By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Green Bay (17-5, 6-2 HL) will open the second half of Horizon League play the same way it started the first half, facing Wright State (11-11, 3-5 HL) at 7 p.m. CST. The Phoenix, who defeated the Raiders 79-55 in the first meeting at the Resch Center, will be the road team on Monday night's contest in Dayton, Ohio.

In that Jan. 5 contest, Green Bay got 28 points from senior Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) and a near triple-double (16 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists) from junior Jordan Fouse (Racine, Wis.). The game was tied at the under-four media timeout of the first half, but Green Bay used a 9-0 run to take a hafltime lead and then got 23 second-half points from Sykes to turn the game into a rout.

The Phoenix will be looking to bounce back after falling at Cleveland State on Saturday afternoon. In the past two-plus seasons under head coach Brian Wardle, Green Bay has been perfect following losses in the regular season. The Phoenix has won 15-straight games in the regular season following a loss, a streak which dates back to early January of 2013.

GREEN BAY PROBABLE STARTERS
G – #24 Keifer Sykes, Sr., 6-0, 180
G – #12 Carrington Love, Jr., 6-1, 171
F – #4 Jordan Fouse, Jr., 6-7, 225
F – #15 Greg Mays, Sr., 6-9, 222
F – #34 Alfonzo McKinnie, Sr., 6-8, 215

LIVE COVERAGE: Monday night's game will be televised live by the American Sports Network and can be found on television in Green Bay on WACY my32. The contest, which will feature Dave Armstrong (play-by-play) and Kevin Lehman (analyst) on the call, can also be found online at American Sports Network. Fans can also tune into WNFL 1440 AM and 92.1 FM, where Matt Menzl (play-by-play) and Andrew Gavin (analyst) will bring fans a radio broadcast of the game.

INSIDE THE SERIES: Green Bay has won three-straight games against Wright State to take a 27-24 edge in the all-time series with the Raiders. WSU has a 9-18 edge in Dayton, but Green Bay has won two of the past three meetings at the Nutter Center. In last season's meeting in Dayton, the Phoenix had six dunks in the second half to pull away for a 79-69 victory. 

A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN: Enjoying another impressive season, Sykes finds himself among the nation's best players as a member of the Wooden and Naismith Award Watch Lists for National Player of the Year. The Phoenix point guard is the lone player on those lists that can boast being the country's only player with 1,500 or more points (1897), 400-plus assists (481) and 400-plus rebounds (413).

2K24: Averaging 18.9 points per game, Sykes has scored 415 points in 22 games this season. With 1,897 career points, the senior ranks fourth all-time and needs just 20 points to move into second place on the program's scoring ledger, passing Jeff Nordgaard (1,911) and Ron Ripley (1,916). With 103 more points, Sykes will join all-time leading scorer Tony Bennett (2,285) as the only Phoenix players to score at least 2,000 career points.

WARDLE KOMBAT: Wardle's team has continued its impressive defense which helped it claim the Horizon League title last season. The Phoenix leads the league in scoring defense (59.2, 27th nationally), three-point field goal percentage defense (.309) and blocks (5.0), second in field goal percentage defense (.397) and third in steals (7.4).

FULL FOUSE: Fouse continues to fill up the stat sheet and also climb up the all-time charts for Green Bay. The two-time Horizon League All-Defensive selection is having the best season of his career, averaging 7.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. He now ranks third in Phoenix history in blocked shots (122) and fourth in steals (168). Fouse recently entered the program's top-10 in career rebounds (663) and is now ninth all-time.

a-MAYS-ing: Mays has played extremely well in Horizon League action. Mays is averaging 15.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. The Chicago native is shooting 49-of-89 from the field in conference action. In his career, Mays has 838 points, 476 rebounds and 87 blocks. With 30 this season, including 11 in league play, the 6-foot-9 forward now has 101 career dunks, believed to be the most in program history.

MOVIN' ON UP: Sykes continues to climb the ranks among the best players in program history. Sykes ranks fourth all-time on Green Bay's all-time scoring list with 1,897 career points. He is also 16th in Horizon League history. The senior is also the program's all-time leader in free throws made (514). Sykes also ranks fourth in assists (481), fifth in scoring average (16.4), sixth in field goals made (642) and tied for eighth in steals (136).

SECOND-HALF SYKES: In the second half of the first eight league games of 2014-15, Sykes has scored 107 points (13.4 per half) and is shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 88.0 percent from the line. Sykes has reached double figures in the second half of 18 of the last 25 games against league opponents. During Horizon League play in 2013-14, Sykes averaged 13.5 second-half points and scored double digits after halftime in 13 of 16 games.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DEJA VU: Sykes has scored in double figures in 34-straight games against Horizon League opponents. The senior has scored in double figures in 61 of the past 63 contests, and since the beginning of his sophomore season, he has scored 10 or more in 81 of 86 games. Sykes scored 10 or more just twice in his first 13 career games but has reached the mark 96 times in 103 games since turning 18 on Dec. 30, 2012.

HOME SWEET HOME: In five seasons under head coach Brian Wardle, Green Bay has compiled a 57-13 record (.814 winning percentage) at home. In Horizon League play at home during that span, the Phoenix is 24-5, winning 12 of its past 13 games.

#

Season tickets, 5-game packs and single-game tickets are on sale now. For more information on ticketing and seating options, visit the ticketing page on GreenBayPhoenix.com or by calling 920.465.2625.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on Green Bay Athletics, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com.

Follow us on Twitter: @GBPhoenix and @GBPhoenixMBB.