By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Playing what may be their final game at the Resch Center, a quartet of seniors will be honored on Saturday afternoon as Green Bay closes out its 2014-15 regular season against Oakland on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Phoenix and the Golden Grizzlies are tied at 11-4 in the league standings and fighting for seeding in next week's Horizon League Championship.
Four Phoenix seniors - Keifer Sykes, Greg Mays, Alfonzo McKinnie and Josh Humphrey – will be honored prior to the game at approximately 12:40 p.m. for Senior Day, and the first 2,000 fans will receive Keifer Sykes bobbleheads.
The class has given a combined 15 seasons, 333 games, 3200-plus points, 1100-plus rebounds, 600-plus assists, 200-plus steals and 140-plus blocks to the program. This group has improved each year under head coach Brian Wardle and collected 79 victories while helping the program secure the 2013-14 Horizon League regular season championship.
On Thursday night, Sykes totaled a career-high 36 points and surpassed 2,000 points for his career while leading Green Bay to a 72-67 win at UIC. McKinnie added 13 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
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: Saturday's game can be watched on ESPN3, with Bill Scott (play-by-play) and Cordero Barkley (analyst) on the call. Fans can also tune into WNFL 1440 AM and 92.1 FM, where Matt Menzl (play-by-play) and Mark Daniels (analyst) will bring fans a radio broadcast of the game.
242K: In joining Tony Bennett as the only players in program history to reach the 2,000-point club, Sykes also moved into ninth place on the Horizon League's all-time scoring list, passing Kendrick Perry and Tyrone Hill. With 80 more points, Sykes will move into fifth place all-time, passing Butler Darrin Fitzgerald (2,019), Loyola's Keith Gales (2,026), Oral Roberts' Mark Acres (2,038) and UIC's Cedric Banks (2,097).
LEAGUE OF HIS OWN: With 2,017 career points, 511 career assists and 449 career rebounds, Sykes is the lone active player in the country and the only player in league history to accumulate 2,000-plus points, 500-plus assists and 400-plus rebounds. The Chicago native has also added 150 career steals in his standout four-year career, including a career-high 50 this season.
20-20: Green Bay has won 20 or more games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2008-09 and 2009-10 and 10 or more league games for the first time since 1997. With 46 wins the past two years, the Phoenix has the most combined wins in consecutive seasons since 1994-95 and 1995-96. Brian Wardle has 93 career wins, the most by any Phoenix coach in his first five seasons in the Division I era.
BOUNCIN' BACK: Green Bay's 72-67 win over UIC continued an impressive streak of bounce back performances by the Phoenix. With the win, head coach Brian Wardle's team has now won 18-straight games following a regular season defeat. The team has won each of its seven games in 2014-15 following a loss.
LEADING THE WAY: Sykes has been the starting point for the Phoenix for the past four seasons, starting 121 times entering Thursday night. Last week, Sykes was named one of 17 finalists for the 2015 Bob Cousy Award, handed out annually to the nation's best point guard. Sykes joins Cleveland State's Norris Cole (2011) and Ray McCallum (2012, 2013) as the lone league players with the honor.
DOUBLE-DIGIT DEJA VU: Sykes had scored in double figures in 37-straight games against Horizon League opponents before his streak ended at Valparaiso. The senior has scored in double figures in 67 of the past 70 contests overall, and since the beginning of his sophomore season, he has scored 10-plus in 87 of 93 games. Sykes scored 10-plus just twice in his first 13 games but has reached the mark in 102 of 110 games since turning 18 on Dec. 30, 2012.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: In the midst of tallying historic numbers on the offensive end, it would be easy to overlook Sykes' effort on defense. The point guard tallied four steals at UIC on Thursday night, giving him a career-high 50 this season and 150 for his career. His career steals total ranks eighth all-time just four shy of Gary Grzesk.
FULL FOUSE: Junior Jordan Fouse (Racine, Wis.) 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 7.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. He now ranks third in Phoenix history in blocked shots (130) and fourth in steals (183). Fouse is now sixth all-time in career rebounds (711) after passing Gordon Patterson, Bryan Boettcher, James Bardney, Randy Berry and Jeff Nordgaard.
DYNAMIC DUO: Mays and Sykes combined for 57 points last Wednesday night against Detroit, the most in a single game by Phoenix teammates in the program's Division I era. The last time two Green Bay players combined for at least 57 points was on Dec. 23, 1971, when Dennis Woelffer (32) and Leon Mitchell (27) totaled 59 in a win at Chicago State. Sykes and Mays rank second and fifth, respectively, in the Horizon League in scoring in league play.
HOME SWEET HOME: In five seasons under head coach Brian Wardle, Green Bay has compiled a 59-14 record (.808 winning percentage) at home. The Phoenix is 12-1 at the Resch Center this season, and 6-1 in league play. In the past five seasons at home in league play, the Phoenix is 26-6, winning 14 of its past 16 games.
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