Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: The 2023-2024 regular season comes to a close this week as the 13th-ranked Lourdes Gray Wolves look to build momentum for the upcoming Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament.  The Gray Wolves host Rochester (Mich.) for Senior Night on Wednesday before traveling to Cleary on Saturday to wrap up the campaign.

Head Coach Dennis Hopson: In his fifth season on the Lourdes bench, Dennis Hopson is 94-39 (.707) 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: Rochester (Mich.) leads the all-time series against Lourdes 8-7 dating back to Jan. 22, 2011.  They Gray Wolves have won six straight meetings against the Warriors after defeating Rochester 82-59 in Rochester Hills, Mich. earlier this season on Jan. 13.  The series is tied 3-3 inside the Ebeid Rec Center.  Lourdes won the only previous meeting against Cleary which took place earlier this season.  The Gray Wolves were 77-54 victors inside the Ebeid Rec Center but will take on the Cougars for the first time ever Saturday.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Last Wednesday, Lourdes fell on the road at Lawrence Tech 82-77.  Jackie Harris scored a team-high 27 points, making five three-pointers, while Joey Holifield added 21 points.  Shaunn Monroe also chipped in 15 points for the Gray Wolves.  Lourdes dropped a 69-65 decision at Indiana Tech on Saturday to wrap up a three-game road trip.  Monroe led the Gray Wolves with 22 points while Holifield added 15 more.

Scouting Rochester (Mich.): The Warriors are coming off an 85-71 victory at home against Northwestern Ohio on Saturday afternoon.  Brett White leads four players averaging in double figures with 12.9 points per night.  Gunner Walters adds 12.9 points per game while James Fisher is scoring 11.5 points and grabbing a team-high 7.5 rebounds per contest.  Brody Parker also chips in 11.4 points per night.

Scouting Cleary: The Cougars enter the week having won two of their last three games after defeating Michigan-Dearborn 80-68 last Saturday.  Cleary will host Madonna on Wednesday before closing their season on Saturday against the Gray Wolves.  Chris Williams leads Cleary in scoring and rebounding this season, averaging 10.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest.  Bennie Crenshaw Jr. has added 10.1 points per contest.

Thanks Seniors: Lourdes will honor the three members of the 2024 senior class prior to Wednesday night's games.  Jackie Harris, Joey Holifield, and Jakiel Wells are all nearing the end of their careers with the Gray Wolves.

In the Rankings: Lourdes enters the week ranked 13th in the latest NAIA top-25 coaches' poll.  The Gray Wolves reached number seven in the rankings earlier this season, the highest ranking ever in program history.  The next poll will be released Feb. 28.

Looking for Win #20: Lourdes next victory will be its 20th of the season, marking the fourth time in Coach Dennis Hopson's career with the Gray Wolves that the program will reach the 20-win plateau.  The only season that Lourdes did not post 20 wins in Hopson's tenure came in 2020-2021 when the tam only played 15 total games due to COVID-19.  The next win will mark the fifth 20-win season in program history as well.

Looking for a Home Tournament Game: With one victory this week, or one loss by Lawrence Tech, Lourdes would assure itself a home quarterfinal game in the upcoming Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament.  With two games remaining in the regular season, the highest the Gray Wolves can enter the tournament as is the second seed and the lowest the Gray Wolves can be is the fifth seed.

Protecting the Basketball: Lourdes is averaging just 11.3 turnovers per game this season while forcing 15.4 miscues per night from its opponents.  In two games last week, Lourdes combined for just 11 total turnovers, committing seven at Lawrence Tech and just four at Indiana Tech.

Holifield Moves Into Second on All-Time Scoring List: Joey Holifield has moved past Zach Steinmetz (2013-2016) into second place on the Gray Wolves' all-time scoring list and enters this week with 1,441 career points.  He trails just Clif Snow (2017-21, 22-23), who scored 1,789 points at Lourdes, on the all-time list.  Jackie Harris became the fifth member of the 1,000-point club earlier this season, entering this week with 1,169 career points, trailing Little Anderson's (2019-23) 1,286 points for fourth all-time.

Handing Out Helpers: Shaunn Monroe and Jakiel Wells both have 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratios this season.  Monroe has handed out a season-high 86 assists while committing just 43 miscues and Wells has 65 helpers with just 31 turnovers.

This and That: Lourdes is outscoring opponents by 141 points in the first half this season ... Ethan Damerum is shooting 60.4% from the floor this season ... the last time Lourdes dropped four straight games was Feb. 9-21, 2019 to end that season.