Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Lourdes looks to match its longest winning streak of the season, 10, on Wednesday night as the seventh-ranked Gray Wolves host Cornerstone.  The top team in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference then heads to second place Madonna on Saturday afternoon looking to extend its league lead.

Head Coach Dennis Hopson: In his fifth season on the Lourdes bench, Dennis Hopson is 94-35 (.729) 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: Cornerstone holds a 22-5 all-time series advantage against Lourdes dating back to Dec. 10, 2011.  The Gray Wolves won this season's first meeting though, an 84-81 triumph in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Nov. 29.  The Golden Eagles are 5-2 all-time against Lourdes inside the Ebeid Rec Center.  Madonna is 18-12 against the Gray Wolves in a series that began Nov. 6, 2010.  The Gray Wolves scored an 81-68 victory in overtime on Jan. 6 inside the Ebeid Rec Center in the first meeting of the year.  The Crusaders hold an 8-7 edge against Lourdes in games played in Livonia, Mich.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes used a 16-0 second half run on Wednesday (Jan. 31) to pull away from Concordia (Mich.) and defeat the Cardinals 68-61 in Ann Arbor, Mich.  Jackie Harris tallied 25 points and 13 rebounds while Joey Holifield added 21 points.  The Gray Wolves ran their winning streak to nine straight games on Saturday (Feb. 3) with a 101-88 victory at home against Northwestern Ohio.  Harris tallied a game-high 26 points while Holifield added 24 and Shaunn Monroe chipped in 19 points.

Scouting Cornerstone: The Golden Eagles have won five straight games and 10 of their last 11 following an 89-58 victory at home against Concordia (Mich.) on Saturday.  Cory Ainsworth leads Cornerstone averaging 18.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.  Luke Rowlinson adds 16.7 points per contest as the only other Golden Eagle averaging in double figures this season.

Scouting Madonna: The Crusaders enter the week having won three straight games after defeating Michigan-Dearborn 103-72 at home on Saturday.  Madonna travels to Rochester (Mich.) this Wednesday before returning home to face the Gray Wolves.  Brendan Young leads Madonna averaging 17.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game this season.  Isaac Anderson has added 15.3 points per night while Matthew MacLellan is also scoring in double figures, tallying 12.1 points per contest.

Highest Ranking Ever: Lourdes enters the week ranked seventh 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 No. 7 is the highest for the Gray Wolves in program history, surpassing the ranking on Feb. 5, 2020, when Lourdes was ranked 13th.  The next poll will be released Feb. 14.

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.

Holifield Earns WHAC Honors: Joey Holifield was named the WHAC Player of the Week for the first time in his career this past Monday.  The senior guard averaged 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 3.0 steals in victories over Concordia (Mich.) and Northwestern Ohio last week.  Holifield was 15-of-19 (78.9%) from the floor and 13-of-15 (86.7%) from the free throw line.

Looking for a Home Tournament Game: With two victories this week, Lourdes would assure itself a home quarterfinal game in the upcoming Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament.  With six games remaining in the regular season, the lowest the Gray Wolves can finish is sixth in the final standings.

Looking for Another Double Digit Streak: With a win against Cornerstone, Lourdes would register its second 10-game winning streak of the season.  Since Dennis Hopson took over the program, the Gray Wolves have already had three streaks of 10 or more wins, including the one earlier this season to start the year 10-0.  

Harris Reaches 1,000 Point Plateau: Jackie Harris became the fifth Gray Wolf in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, doing so on Jan. 10 against Cleary.  Harris enters this week with 1,124 career points, joining Clif Snow (2017-21, 22-23) - 1,789 points, Zach Steinmetz (2013-16) - 1,395 points, Joey Holifield (2021-pres.) - 1,365 points, and Little Anderson (2019-23) - 1,286 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.

This and That: Shaunn Monroe's string of 18 straight double figure scoring games ended at Concordia (Mich.) last Wednesday ... Jackie Harris is averaging a team-high 20.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game ... Jakiel Wells (54 assists/27 turnovers) and Monroe (69 ast/35 to) both have 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratios.