Jan. 17, 2006

Wayne State (7-7, 2-4 GLIAC) at
Michigan Tech (8-8, 4-3 GLIAC)
& Northern Michigan (8-8, 4-3 GLIAC)
Jan. 19 - 7:30 pm/Jan. 21 - 1:30 pm

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• GAME STORYLINES
After five straight home games, including the last two against nationally-ranked teams, the Wayne State men's basketball team travels to the Upper Peninsula this week. The Warriors, who are 0-3 in conference road games, will face Michigan Tech on Thursday, before traveling to Marquette for a match-up against Northern Michigan on Saturday.

Both opponents enter the week with identical 8-8 overall records and 4-3 GLIAC marks, and are coming off non-conference wins on Monday night.

Wayne State had two players average a double-double last week against No. 25-Ashland and 11th-ranked Findlay. Senior Herb Goliday averaged 15.5 points and 11.5 boards per contest, while junior guard Kris Krzyminski averaged 19 points and 10 assists a game, including a career-high 22 points and 12 assists in the win over the Eagles.

The Warriors return to Detroit for Faculty/Staff Night on Jan. 26 against Grand Valley State.

• SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Tech has won five in a row, but is the lowest-scoring team in the GLIAC at 58.9 ppg, while hitting just 41.2 percent of its shots. Radayl Richardson leads the Huskies in scoring (14.0) and rebounding (5.3).

Northern is shooting a league-low 58.3 percent at the foul line. Ricky Volcy is second among the conference leaders in scoring at 17.9 ppg and fifth in rebounds at 7.1. He has been the team's leading scorer in 10 of its games.

• ON THE BENCH
David Greer is in his fifth year at Wayne State and has a 75-57 record. Michigan Tech's 12th-year head man Kevin Luke owns a 228-110 record. Dean Ellis is 313-238 in his 20th season at Northern Michigan.

• IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was tied with Gannon for second place in the South Division of the GLIAC coaches' preseason poll. NMU was picked to win the North with four first-place votes and 33 points, while Tech had 20 points in fourth place.

• THE SERIES
In a series that dates back to the 1927-28 season, Wayne State leads, 45-23, against Michigan Tech. The Wildcats, however, are up 29-27 in games against WSU dating back to the 1934-35 season. The Warriors won both games last time they were in the U.P. two years ago (53-48 vs. MTU; 65-59 vs. NMU).

• LAST GAME NOTES
Wayne State's four-game winning streak came to an end on Jan. 14 as the 11th-ranked Findlay Oilers escaped with a 78-75 double-overtime win over the Warriors.

The game started wild as Oiler center Brent Schmipke missed a dunk attempt, but was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim. WSU junior Kris Krzyminski made the free throws to put WSU on the board. Then guard Will Pierce hit a mid-range jumper for a 4-0 start. Pierce came flying through the lane to tip in a Krzyminski miss that put the Warriors ahead 10-4 with 16:31 on the clock.

Wayne State took a 13-6 lead as junior center Jeffrey Ferguson scored four straight points. Findlay went on a 14-5 run to grab a 20-18 lead with 8:03 to play in the half, but baskets by Pierce and Krzyminski put WSU back on top.

With the game tied at 24, senior Ethan Banks hit back-to-back three-pointers from the left corner. The Warriors led by as many as eight before four straight Oiler points forced David Greer to call a timeout with 2:26 left before halftime. Krzyminski came out of the huddle to score on a driving layup and WSU held on for a 37-30 lead at the break.

A Herb Goliday jumper in the paint out of the gates gave Wayne State a nine-point lead to start the second half. Five minutes later, Goliday lobbed it in to Ferguson for a basket off the glass and a 47-39 advantage.

Findlay regained the lead with 6:13 left in the game thanks to a 12-2 run. Krzyminski's layup over a minute later tied the game at 51. Trailing by three, Pierce sank a triple from the corner of the court.

The Oilers took a two-point lead with 1:29 left, but WSU got two offensive rebounds and Erik Parker finally scored. He was fouled on the play and made the free throw to give the Warriors a one-point lead.

After a Findlay free throw that tied the score, WSU misfired. Oiler guard Dustin Pfeifer missed a pair of last-second shots, sending the game into overtime.

Krzyminski started the extra session with a layup. Following a set of UF free throws, Goliday put WSU back on top. But Findlay's Frank Philips had back-to-back baskets to give the Oilers a two-point lead. A block and long-range jumper by Krzyminski tied the game again.

The teams exchanged free throws before Banks rattled in a jump shot with just over a minute to go. Findlay missed on three straight shots, but Dorian Bass hit a game-tying jumper with 5.9 seconds to play.

Goliday's offensive put-back put WSU up 72-71 in the second overtime. The rebound gave the senior his second straight double-double, but he fouled out just seconds later.

Findlay grabbed a three-point lead, but Banks cut it to one on two free throws with 10.7 seconds left. But Schnipke's two free throws with 8.8 ticks left clinched the Oilers' win.

Krzyminski led WSU with 16 points and eight assists while playing the entire 50 minutes. Ferguson added 15 points, while Goliday finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.