Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: After a week off for final exams, Lourdes wraps up its three-game road trip on Saturday afternoon.  The 20th-ranked Gray Wolves head to Grand Rapids, Mich. to face Aquinas, looking to remain undefeated on the season.

Head Coach Dennis Hopson: In his fifth season on the Lourdes bench, Dennis Hopson is 83-34 (.709) 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 13-10 all-time advantage against Aquinas in a series that began Nov. 30, 2011.  The Gray Wolves have won three straight meetings against the Saints after sweeping last year's match ups.  Lourdes notched an 80-62 victory inside the Ebeid Rec Center before downing the Saints 72-62 in Grand Rapids, Mich.  Aquinas holds a 7-5 edge in the series in games played in Grand Rapids.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Joey Holifield hit two big shots down the stretch on Wednesday (Nov. 29) as Lourdes defeated Cornerstone 84-81 on the road.  Jackie Harris finished with 21 points while Holifield added 16 more.  Shaunn Monroe scored 15 points and Nic Borojevich tallied 12 as the Gray Wolves had four players finish in double figures.  On Saturday (Dec. 2), Harris scored 28 of his game-high 34 points in the first has as Lourdes tallied another road win, downing Northwestern Ohio 94-74.  Holifield chipped in 16 points while Monroe added 15 more in the victory.

Scouting Aquinas: The Saints are coming off an 89-75 victory at home on Wednesday evening against Grace Christian in non-conference action.  Donovan Brown-Boyd leads Aquinas in scoring this season, averaging 15.4 points per game while Andrew Larson adds 10.8 points per night.  DeAndre Francis is also scoring in double figures for the Saints, posting 10.4 points per game while also grabbing a team-leading 6.5 rebounds per contest.

Moving Up the Top-25: Lourdes enters the week ranked 20th in the latest NAIA top-25 coaches' poll.  A new poll will be released on Dec. 13.  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 20th 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.

Program's Best Start: Lourdes has posted the best start in program history with a 8-0 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 6-2 during the 2013-2014, 2014-2015, and 2020-2021 campaigns.

Harris Named WHAC Player of the Week (Again): Jackie Harris was named the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the third time this season after averaging 27.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in the two wins.  Harris shot 59% (23-of-39) from the floor including 50% (9-of-18) from three-point range on the week.

Crashing the Glass: Lourdes is outrebounding its opponents by 6.4 boards per game this, including 2.4 on the offensive end of the floor.  Jackie Harris leads the Gray Wolves on the glass pulling down 7.3 rebounds per night while Joey Holifield has added 6.1 caroms per game.  Ethan Damerum has a team-high 19 offensive boards in eight games.

Sharp Shooting: Lourdes is shooting 51.0% from the field through eight games.  Ethan Damerum is shooting 62.5% while Shaun Monroe is shooting at a 56.0% clip.  Jackie Harris has excelled from three-point range, making 34-of-73 (46.6%) attempts while averaging 4.3 made triples per night.

Going the Distance: Jackie Harris and Joey Holifield both played all 40 minutes in the victory at Cornerstone last week.  It was the third time this season that Holifield had not left the floor in a game, and second 40-minute effort of the year for Harris.

Lighting Up the Scoreboard: Lourdes is averaging 89.8 points per game thus far this season, and has tallied 84 or more in seven of the eight games.  Jackie Harris leads the way for the Gray Wolves averaging 26.1 points per outing while Joey Holifield has added 17.8 points per night.  Shaunn Monroe contributes 14.9 points per game for the Gray Wolves.

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 212-180 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 358-261 over the first 20 minutes ... the Gray Wolves have forced 148 turnovers on the season, 85 of which have come via steals.