GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Green Bay hopes to get back to .500 in Horizon League
play and bounce back from a stinging overtime loss on Friday as it plays
against Loyola on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Phoenix aims to sweep the
season series with the Ramblers after winning the first meeting, 71-68, on Jan.
13.
The
Phoenix lost Thursday night at UIC when Robo Kreps hit a buzzer-beating jumper
in overtime that gave the Flames a 63-61 victory. Green Bay's Rahmon Fletcher (Kansas City, Mo.) had
sent the game into overtime with a last-second layup and finished with nine
points. Freshman Alec Brown (Winona,
Minn.) led the Phoenix with 14 points and eight rebounds while junior Jarvis Williams (Milwaukee, Wis.) had 11 of his 13 points after halftime.
Loyola
is trying to end a four-game losing streak after losing to Milwaukee, 66-57, on
Thursday night. The Ramblers got 16 points and 14 rebounds from senior Andy
Polka in the contest.
In
the first meeting between Green Bay and Loyola, Fletcher scored 21 points while
fellow senior Bryquis Perine (Milwaukee,
Wis.) added 17 points. The duo, which combined for just 17 points on Thursday,
hit a combined six threes in the Jan. 13 contest against the Ramblers at the
Resch Center.
Green
Bay's four-game winning streak in the series includes an 87-71 Phoenix victory
at the Gentile Center last February.
To
access live stats for Saturday's game, click
here. The game will also be carried in the Green Bay area on WDUZ The Fan.
An internet stream of the broadcast with Matt Menzl handling the play-by-play
duties and Andrew Gavin as the color analyst will also be available on thefan1075.com.
PHOENIX NOTES
-
INSIDE THE SERIES: Green Bay's four-game winning streak in the series
has given the Phoenix a 22-14 edge in the all-time series with Loyola. The
Ramblers hold a 9-7 edge in Chicago.
- THE LAST MEETING: Fletcher
and Perine combined for 37 points as Green Bay defeated Loyola 71-68 at the
Reach Center. The Phoenix hit 47.9 percent from the field while holding the
Ramblers to just 37.5 percent. Brown added 11 points and three blocks for Green
Bay while the Ramblers were led by Ben Averkamp's 19 points.
- WILLIAMS WATCH: Williams has
scored at least eight points in five-straight games, including double figures
in four contests. Williams is averaging 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds during
that stretch.
- TOP-10 OF ALL-TIME: Fletcher
continues to work his way up the Green Bay scoring chart. On pace to finish his
career in fifth place all-time, Fletcher is currently in seventh place on the
scoring ledger. He has 1,583 career points and is one of five active Horizon
League players with at least 1,500 career points, joining Butler's Matt Howard,
Cleveland State's Norris Cole, Wright State's Vaughn Duggins and UIC's Robo
Kreps.
- RECORD BREAKER: Brown
continues to add to his single-season block record that he broke with six
blocks against Wright State on Jan. 28. After swatting three shots away
Thursday, the freshman has 55 blocks this season. He is averaging 2.2 per game,
and broke the record previously shared by Larry Hill (1991-92) and Terry Evans
(2006-07). The 7-foot-1 freshman also holds the school records for block in a
game, blocks in a game at the Resch Center and blocks in a season by a
freshman.
- HOMEBOUND: Head coach Brian Wardle is returning to the area
where he grew up and played high school basketball. Wardle played his high
school basketball at Hinsdale Central before continuing onto Marquette.
Assistant coach Chrys Cornelius is
also from the Chicago area while Green Bay has three players on its roster from
the state of Illinois - Seth Evans
(Seneca), Troy Snyder (Chicago) and Terry Johnson (Chicago).
- WHAT THE WIND'S BLOWIN' IN:
Wardle has gone back to his roots in recruiting. In November, three Chicago
area players signed to play at Green Bay, including Aaron Armstead (Hales
Fransiscan), Greg Mays (Crete-Monee) and Kiefer Sykes (Marshall).
For
more information on Green Bay tickets, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com/tickets or call the Green Bay ticket office at 920.465.2625.
