GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- The Green Bay men's basketball team will officially begin its 49th season on Tuesday night, when it opens the 2017-18 season at Northern Illinois for a 7 p.m. tip at the NIU Convocation Center. The Phoenix, led by head coach Linc Darner in his third season, will make the short bus ride to Dekalb, Ill., to face a former conference opponent in the Huskies dating back to the Mid-Continent Conference days.

CATCH THE ACTION: Tuesday, November 14 - 7:00 PM CT // Dekalb, Ill. (NIU Convocation Center)

Game Notes: at Northern Illinois (11.14.17)

Matchup: Green Bay Phoenix (2016-17: 18-14, 12-6 HL) at Northern Illinois Huskies (2016-17: 15-17, 7-11 MAC)

Where to Follow Stats: SIDEARM Live Stats

Where to Watch: ESPN3

Where to Listen: WNFL 101.9 FM, 1440 AM with Brian Kuklinski on the call

For Live in-game updates, follow: @gbphoenixmbb on Twitter and gbphoenixmbb on Instagram

SEASON-OPENERS
The 2017-18 season-opener will only mark just the second time in the last 8 years that Green Bay will play its first regular season game on the road. Over the past seven years, Green Bay has opened the season 1-0 in six of those seasons, and will look to make it seven wins in eight seasons on Tuesday night.

LATE TO THE PARTY
When the Phoenix and Huskies tip off on Tuesday night, they will be two of the remaining five teams left in NCAA Division I to play their first official game this season. NIU was originally scheduled to play last Friday, but did not play due to poor court conditions, which would have left GB as one of only four teams left in the nation. Manhattan, Florida State and Temple are the three others to have not yet played this year.

SERIES HISTORY vs NIU
Despite the short distance between the two schools (237 miles), this will be the first meeting since 2007. Green Bay has dominated the series all-time, owning a 24-5 all-time record and winners of 12-straight in the series. The two teams met twice a year from 1987 to 1997, when they competed against one another in the Mid-Continent Conference.

DARNER DANDY
In his first two seasons at the helm, Darner has won 41 games, the most in the first two seasons by any Green Bay men's basketball coach in the history of the school. Darner led the Phoenix to its fifth-consecutive postseason berth, after his team was invited to the 2017 College Basketball Invitational. In 2016-17, his team finished third in the Horizon League with a 12-6 record and an 18-14 overall mark. Darner coached four players to the Horizon All-League teams, the most in program history. Despite losing his starting point guard early in the conference season, Darner coached the Phoenix to 12 league wins, with five of them coming on the road. His team went 10-3 at home, including big wins over Valparaiso, Northern Kentucky, Wright State and Milwaukee.

RECAPPING EX2: MINNESOTA
The 15th-ranked Golden Gophers showed why they are ranked in the Top 25 of the preseason polls, winning 115-86 in an exhibition matchup benefiting Hurricane Relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Despite the score, it was another opportunity for a young Green Bay squad to get live game experience, against a formidable opponent. All 10 players to play for the Phoenix scored in the game, led by Khalil Small's double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. TJ Parham, Trevian Bell and Will Chevalier also finished in double figures, scoring 17, 12 and 10 points respectively. Green Bay shot much better in the second half, improving to 46.3 percent from its 35.7 percent in the first half.  The team also finished a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line and went 11-for-26 from 3-point range.

RECAPPING EX1: RIPON
Six players scored in double figures on Monday night, as Green Bay rolled to a 100-70 victory at the Resch Center in the team's first exhibition game of the season. The Phoenix scored an even 50 points in each half, while Khalil Small, Kameron Hankerson and PJ Pipes each scored 15 points in their first live game action of the season. Hankerson also dished out eight assists, with fellow backcourt mate Small finishing with five assists. 

Green Bay enjoyed a nice 26-14 assist to turnover ratio on the night and shot 14-for-27 from the 3-point line in the winning effort. Three other players reached double figures, with Sukhjot Bains, TJ Parham and Hunter Cristscoring 10 points. Manny Patterson grabbed eight rebounds and David Jesperson and Will Chevalier combined for another 17 points.

GREEN BAY BASKETBALL IS BACK
The 49^th season of Green Bay Phoenix basketball will take place in 2017-18, the third season under the direction of head coach Linc Darner. The program began back in 1969-70 with Hall of Fame coach Dave Buss leading the way, and 48 years later and 862 total wins carries into another season. The program has now finished .500 or better in 10 of the last 11 seasons and has won 18 or more games in five-straight years.

YOUR BETTER HALF
The Phoenix, with its third place finish in the Horizon League regular season last year, has now finished in the top half of the league standings in five-straight seasons. During this stretch, the team has also made five-straight postseason appearances and finished Top 3 in the HL in four of those years. Of course, the Phoenix punched its NCAA Tournament bid in 2016 after winning four games in four days in Detroit, and captured the regular season title in 2014. Most impressively, Green Bay is the only team in the HL to have finished in the top half in each of the past five seasons.

SENIOR SWAG
The 2017-18 senior leadership will be carried by seniors Khalil Small and David Jesperson, both entering their final seasons in a Phoenix uniform. Small has not missed a game over the last two seasons (68 total), and has started in 60 of those games. Jesperson appeared in 30 of his team's 32 games from a season ago, after sitting out 2015-16 upon transferring. The two seniors at the top is far apart from the six seniors the Phoenix featured last season, each of whom graduated this past May.

OPPORTUNITY AWAITS
With the departure of eight key players from a season ago, coach Darner and his staff will be faced with the tall task of replacing over 80 percent of its scoring and over 80 percent of its minutes played from last year. Six graduating seniors and two transfers created a roster that boasts three familiar faces and a plethora of newcomers. All told, 15.6 PPG returns from this past season, but this vacancy creates a an opportunity for the many young faces and JUCO transfers to step in. They also won't have a choice, especially with Cody Schwartz sitting for the season due to NCAA Division I transfer rules and Sandy Cohen III not eligible until Dec. 21.

COHEN GRANTED
Now a redshirt-junior, Seymour native Sandy Cohen III was granted an additional year of eligibility, the program announced on October 6, 2017. Cohen III will become eligible on Dec. 21 at home against Bowling Green and will then have another full season (2018-19) remaining. The Marquette-transfer averaged 11.0 PPG for the team in Puerto Rico and led the team in rebounding with 5.5 RPG. "This is great news for Sandy and our program." Agreed.

DEFENSE NOT SMALL
Senior Khalil Small was named to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team last season, serving as the team's lock down defender and being forced to guard some of the best players in the HL. The Chicago native averaged 5.2 RPG, registered over a steal per game and finished with 9.6 PPG in league games last season.

JUCO JUMP
TJ Parham and Sukhjot Bains will make the jump from the JUCO ranks to the Division I level this season, and will be relied upon early and often for the Phoenix. Parham brings a wealth of experience as a redshirt-sophomore, spending last season at Wabash Valley College in Illinois, averaging 15.4 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 30 games. Bains averaged 13.4 PPG and 8.0 RPG at Northwest College in Wyoming and brings a good combination of size and shooting, which fits well in Darner's RP40 system.

KRASHING THE KRESS
For the first time in program history, Green Bay will host a Horizon League contest at the Kress Center on campus. The Phoenix will host UIC on Friday, Feb. 16, for an 8 p.m. tip with the game to be televised nationally on the ESPN Family of Networks. Working in conjunction with the Green Bay Alumni Association, "Krash the Kress" will serve as the Phoenix's final home game of the 2017-18 season. More information on the game and event, including promotions, activities and game details will be released later.

HOOPS IN THE HEARTLAND
The Phoenix will take part in the 2017 Hoops in the Heartland benefitting Men Against Breast Cancer, playing three home games and one road game. The team will host Lakeland College on Friday, Nov. 17, its first official home game of the year, before traveling to Mississippi State on Monday, Nov. 20. Green Bay then returns home for a pair of games against two teams from the Sunshine State in Florida A&M (Friday, Nov. 24) and Stetson (Monday, Nov. 27).

HARD HORIZON
Green Bay will be put to the test to open league action, playing seven games in the first 15 days of the Horizon League schedule. The Phoenix will open at home with Detroit Mercy (Dec. 28) and Oakland (Dec. 30) before the New Year, and will host the league's newest member in IUPUI on Jan. 2.

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