GREEN BAY, Wis.. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- The Green Bay men's basketball team will return home to face Florida A&M on Black Friday, with the action tipping off early at 6 p.m. at the Resch Center. The game is the third for the Phoenix in its series of games as part of the Hoops in the Heartland benefiting Men Against Breast Cancer. GB defeated Lakeland and dropped a tough bout at Mississippi State on Monday and will also host Stetson on Monday night. 

CATCH THE ACTION: Friday, November 24 - 6:00 PM CT // Ashwaubenon, Wis. (Resch Center)

Game Notes: Green Bay Notes: vs Florida A&M (11-24-17)  //  Florida A&M Notes: vs Green Bay

Matchup: Green Bay Phoenix (1-2, 0-0 HL) vs Florida A&M (1-4, 0-0 MEAC)

Tickets: Purchase Here

Promotions: FREE ticket voucher for BOGO tickets to Monday's Stetson game

Where to Follow Stats: StatBroadcast Live Stats

Where to Watch: ESPN3 / WatchESPN

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

RP40 NOTES

• Green Bay put forth a valiant effort on the road at Mississippi State on Monday night, falling 77-68 but trailed by only four points midway through the second half. The Phoenix defense held MSU to 3-for-23 (13 percent) from 3-point range and forced the Bulldogs into 14 turnovers. The 24-8 start by MSU proved to be the difference, although GB was only outscored by one 37-36 in the second half.

• After shooting 68.9 percent last year and 65.7 percent in 2015-16 from the free throw line, Green Bay has been knocking down the freebies this season at a 80.7 percent (71-for-88) clip. That percentage would serve as the highest season free throw percentage in program history. GB leads the Horizon League in free throw percentage and ranks 17th nationally after 3 games.
   
• Teams have had a tough time shooting from beyond the arc against the Phoenix, having made just 9 of their 84 total attempts through 3 games. The 10.7 percent teams are shooting against GB from 3-point range is the lowest percentage allowed by any team in the NCAA thus far.

• Senior Khalil Small continues to lead the Phoenix in scoring through 3 games, averaging 13.7 PPG and 9.7 RPG. Small has scored in double-figures in each of his first three games and leads the Phoenix in minutes, averaging 31.7 MPG. Small also leads GB in assists per game, averaging 3.0 APG and has shot 20-for-22 from the free throw line. All three categories Small currently leads in would set career-highs in each.

• The Phoenix returns home for its next two games, both part of the Hoops in the Heartland benefiting Men Against Breast Cancer, hosting Florida A&M and Stetson. GB is 72-16 at home since 2011-12 and is 22-6 under head coach Linc Darner. The Phoenix will play 16 regular season games at home this season, and picked up a dominating 77-68 win over Lakeland in its home-opener.

• Redshirt-sophomore TJ Parham enjoyed a strong performance at Mississippi State, giving GB a spark on a few occasions, including a buzzer-beating 3 to end the first half. Parham is second on the team in scoring with 12.0 PPG and has knocked down 6 of his 14 3-point attempts, which leads the team. Parham has played the third most minutes and has gone 10-for-13 from the free throw line in his first season at Green Bay.

• For the second-straight game, Green Bay will face an opponent it has never played before, when it takes the court against the Rattlers. GB had never faced MSU or Lakeland in the regular season, but has played every other team on its remaining schedule at least once, outside of Rockford. GB is 5-4 all-time against teams from the state of Florida, and has won its last two, downing both Miami and Florida Gulf Coast in the 2014-15 season.   

• Green Bay in NCAA national rankings:
  +  3-point field goal percentage defense: 1st (10.7 percent)
  +  Rebounds per game: 5th (49.67 RPG)
  +  Field goal percentage defense: 12th (33.7 percent)
  +  Free throw percentage: 17th (80.7 percent)

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.

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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