GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- The Green Bay men's basketball team will officially open the 2018-19 regular season on Tuesday morning, hosting Wisconsin Lutheran at the Kress Center for the first-ever Prevea Health School Day Jam game at 11:30 a.m. Over 1,000 local elementary students are expected in attendance, as the Phoenix will tip-off its 50th season in program history.

GB (0-0) hosted Michigan Tech last Thursday in its lone exhibition game, eventually pulling away for the 94-74 win. Tuesday's game will be the first of two home games at the Kress Center for GB this week, also welcoming Indiana State on Friday afternoon.  
 
CATCH THE ACTION: Tuesday, November 6 - 11:30 a.m.  // Green Bay, Wis. (Kress Center)

Matchup: Green Bay (0-0) vs. Wisconsin Lutheran (0-0)

Buy Tickets: Click here or call 920.465.2625 to order tickets. All tickets will be General Admission. 

Game Promotions/Giveaways: Prevea Health School Day Jam

Where to Watch: ESPN+ (ESPN+ requires a monthly membership for $5/month. For more information, click here)

Where to Follow: Live Stats

Where to Listen: The Fan WDUZ 1400 AM

Game Notes: Season Prospectus (PDF)

For Live in-game updates, follow the Phoenix on social media: Twitter - @gbphoenixmbb, Instagram - @gbphoenixmbb
 
EXHIBITION RECAP
After trailing for much of the first half and early into the second half, senior Sandy Cohen III proceeded to take over the game and show just why he is believed to be a strong Player of the Year candidate. Cohen went 6-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with a game-high 28 points, including 20 points in the second half alone. He was one of four players in double-figures, as JayQuan McCloud (12 points), ShanQuan Hemphill (10 points) and Manny Patterson (10 points) each provided a boost. GB forced 16 turnovers and knocked down 13 3s in the win. 

SEASON-OPENERS
GB is a perfect 6-0 when playing its regular season-opener at home over the past 10 seasons, and this will only be the second time in Darner's four-year tenure as head coach that his team was able to open the season at home. Last year the Phoenix fell at Northern Illinois and also lost an overtime thriller at Stanford in his first season, sandwiching between that a dominating win over Northland to open the 2016-17 season. The team will play its first two games at home for the first time since the 2013-14 season, the year the team captured the HL regular season championship. 

NON-COUNTER NUMBERS
In the previous seven matchups against non-counters under Darner, the Phoenix has won by an average of 40.9 PPG. GB will play two non-counters this year, starting with WLC and later facing UW-Stout. Last year, the Phoenix won by 51, 36 and 44 points against its non-counting opponents. It's worth noting, GB is one of six other Horizon League teams that will play two non-counters this season, which includes the three teams picked ahead of GB in most polls in Wright State, Northern Kentucky and UIC.

SANDY SENIOR SZN
Sandy Cohen III will enter the 2018-19 season as the lone senior on the Phoenix roster, but also carries the talent and pedigree to chase Horizon League Player of the Week honors. The nearby Seymour-native started in 22-straight games to end the season last year, after becoming eligible in December. In those 22 games, Cohen was second on the team and sixth in the HL in scoring with 16.1 PPG, registering five double-doubles during that stretch. He was named to the Horizon League Preseason All-League First Team and was named on various basketball platforms as a player to watch in the league. He also led the HL in steals last season with 1.8 SPG in league play, while scoring in double-figures in 16 of those 22 games played. 

FIVE FOR FIGHTING
The Horizon League polls tabbed Green Bay fifth in their preseason poll, which is voted on by coaches, media and sports information directors. Five other media outlets (Athlon Sports, midmajormadness.com, Street & Smith, Blue Ribbon, three-man-weave.com) picked GB fourth, with all polls having some sort of Wright State, Northern Kentucky and UIC coming in the top three. The Phoenix finished seventh last year, but the returning talent and trust in Coach Darner and the program have those picking the Phoenix a bit higher this season.

THREE'S COMPANY
Green Bay made 9.6 3-pointers per game in Horizon League play last season, which led the entire league. Additionally, the team was third in the HL in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting just over 37 percent. The team found its shooting touch towards the end of last season, making 11 or more 3s in six of its final seven games, including a season-high 15 3s in an upset win at Oakland on Feb. 22, 2018. The top two three-point makers from a year ago are gone to graduation (David Jesperson and Khalil Small), but back are the likes of Kameron Hankerson, Cohen, PJ Pipes and TJ Parharm, all of which made 26 3-pointers or more. The welcoming of Cody Schwartz, who went 7-for-8 from 3-point range in the team's scrimmage, will immediately help the team's perimeter presence. 

NO SMALL REPLACEMENT
The team will be tasked with replacing its leading scorer and defensive stalwart in Khalil Small, who has taken his talents overseas to Finland upon graduation. But head coach Linc Darner will look to a core of turned sophomores, which saw significant playing time as freshmen last year. PJ Pipes started in all 18 games as a true freshman, while Manny Patterson started in nine of 14 before suffering an injury. Also playing in valuable minutes as freshmen were Hunter Crist and Trevian Bell, who will surround Cohen and Hankerson once again in 2018-19.

AERIAL ARTISTS
All the talk about the team's newcomers centers around their ability to play above the rim. ShanQuan Hemphill, Jevon Smith and Josh McNair are each capable of making eye-popping dunks at any point in the game, and also bring some athleticism to the defensive end of the court. Add in sharpshooter and slasher JayQuan McCloud, and Darner is armed with a quartet of talent and experience, to join a healthy returning roster. 

FOURTH TIME'S A CHARM
Darner's track record of his team's performance in his fourth season at a school bodes well for Green Bay. In his fourth season at Saint Joseph's in 2005-06, Darner led his team to a 31-3 record and a trip to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. In his fourth season at Florida Southern, Darner led the Mocs to a 25-5 record and another trip to the NCAA Tournament. In each of those seasons he won his conference's regular season championship. Enter 2018-19, where Darner will lead Green Bay in his fourth season, seeking that same fourth-year turnaround success. 

RESCH RELATIONSHIP
The Phoenix will continue to call the Resch Center its primary home. The six-year agreement the two sides reached continues a partnership that dates back to the 2002-03 season, when GB began playing its home games at one of the premier facilities in the state which opened prior to that season. The partnership states that all GB men's basketball home games, with the exception of non-counting games and one "homecoming" game during the Horizon League portion of the season, be played at the Resch Center. A non-counting game is a game where GB plays a non-division 1 opponent or hosts an exhibition game.

WALKING ON
Green Bay will have a pair of walk-ons on the roster this season, returning Tyrone Powell as a sophomore and welcoming freshman Bansi King.

QUOTABLES
Darner on Hankerson: Kam is still young, last year was really his first year playing. The biggest thing for him now is just that level of consistency. He goes out and scores 36, but the next night has five. It's about getting to where he's scoring 15, 18, every night.

Darner on Pipes: PJ has worked extremely hard and gotten himself into tremendous shape. We're hoping he'll grow from his freshman year. He had some very good moments and then also had some moments that a typical freshman will have. We need him to be very good for us to have a chance to compete for a championship.

Darner on Cohen: The big thing for us is just having Sandy out there from the beginning of the season. I think Sandy has a chance to be one of the top players in the league. He can do a lot of different things: he can score, he can rebound, he handles the ball well, he'll get steals and block shots. He'll be up near the top of the league in a bunch of categories.

Darner on this year's schedule: We feel that we have put together a very challenging, but balanced schedule for this upcoming season. Our schedule during the Horizon League season has spread out well this year, never having to play on the road in back to back weekends. I also believe our non-conference schedule will prepare us for the always tough months of league play, facing a run of very talented high-major teams as well as a few quality mid-major opponents.

###

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

Follow us on Twitter:  @GBPhoenixMBB and Instagram: gbphoenixmbb

Like Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball and Green Bay Phoenix Athletics on Facebook.

---GreenBayPhoenix.com---