Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Lourdes closes out a three-game homestand while reaching the midway point of the 2023-2024 regular season on Wednesday evening as the Gray Wolves host Cleary.  Lourdes returns to the road for the first time this calendar year on Saturday afternoon with a trip to Rochester (Mich.).

Head Coach Dennis Hopson: In his fifth season on the Lourdes bench, Dennis Hopson is 86-35 (.711) 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 Cleary are meeting on the hardwood for the first time in men's basketball on Wednesday night as the Cougars are a first year program.  Rochester (Mich.) holds an 8-6 all-time advantage against Lourdes in a series that began Jan. 22, 2011.  The Gray Wolves have won the last five meetings against the Warriors after sweeping last year's series.  Lourdes was a 69-66 victor inside the Ebeid Rec Center and a 75-68 winner in Rochester Hills, Mich.  The Warriors hold a 4-3 series edge all-time in Rochester Hills.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes suffered its first setback of the 2023-2024 season last Wednesday (Jan. 3) as the Gray Wolves fell 71-68 in overtime to Lawrence Tech at home.  Shaunn Monroe led Lourdes with 28 points while Joey Holifield added 21 more.  Lourdes bounced back with another overtime contest on Saturday (Jan. 6) as the Gray Wolves notched a home win over Madonna 81-68.  Monroe and Jackie Harris each scored 16 points while Stephen Coleman Jr. added 14 more.  Holifield also had 11 points for Lourdes.

Scouting Cleary: The Cougars are coming off their first win in program history on Saturday (Jan. 6) afternoon as Cleary defeated Concordia (Mich.) 73-61 on the road.  Chris Williams leads the Cougars in scoring and rebounding this season averaging 10.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.  Bennie Crenshaw Jr. and Jaylen Cole-Williams add 10.2 and 10.0 points per night respectively for Cleary this season
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Scouting Rochester (Mich.): The Warriors enter the week following a 79-65 setback on the road at Indiana Tech on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 6).  Rochester travels to Cornerstone on Wednesday (Jan. 10) before hosting the Gray Wolves.  Gunner Walters leads Rochester in scoring this season averaging 16.2 points per game.  Brody Parker adds 11.5 points per night while Brandon Michrina chips in 11.1 points per contest.  On the glass, James Fisher is pulling down a team-leading 7.0 rebounds per night this season.

Nearing 1,000: Jackie Harris enters the week with 986 career points during his Lourdes career.  The fifth-year senior needs just 14 more to become the fifth Gray Wolf in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.  He will join 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.) - 1,246 points in the 1,000-point club.

Welcome to Lourdes: Prakash Ketterhagen transferred to Lourdes at the semester break and made his first appearance for the Gray Wolves on Saturday against Madonna.  The Eastern Michigan transfer saw four minutes of action, scoring three points while grabbing a rebound.

Bonus Basketball: Prior to this season, the Gray Wolves had not gone to overtime in a game since Feb. 5, 2020.  This year Lourdes has already played three extra session contests, posting a 2-1 record.  The Gray Wolves have had back-to-back overtime games for just the second time in program history, also splitting a pair of contests on Jan. 9 and 12, 2019 at Concordia (Mich.) and Aquinas.  All-time Lourdes is 7-15 in overtime games.

Monroe a Consistent Scoring Threat: Shaunn Monroe has tallied double figures in all 12 games for the Gray Wolves this season, averaging 17.2 points per contest.  The junior guard tallied a career-high 28 points last Wednesday against Lawrence Tech and was one rebound shy of a double-double with 16 points and nine boards against Madonna.

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 40 helpers and just 24 miscues while Jakiel Wells has 36 assists and 17 turnovers.  Lourdes is +4.3 per game in turnover margin on the year.

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: Lourdes is shooting 75.4% from the free throw as a team and outrebounding opponents by 7.1 boards per night ... Nic Borojevich is connecting on 46.2% of his three-point attempts this season (18-for-39) ... Jackie Harris, Joey Holifield, and Shaunn Monroe are all averaging nearly 35 minutes per contest this season.