record-Breaking Streak: Lourdes set a new school record with its 13-game winning streak from Dec. 4 through Jan. 24.  The Gray Wolves surpassed the old mark of 11 straight games which took place from Nov. 23, 2019-Jan. 8, 2020.  

This and That: Only Joey Holifield, Little Anderson, and N'Keeley Elmore have appeared in all 31 games this season, with none starting every contest ... Holifield and Nick Welch have started a team-high 30 games this year ... Brett Lauf has 122 assists while committing just 73 turnovers this season ... Holifield has registered 52 steals ... McRay White has 30 blocked shots in 30 games.