Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Lourdes wraps up the first half of Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play at home on Wednesday evening with a first place showdown against Indiana Tech.  The Gray Wolves  remain home on Saturday afternoon to begin round two of league action entertaining Michigan-Dearborn.

Head Coach Dennis Hopson: In his fifth season on the Lourdes bench, Dennis Hopson is 88-35 (.715) 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: Indiana Tech holds a 16-12 series advantage over the Gray Wolves dating back to Oct. 30, 2010.  Last season the two schools split a pair of meetings with each defending its own home floor.  Lourdes was an 85-83 winner in the Ebeid Rec Center while Indiana Tech scored a 90-79 win in Fort Wayne, Ind.  The Warriors hold a 4-3 series edge inside the Ebeid Rec Center.  Lourdes is 16-7 all-time against Michigan-Dearborn in a series that began Jan. 14, 2012.  The Gray Wolves have won the last five meetings between the two schools after a 96-70 victory in Dearborn, Mich. earlier this season on Nov. 18.  The Gray Wolves are 5-1 all-time against the Wolverines inside the Ebeid Rec Center.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes jumped out to a 13-point halftime lead on Wednesday (Jan. 10) on the way to a 77-54 victory at home against Cleary.  Jackie Harris scored a team-high 20 points while Joey Holifield, Stephen Coleman Jr., and Shaunn Monroe each added 12 points.  On Saturday (Jan. 13), the Gray Wolves picked up an 82-59 road victory at Rochester (Mich.).  Monroe tallied 30 points while Coleman added 12 more to go along with 11 rebounds for Lourdes.

Scouting Indiana Tech: The Warriors have won seven straight games after a 76-61 victory at Concordia (Mich.) on Saturday afternoon.  Nigel Martin leads Indiana Tech averaging 17.3 points per game while Brady Titus adds 11.3 points per night.  On the glass, Javel Lewis is pulling down a team-best 7.6 rebounds per contest.

Scouting Michigan-Dearborn: The Wolverines enter the week having dropped 12 straight games following a 103-74 setback on the road at Northwestern Ohio last Saturday.  Michigan-Dearborn hosts Cleary on Wednesday before visiting Lourdes.  Jackson Reynolds paces the Wolverine offense averaging 17.5 points per game while Joshua Warren adds 13.7 points per night.  Jimmy Breaux also is scoring in double figures at 10.4 points per outing while grabbing a team-leading 6.6 rebounds per night.

Harris Reaches 1,000 Point Plateau: Jackie Harris became the fifth Gray Wolf in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau last Wednesday against Cleary.  Harris enters this week with 1,013 career points, joining Clif Snow (2017-21, 22-23) - 1,789 points, Zach Steinmetz (2013-16) - 1,395 points, Little Anderson (2019-23) - 1,286 points, and Joey Holifield (2021-pres.) - 1,268 points in the 1,000-point club.

Harris and Holifield on Bevo Francis Award Watch List: Jackie Harris and Joey Holifield were both among the 100 players in NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, NCCAA, and USCAA to be named to the Bevo Francis Award Watch List.  The award honors the best small college player in the country.  Lourdes is one of just 10 schools in the country to have two players on the list, and one of only five NAIA schools to accomplish the feat.

Monroe on Fire Offensively: Shaunn Monroe has tallied double figures in all 14 games for the Gray Wolves this season, and is second on the team averaging 17.7 points per contest.  The junior guard tallied a career-high 30 points on Saturday against Rochester (Mich.), going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

Taking Advantage at the Stripe: Lourdes is ranked 15th in the NAIA shooting 76.3% as a team at the free throw line this season.  Joey Holifield leads the way for the Gray Wolves at the charity stripe, connecting at an 88.6% clip (62-of-70).

From Downtown: Nic Borojevich is connecting at a 47.8% clip from three-point ranges this season for the Gray Wolves.  The sophomore has made 22 of his 46 attempts on the season.

Taking Care of the Basketball: Five of the seven Gray Wolves that are averaging 18 or more minutes this season have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.  Joey Holifield leads the way with 47 helpers and just 27 miscues while Jakiel Wells has 39 assists and 19 turnovers.  Lourdes is +4.1 per game in turnover margin on the year with a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio as a team.

In 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.

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: Jackie Harris, Joey Holifield, and Shaunn Monroe are all averaging at least 34 minutes per contest this season ... Lourdes has won nine games by more than 15 points this season ... the Gray Wolves are outrebounding teams by 8.7 boards per night.