GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- Green Bay will tip-off its 2019-20 home-opener on Saturday night at the Kress Center, hosting UW-Stout for Hometown Hero and Bud Light Night at 6 p.m.. All Veterans will receive free admission and fans can also enjoy $2 16 oz Bud Lights from the concessions stand. 

CATCH THE ACTION: Saturday, November 9, 6 p.m. CT // KRESS CENTER

Matchup: Green Bay (0-1) vs. UW-Stout (0-0)

Buy Tickets: Purchase Here
Game Promotion: Hometown Hero Night (All veterans receive free admission) | Bud Light Night  ($2 16 oz Bud Light)
Giveaways: N/A

Where to Watch: Online-ESPN3
Where to Follow Stats: PhoenixStats.com
Where to Listen: The Fan 1400 AM WDUZ

Game Notes: Green Bay  |  UW-Stout

For Live in-game updates, follow the Phoenix on social media: Twitter - @gbphoenixmbb, Instagram - @gbphoenixmbb

LAST TIME OUT

• Green Bay faced a tall task on opening night, visiting Mackey Arena for a battle with 23rd-ranked Purdue. GB fell 79-57 to the defending B10 champions, and had three players score in double-figures. Kameron Hankerson led all GB scorers with 14 points and three assists, while JayQuan McCloud and Amari Davis each scored 10. After not hitting a 3-pointer in the first half, the Phoenix made 7 of its 14 attempts. View the complete box score here. 

LAST GAME'S STARTERS

• G - Kameron Hankerson
• G - JayQuan McCloud
• F - Tank Hemphill
• F - Josh McNair
• F - Manny Patterson

SERIES HISTORY

• The Phoenix and Blue Devils will meet for a second-straight year, after playing for the first time ever last season. GB was victorious by a 112-46 margin on Dec. 11, 2018, winning in convincing fashion. 

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

• Green Bay used a 30-0 run in the first half to blow the game open, before scoring the seventh-most points in program history with 112. Seven players finished in double-figures for the Phoenix, led by Sandy Cohen's 17 points. GB received a 61-point lift from its bench and outscored Stout in the paint by a convincing 58-8 margin.

ABOUT UW-STOUT

• Stout (6-19 a season ago) actually plays against St. Olaf College on Friday night, its regular season opener in Menomonie. Under second-year head coach Jim Lake, the Blue Devils are going to have to replace senior starters John Keefe and Zach Dahl, who graduated last year. That responsibility is likely to fall on the shoulders of 6-foot-2 guard Luke Geiger and 6-foot-6 forward Jon Ciriacks, who are both entering their junior seasons after breakout sophomore campaigns. Geiger and Ciriacks combined to average just over 26 points per game, with Geiger dropping in 13.8 points and Ciriacks, who earned all-WIAC honorable mention honors, scored 13.0 points. Ciriacks pulled down 6.6 rebounds per contest, ranking fifth in the WIAC. The Blue Devils bring back 11 players and bring on eight newcomers.

PURDUE POSITIVITY

• Despite the final score in Green Bay's season-opening loss at 23^rd-ranked Purdue on Wednesday night, the team and head coach Linc Darner had plenty of positives to take away. Save for a couple of lengthy runs by the Boilermakers, the Phoenix went toe-to-toe for much of the game with the defending B10 champions. GB trailed by just 12 with 7 minutes left, and was a shot away from cutting it to single digits in front of a hostile crowd at Mackey Arena. Most notably, freshman Amari Davis showed true promise, scoring 10 points and giving GB the spark it needed during a draught in the first half. Davis finished at the rim and knocked down mid-range jump shots. The program might have a star in the making.

ACTION, AMARI

• The bright lights didn't shine too bright for freshman Amari Davis at Purdue, scoring 10 points all in the first half on 5-for-6 shooting. In his first collegiate game, Davis gave Darner a huge spark off the bench, scoring his 10 points in 10 minutes. He had a pair of rebounds and added two flashy assists, that also helped GB stay within striking distance in the second half. Davis comes from Trotwood-Madison High School in Ohio, where he was named the Ohio Division 2 State Player of the Year and led his team to the State Title as well. Davis will look for an encore in his first-ever home game.

HOME COOKING

• Under Darner in the last four seasons, Green Bay has dominated at home to the tune of a 46-15 record including an impressive 15-3 mark last season. GB returns to the Kress Center, a venue it played some of its best basketball just seven months ago in that magical CIT run. The team won three games from March 26 through April 2 and energized the Phoenix faithful. The Phoenix will play two more games at the Kress Center in November, hosting CSUN (Cal State Northridge) and Colgate on Nov. 25-26. Darner is hoping the Kress magic continues into 2019-20.

CONNECTING WITH KENPOM

• After just one game in the books, Green Bay played at the 11th-fastest pace among all NCAA Division I teams, averaging 75.8 possessions per 40 minutes. In the four seasons under Linc Darner, here is where Green Bay has ranked in adjusted tempo:
  • 2018-19: 13th
  • 2017-18: 23rd
  • 2016-17: 7th
  • 2015-16: 6th
• KenPom also ranks Green Bay's non-conference schedule as the 2nd-toughest among all teams, only behind Kentucky. This ranking would seem to be accurate, given the teams listed on GB's 2019-20 schedule. The Phoenix played at Purdue and will also make trips to New Mexico, Wisconsin, Xavier, UCF, Montana State, Eastern Illinois and Northern Illinois. They will also host Colgate this season, a mid-major projected to win their league and make it back to another NCAA Tournament.

SO LONG SANDY

• With the graduation of do-it-all guard Sandy Cohen III, GB will have to replace its leader in all major categories this season. Cohen led the Phoenix in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and minutes a season ago, and has now taken his talents to Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, after trying out for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League. Even with SCIII gone, GB still returns 75 percent of its scoring a season ago and returns four out of five starters. Playing a total of 38 games last year, Darner watched players earn valuable minutes and experience down the stretch in the CIT run. He will not be easy to replace, but Darner has five seniors and four juniors to look to.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

• Green Bay opens its season with three of its first four games on the road, and all 3 coming at hostile environments. GB will have its home-opener against UW-Stout on Nov. 9, but will follow that with trips to New Mexico (11/13) and Wisconsin (11/21) after that. GB will also play road games at Montana State, at No. 19 Xavier, at Eastern Illinois, at UCF and at Northern Illinois. The team will play 8 road games in the nonconference, compared to only five games at home.

GBonTV

• The Phoenix is scheduled to play five games on national TV this season, with a pair of games on BTN and ESPNU. GB will also play on FS2 against Xavier. Additionally, GB will play all of its home games on either ESPN3 or ESPN+, with the Legends Classic being aired on FloSports.

BASKETBALL IS BACK

• Seems like only yesterday, Green Bay finished its season with a deep run in the CIT that saw the team play into early April before falling in the CIT Championship game at Marshall. Finishing 21-17, it's the most games ever played by any Green Bay men's basketball team in its 50-year program history, and the longest a team has ever played. Prior to the four wins in the CIT, GB fell in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament to top-seeded Wright State, but after it finished 4th in the HL and earned a Quarterfinal round home game. GB will enter its 51st season in program history, and the fifth under head coach Linc Darner.

HORIZON HAPPY

• With its 10 wins last season, GB has now won 10 or more games in League play in seven of the last eight seasons, and the third time in four seasons under Darner. The team has finished fourth or higher in the HL in six out of the last seven seasons as well, earning a postseason appearance in each of those six seasons. The HL preseason poll has GB tabbed fifth, behind Wright State, NKU, UIC and Oakland.

SENIOR SZN

• The Phoenix boasts a strong veteran lineup in 2019-20, led by five seniors and a bevy of juniors. Seniors ShanQuan Hemphill, JayQuan McCloud, Josh McNair, Kameron Hankerson and Cody Schwartz have all played signficant minutes during their Green Bay careers, four of which started the bulk of games last season. The junior class, one of Darners first full recruiting classes, is led by PJ Pipes, Trevian Bell, Manny Patterson and Hunter Crist. Each of those players have also played significant minutes over the last two seasons, and will be leaned up again this season. Despite the departure of Sandy Cohen, GB will deploy a strong veteran side this season.

McCLOUD NINE

• JayQuan McCloud earned All-Horizon League Second Team recognition, serving as the team's returning leading scorer from a season ago. The Chicago native averaged 14.1 PPG in league play last season, playing in all 18 games and finishing with a team-high 35 made 3-pointers. Overall on the season, McCloud averaged 13.7 PPG and made 77 3-pointers, while ranking third on the team in minutes per game. He was also named to the CIT All-Tournament Team and was instrumental to the team's deep run in that postseason tournament. 

FRESHMEN FOCUS

• Arriving on the UWGB campus for this season are four freshman, two scholarship players and two walk-ons. Amari Davis and Japannah Kellogg III were recruited by Darner and his staff and both come to GB after highly-successful high school careers. Davis comes Trotwood, Ohio, where he was named Ohio Division II State Player of the Year, leading his team to the Ohio DII State Title. He averaged just over 30 points per game his senior season and was named All-State. Kellogg III led his Ames High School team to its first State Tournament appearance since 2015, earning All-State recognition and All-Area and All-League First Team. Kellogg III stands at 6-8 and can play multiple positions for GB, giving Darner a pair of standout freshmen. Walking on for the Phoenix this year will be local standout Lucas Stieber and Novi, Michigan native Jiovanni Miles. Miles grew up with fellow-Phoenix Kam Hankerson, while Stieber has the honor of being GB all-time great Tony Bennett's nephew.

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