By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - After a strong homestand in which it went 2-1, the Green Bay men's basketball team begins a busy season-ending stretch back on the road Friday at Wright State at 8 p.m. CT. In the final 16 days of the regular season, the Phoenix will play seven contests, including six in league play while aiming to secure a home game in the Horizon League Tournament.

The game on Friday night will be televised nationally on ESPNU, the fifth time this season Green Bay has appeared on EPSNU in 2011-12. For the fifth time this season, Jim Barbar will handle the play-by-play duties for a Phoenix television game while Dan Dakich will serve as the color analyst.

Green Bay goes to Dayton after an 81-75 loss at the hands of Milwaukee last Saturday, but the Phoenix can take positives from its three-game homestand, especially from its play on the offensive end. In the three games, four players averaged in double figures and the team averaged 76.7 points per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field.

Freshman Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) continued his strong play in league play, averaging 15.3 points and 6.7 assists in the three contests, including a career-high 25 points against Milwaukee. Sykes sank two game-winning free throws with three seconds left the last time Green Bay met Wright State, helping the Phoenix to a 57-56 win after trailing by as many as 17 in the second half.

Sophomore Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) was also a difference maker in that game, especially defensively. The 7-foot-1 center swatted 11 shots to establish new Horizon League and school records. After breaking the program's all-time blocked shots record last weekend, Brown needs just one Friday to break his own single-season record, which he established with 67 as a freshman and has now tied as a sophomore.

The game will also be broadcast live on WDUZ The Fan with the pregame show beginning at 7:45 p.m. Matt Menzl and Andrew Gavin will be on the call for the radio broadcast. To listen live online, click here.   

• INSIDE THE SERIES: Green Bay holds a slight 23-22 edge in the all-time series with Wright State, but the Raiders have won 17 of 24 meetings in Dayton. The last three regular season meetings have been by a combined six points. Wright State won both games in Dayton a season ago, including a 67-64 buzzer beating win on Jan. 1, 2011.

• THE FIRST MEETING: Wright State will be looking for revenge for a 57-56 loss to Green Bay back on Jan. 14. In that contest, the Raiders lost a 17-point lead with just over 13 minutes to play. The Phoenix used a 26-5 advantage on the free throw line and 16 points from Sykes to aid the comeback. Sykes sank a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to win the game for his team.

• TOP THE CHARTS: Brown blocked two shots against Milwaukee to move into sole possession of Green Bay's all-time blocks record with 134. The 7-foot-1 Brown became the program's all-time leader in the category in just 54 career games. Tallying 67 for the second year in a row, Brown also tied the single-season blocks record he set as a freshman in 2010-11 and needs just one Friday to break that mark.

• BLOCK PARTY: In the first meeting against WSU, Brown tied his season low with just four shot attempts and scored eight points, but the sophomore's defense was a major reason for the Phoenix win. Brown broke a school and Horizon League record with 11 blocks against the Raiders and added nine rebounds. Now the owner of the program's single-game, season and career blocks records, Brown has a rejection in 47 of 54 career games.

• CAN I SEE SOME ID?: Sykes is coming off a career-high 25 points against Milwaukee, continuing an impressive stretch for the team's point guard following his 18th birthday. The country's second-youngest player has averaged 14.9 points and 4.3 assists in nine games since becoming eligible to vote on Dec. 30. He has scored in double figures in eight of the nine contests, including 15 or more five times. Sykes ranks first among Horizon League freshman in points, assists and assist-to-turnover ratio and among the conference's 10 starting point guards, Sykes has the fewest turnovers (43).

• KAM CATCHIN' FIRE: Since being inserted into the starting lineup, sophomore Kam Cerroni (Sussex, Wis.) has consistently been providing the Phoenix with an outside scoring threat. In his 12 starts, Cerroni is averaging 11.3 points per game and shooting 51.6 percent (33-64) from long range. Against Milwaukee, the sophomore scored 17 points on just four shot attempts, going 3-of-4 from long range and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.

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