Dec. 8, 2005

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Wayne State (2-4, 0-2) at Hillsdale (5-1, 3-0)
Dec. 10 - 3:00 p.m.
Jesse Philips Arena - Hillsdale, Mich.

• GAME STORYLINES
Looking to snap their three-game losing skid, the Warriors travel to GLIAC South Division rival Hillsdale College this Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off. The slump is Wayne State's longest since losing three in a row from February 7-February 16, 2004, against Gannon, Hillsdale and Findlay.

In five of its six games, WSU has led in free throw shooting percentage. The Warriors are atop the conference standings in that category at 74.6 percent.

Wayne State is also making nearly half of its shots from the floor. WSU ranks third in the GLIAC in field goal percentage (49.2) with Jeffrey Ferguson (64.2) and Herb Goliday (59.7) among the top six players individually.

After Saturday's contest, Wayne State will play four non-conference opponents over the holiday break. Next up for the Warriors is the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge in Indianapolis on Dec. 20-21 where they will face Indy and Southern Indiana.

• ON THE BENCH
David Greer is in his fifth year at Wayne State and has a 69-54 record. Ed Douma is 120-81 in his eighth season as head coach at Hillsdale. He has a 536-275 overall mark in 31 collegiate seasons.

• SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
The Chargers started the season with a 63-60 loss to Aquinas, but have since won five straight, including a 3-0 mark in the GLIAC. Hillsdale is holding its opponents to a league-low 56.0 points per game average. Drew Powell (14.5 ppg), Cory Coe (13.0) and Tim Homan (11.7) lead the balanced scoring attack for HC.

• IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was tied with Gannon for second place in the South Division of the GLIAC coaches' preseason poll. The Chargers earned 15 points in fourth place in the South standings.

• THE SERIES
Wayne State holds a 37-27 advantage over Hillsdale, but HC had won four in a row against the Warriors until WSU's 76-70 win on Hall of Fame Saturday last February.

• LAST GAME NOTES
The Wayne State suffered its third loss in a row as 18th-ranked West Virginia State defeated the Warriors, 75-52, in a non-conference contest Wednesday night at the Matthaei. The Yellow Jacket win avenges their only loss of the year when WSU won the season opener in Institute. It also marks just the third time in 18 tries that WSU has dropped a non-conference home game under fifth-year head coach David Greer.

WVSU opened the game with a 5-2 lead, but following two offensive Wayne State rebounds, senior Herb Goliday knocked down a baseline jumper. After WVSU missed, junior Curt Gilmore hit a shot just inside the three-point line for a 6-5 lead.

The Warriors built a 10-7 lead on a steal by junior Kris Krzyminski that led to another Goliday basket. The Jackets answered with five straight points before Gilmore scored his sixth point of the game with 13:12 on the clock.

Eleven WSU turnovers in the first 13 minutes helped West Virginia State to a 25-15 lead. Five more straight points increased the Yellow Jackets' advantage to 15, forcing WSU into its second timeout of the half with 5:55 left. In all, WVSU went on a 26-7 run to close out the half after the game was tied at 12-12.

Momentum began to swing to Wayne State's side as the Warriors started the second half on an 8-2 run on Rob Igbawua's tip-in. But the Yellow Jackets were able to maintain a comfortable lead the remainder of the game.

The Warriors used free throws to gain ground and cut the deficit down to 12 points at 59-47 as Jacob Black scored on a fast-break layup with 6:45 to go. But WVSU, who shot 51.0 percent (25-of-49) from the floor, forced 19 WSU turnovers and recorded 12 steals to come away with the road win.

Krzyminski led the Warriors with a career-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Junior center Jeffrey Ferguson recorded his first career double-double with 12 and a career-best 12 rebounds.

Prior to the game, the WSU athletic department honored long-time Detroit basketball legend and WVSU alum Will Robinson. His son, Will Robinson, Jr., was presented a WSU bench chair by Rob Fournier and David Greer.