Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Lourdes returns home on Saturday afternoon for the Gray Wolves' final regular season game of the 2023 calendar year.  The 14th-ranked Gray Wolves will host Concordia (Mich.) looking to remain undefeated on the season and atop the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference standings.

Head Coach Dennis Hopson: In his fifth season on the Lourdes bench, Dennis Hopson is 84-34 (.712) 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 an 18-10 all-time advantage against Concordia (Mich.) in a series that began Nov. 2, 2010.  The Gray Wolves have won nine of the last 10 meetings against the Cardinals after winning two of last year's three match ups.  Concordia won the first meeting in Ann Arbor, Mich. 60-41 before the Gray Wolves rebounded for an 84-59 win inside the Ebeid Rec Center.  Lourdes then defeated the Cardinals 107-66 at home in the quarterfinals of the WHAC tournament.  The Gray Wolves hold a 7-1 edge in the series in games played inside the Ebeid Rec Center.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes held Aquinas scoreless for the final 3:53 on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 9) and closed on a 9-0 run to rally and defeat the Saints 80-76 in Grand Rapids, Mich.  Shaunn Monroe led the Gray Wolves with 22 points while Joey Holifield added 16 more.  Jackie Harris also finished the game in double figures with 12 points.

Scouting Concordia (Mich.): The Cardinals had their three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday (Dec. 9), falling 85-78 at home against Lawrence Tech.  Zavion McClendon leads four Concordia players averaging in double figures, scoring 24.7 points per game.  McClendon also is pulling down a team-leading 7.9 rebounds per night.  Dylan Jergens adds 19.4 points per game while Joey Garwood is scoring 14.2 points per contest for the Cardinals.  Devyn Jones has chipped in 10.8 points per game.

Moving Up the Top-25: Lourdes enters the week ranked 14th in the latest NAIA top-25 coaches' poll.  This marks the first season the Gray Wolves have been ranked in men's basketball since the NAIA merged from two divisions into one prior to the 2020-2021 season.  The ranking of 14th is the highest for the Gray Wolves since Feb. 5, 2020, when Lourdes was ranked 13th.  The highest Lourdes has ever been ranked was 13th during the 2019-2020 season.  The next poll will not be released until Jan. 17.

Quite a 2023: The 2023 calendar year has been a good one for the Gray Wolves.  Lourdes heads into its final regular season contest 21-4 overall since Jan. 1, 2023, including a NAIA tournament appearance.

Program's Best Start: Lourdes has posted the best start in program history with a 9-0 record this season.  Prior to this season, Lourdes had never started a season better than 3-0, which occurred in the 2015-2016 campaign.  Lourdes previous best eight-game start was 7-2 during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 campaigns.

Monroe a Scoring Threat: Shaunn Monroe has been a regular in the scoring column for the Gray Wolves this season.  Transferring to Lourdes prior to the season, Monroe has tallied double figures in all nine games this season on his way to averaging 15.7 points per game.  Monroe tallied a career-high 22 points on Saturday at Aquinas.

Crashing the Glass: Lourdes is outrebounding its opponents by 7.0 boards per game this season, including 2.9 on the offensive end of the floor.  The Gray Wolves have outrebounded, or been even in rebounds, with every team they have faced this season.  Jackie Harris leads the Gray Wolves on the glass pulling down 7.3 rebounds per night while Joey Holifield has added 6.2 caroms per game.  Ethan Damerum has a team-high 20 offensive boards.

Sharp Shooting: Lourdes is shooting 50.7% from the field through nine games.  Ethan Damerum is shooting 62.2% while Shaun Monroe is shooting at a 57.6% clip.  Jackie Harris has excelled from three-point range, making 35-of-77 (45.5%) attempts while averaging 3.9 made triples per night.

Making the Extra Pass: Lourdes has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio this season, having dished out 150 assists while committing just 120 miscues.  Jakiel Wells leads the way with a better than 2:1 ratio, handing out a team-leading 36 assists while turning the ball over just 17 times.

Free Throws are Key: Lourdes has three players shooting 80% or better from the charity stripe this season.  Jakiel Wells leads the way at 89.5% while Joey Holifield has made a team-high 36 in 41 attempts to connect at an 87.8% clip.  Jackie Harris is also shooting 80.0% on the season.

Lighting Up the Scoreboard: Lourdes is averaging 88.7 points per game thus far this season.  Jackie Harris leads the way for the Gray Wolves averaging 24.6 points per outing while Joey Holifield has added 17.6 points per night.  

Lourdes Tabbed WHAC Preseason Favorite: The Gray Wolves were selected to win the WHAC regular season title this season in the preseason poll conducted of the league's head coaches.  Lourdes collected four first place votes and was picked just ahead of Rochester (Mich.) and Indiana Tech in the league balloting.  

This and That: Lourdes is 213-180 all-time in the program's 14th season ... last season was the Gray Wolves fourth NAIA National Championship appearance and second consecutive (along with 2012 and 2013) ... the Gray Wolves improved to 6-14 all-time in overtime contests with the win over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods ... Lourdes is outscoring opponents 399-302 over the first 20 minutes .