Jan. 4, 2006

Wayne State (5-6, 0-3 GLIAC) hosts Northwood (6-7, 1-3 GLIAC)
Jan. 7 - 3 p.m.
Matthaei - Detroit, Mich.

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• GAME STORYLINES
The WSU men's basketball team continues its five-game homestand as it returns to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action against Northwood University on Saturday, Jan. 7. The Warriors, winners of three of their last four, are looking for their first league win after going 0-3 on the road in conference play during December.

Junior guard Kris Krzyminski is coming off one of his best career performances with a double-double against Illinois Tech on Monday. The transfer scored 17 points, dished out a career-high 12 assists and had six steals against the Hawks.

The Warriors have two more GLIAC home games coming up as South Division rivals Ashland (Jan. 12) and Findlay (Jan. 14) travel to Detroit next week.

• ON THE BENCH
David Greer is in his fifth year at Wayne State and has a 72-56 record. Northwood's Bob Taylor is in his ninth season with a 123-97 record.

• SCOUTING THE TIMBERWOLVES
Northwood's three-game winning streak was snapped Tuesday night with a 76-55 non-conference loss at Hillsdale. Sophomore forward Eric Giesow had a team-high 17 points.

The Timberwolves' balanced scoring attack is led by a trio of players (Aaron Simpson, Curt Ludtke and Nemanja Kreckovic) who are all scoring over 10 points per game.

Ludtke, a transfer from Grand Rapids CC, is third in the GLIAC with 23 blocks and is leading NU at 6.2 rebounds per game.

• IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was tied with Gannon for second place in the South Division of the GLIAC coaches' preseason poll. The T'Wolves were picked to finish in fifth place in the North Division with 15 points.

• THE SERIES
Wayne State leads the all-time series 31-20. The Warriors won last season's Jan. 22 meeting by a score of 73-62. WSU, who overcame a 12-0 deficit at the beginning of the game, was led by Herb Goliday's 18 points.

• LAST GAME NOTES
Wayne State started both halves with a 20-3 run as the Warriors defeated visiting Illinois Tech by the score of 101-65 Monday, Jan. 2 at the Matthaei.

A mid-court steal by junior Kris Krzyminski gave WSU the first points of the game as he finished the play with a fast-break layup. Ten straight points, including five by junior Will Pierce, and five IIT turnovers in the first 3:41 of the game opened up a 12-0 lead.

The Warriors continued to cause turnovers as Krzyminski's third steal of the half led to an assist on senior Erik Parker's layup and a 16-3 advantage. Two Herb Goliday field goals increased the margin to 17 points as the Scarlet Hawks didn't score their second basket of the game until the 10:38 mark.

Krzyminski took over as he drew the defenders under the hoop and found Anthony Ighodaro for a duck-under layup. After an IIT three, Krzyminski drained a pair of three-pointers and threw a between-the-legs pass to Ighodaro for a 38-17 lead with 4:57 on the clock. WSU held a 45-29 halftime lead as the Warriors shot 51.5 percent and forced 14 Hawk turnovers.

The second half started the exact same way as the first with a Krzyminski steal and fast-break layup. Three quick Illinois Tech turnovers and hot shooting helped Wayne State go on a 20-3 run that included a three-point play by Parker and Banks' second three of the game. The Warriors' lead grew to 30 points on Goliday's layup with 14:43 on the clock.

The Warriors scored eight straight points and continued to increase their lead to 81-42. They reached the century mark for the second time this season on Ighodaro's second-chance basket with 54 seconds to go in the game.

Krzyminski finished with his first career double-double with 17 points and a career-high 12 assists. He also added six steals. Four other Warriors reached double digits: Goliday (18), Parker (17), Banks (16) and Pierce (12).

Wayne State is now 17-3 under David Greer in home non-GLIAC games.