GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - The start of postseason play brings a clean slate, and
head coach Brian Wardle will lead a
confident group into its opening round game of the Horizon League Tournament at
Wright State at 6 p.m. The Raiders swept the Phoenix in 2010-11, but the teams
were separated by a total of just five combined points in WSU's 67-64 and 63-61
victories.
Stars
will be on hand Tuesday as four players honored with Horizon League honors will
be in action. Green Bay's Rahmon Fletcher (Kansas City, Mo.) was named to the second team after averaging 16
points per game in his senior campaign. Teammate Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) was one of only two freshmen to earn a
spot on the All-Newcomer Team after averaging 10 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1
blocks per game.
For
Wright State, senior Vaughn Duggins was named to the first team and backcourt
mate N'Gai Evans to the second team. Duggins was second in the conference in
scoring with an average of 18 points per contest while Evans chipped in 14.2
per clip.
Duggins
averaged 22.5 points per game in the Raiders' two wins against Green Bay,
including a buzzer-beating three-pointer in the win on Jan. 1. Evans' late
layup helped the Raiders to the win at the Resch Center on Jan. 28.
Green
Bay junior Jarvis Williams (Milwaukee,
Wis.) averaged 12.5 points in the two contests to lead Green Bay. Brown
averaged 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks per game, including swatting
six shots in the Jan. 28 contest.
The
game will be carried in the Green Bay area on WDUZ The Fan. An internet stream
of the broadcast with Chris Roth handling the play-by-play duties and Andrew
Gavin as the color analyst will also be available on thefan1075.com.
To access live stats for Saturday's game, click
here.
PHOENIX NOTES
-
INSIDE THE SERIES: Green Bay leads the all-time series with Wright State
22-21, but the Raiders hold a 15-6 edge in Dayton. The last Phoenix win at the
Nutter Center was a 53-46 victory on Jan. 5, 2004, a span of six-straight
losses. The two teams last met in the Horizon League Tournament at the Nutter
Center on March 3, 2007, with WSU winning 67-51.
- THE SEASON SERIES: Wright
State won the two contests against the Phoenix this season despite significant
Green Bay advantages in shooting percentage and rebounding. The Phoenix shot
51.6 percent while holding the Raiders to only 39.8 percent while also holding
a plus-7.5 rebounding margin. Wright
State made up for those disadvantages by hitting nine more three-pointers and
eight more free throws.
- BOARDWORK: Green Bay has
outrebounded four-straight opponents and finished Horizon League play with a
rebounding edge in 12 of 18 contests. True freshmen Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) and Daniel
Turner (McCordsville, Ind.) averaged 5.8 and 5.3 rebounds respectively in
league play.
- FRESHMEN FRONTLINE: Brown
and Turner have had freshman campaigns among the best in program history,
highlighted by the duo scoring 20 of Green Bay's final 24 points and combining
for 26 points and 19 rebounds Saturday at Cleveland State. Brown's 311 points
this season are the most by a Green Bay freshman since Mike Schachtner's 320 in
2005-06, and his 174 rebounds rank third all-time among freshmen while Turner's
168 boards rank sixth.
- INTO THE TOP-5: Fletcher is
winding down one of the best individual careers in Green Bay history, and on
Saturday he moved into fifth place on the program's all-time scoring list. He
now has 1,674 career points, enough to pass former teammate Mike Schachtner
(2006-09).
- RECORD BREAKER: Brown
blocked one shot at Cleveland State, extending his single-season blocks record
to 65. The freshman broke the single-season record previously shared by Larry
Hill (1991-92) and Terry Evans (2006-07) with six blocks against Wright State
on Jan. 28. Brown, who ranks third in the Horizon League in blocks per game,
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.
- BROWN GETTIN' BUCKETS:
Brown had the best game of his young career last Monday night against
Valparaiso, posting career highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds. The 7-foot-1
center has been a force of late for the Phoenix, scoring in double figures in
six-straight games while averaging 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.