Men's Basketball 1/3/2024 12:40:00 PM

Phoenix Prepares to Hit the Road to Detroit Mercy and Oakland

GREEN BAY, Wis. – After a 2-0 weekend at home, the Green Bay men's basketball team is hitting the road for their first Horizon League road trip this weekend at Detroit Mercy and Oakland.

Thursday, Jan. 4 – DETROIT, Mich. – Calihan Hall
Detroit Mercy (0-15, 0-4 HL) at Green Bay (8-7, 3-1 HL)
6:00 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats | History

Saturday, Jan. 6 – ROCHESTER, Mich. – O'Rena
Oakland (7-8, 2-2 HL) at Green Bay (8-7, 3-1 HL)
2:00 PM CT
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats | History

ABOUT THE TITANS
Detroit Mercy has struggled in their first 15 games of the season, starting 0-15 and 0-4 in Horizon League play. The Titans are coming into the matchup off of losses at IUPUI (67-55) and Purdue Fort Wayne (91-56).

Detroit Mercy is led by one of the most dynamic scorers in the conference, Jayden Stone, who is averaging 18.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. However, Stone hasn't appeared in a game since Dec. 18 against LMU. Ryan Hurst and Marcus Tankersley have stepped up in his absence, and are averaging 13.5 and 13.4 points per game respectively.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland is shaping up to be a formidable Horizon League team, currently sitting 118th in the NCAA NET rankings behind just Purdue Fort Wayne at 83. The Golden Grizzlies have started the season 7-8 (2-2 HL), but have played four road games against Power Five opponents including an impressive 78-76 road win at Xavier. Oakland enters this weekend after an 88-81 road win at Youngstown State.

Horizon League Preseason All-League First Team selection Trey Townsend is the team's best player, averaging 16.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. Townsend isn't the only offensive threat for the team however, as Blake Lampman (11.3 ppg), Jack Gohlke (11.1 ppg), and Chris Conway (10.8 ppg) all average in double figures.

HISTORY VS DETROIT MERCY
Green Bay is 35-31 all-time against Detroit Mercy, but 13-18 on the road. UDM has won three straight in the series and five of the last six. The Titans won the last matchup against the Phoenix at the Resch Center on Feb. 11, 2023. Antoine Davis led the Titans with 41 points.

HISTORY VS OAKLAND
Green Bay is 14-12 all-time against Oakland, but 4-7 against the Golden Grizzlies on the road. Oakland has won three straight, with GB winning the three before that.Oakland won the last matchup against the Phoenix at the Resch Center on Feb. 9, 2023. Trey Townsend led the Golden Grizzlies with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

LAST TIME OUT
A big second half propelled the Green Bay men's basketball team to its third consecutive victory, defeating Robert Morris 78-61 on New Year's Eve. Noah Reynolds followed up his 39-point performance Friday night with 27 points in Sunday's contest to help the Phoenix improve to 8-7 overall and 3-1 in Horizon League play. Reynolds has now scored 20+ points six times this season.

STARTING OUT STRONG
Green Bay's 8-7 start is the best 15-game start since the 2018-19 season when the Phoenix also started the year 8-7. The 3-1 HL start is also the best four-game start since that same season.

REYNOLDS REAPING REWARDS
Tuesday afternoon, the Horizon League announced the Under Armour Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week, Green Bay guard Noah Reynolds. Reynolds led the Phoenix to a 2-0 weekend with wins over Wright State and Robert Morris. He scored a career-high 39 points on 14-of-19 shooting to go with six assists against the Raiders on Friday, Dec. 29. That 39-point performance is the most points scored by a player across Division I in a regulation game this season and is the sixth-most in a single game in program history. The Peoria, Ill., native backed that performance up with a game-high 27 points in GB's 78-61 win over Robert Morris on Sunday, Dec. 31. Across the two games, Reynolds averaged 33.0 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor and 61.5 percent from three.

The Player of the Week award is the first since JayQuan McCloud on Dec. 23, 2019.

OFFENSIVE UPTICK
GB's three-game win streak is due in part to an offensive uptick for the Phoenix. Over the last three games, the team has averaged 81.7 points per game while allowing their opponents just 61.3 points per game. The last three games have also been the three best shooting performances for the Phoenix, shooting 58.2 percent against Wright State, and 53.7 percent against MSOE and Robert Morris.

MAKE YOUR PRESENCE FELT
Marcus Hall has been making his presence felt the past three games for Green Bay off the bench. Across the win streak, Hall has averaged 10.3 points on 70.5 percent shooting and 40.0 percent shooting from three.

BALANCED ATTACK
In four conference games this season, Green Bay has had six players averaging over 7.0 points per game. Noah Reynolds leads the way at 24.8 points per game, while Elijah Jones (9.8), Rich Byhre (9.3), Clarence Cummings III (9.0), Foster Wonders (9.0), and Preston Ruedinger (7.0) have also made an impact. GB is outscoring their opponents 76.7 to 67.8 in HL play.

GREEN BAY GRIT
The Phoenix has prided itself on the defensive side of the ball all year long. GB allows the second-fewest points per game at 66.3. They also rank near the top of the HL in opponent FG% (3rd, 41.6%), opponent 3FG% (3rd, 31.8%), and combined opponent rebounds (2nd, 32.5).

DJ MAKING NOISE
Green Bay Freshman David Douglas Jr. had four straight performances of double-digit scoring, which is the second-longest streak on the team this year. Across those four games, he averaged 13.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Douglas was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week on Dec. 26 after his career-high 15 points and five rebounds against MSOE on Dec. 21.

REYNOLDS SQUARED
Green Bay is one of two schools in the country that have a brother duo as a coach and a player. Assistant coach Nic Reynolds and Phoenix lead guard Noah Reynolds are brothers. UConn's Mamadou Diarra (Director of Player Development) and Hassan Diarra (senior guard) are the other duo.

EFFICIENT ELIJAH
Another standout for Green Bay this season has been Elijah Jones, who is seventh in the HL in rebounding at 6.6 rebounds per game and second in scoring on GB's roster at 9.0 points per game. Jones is one of the most efficient players on GB's roster, shooting 78.9 percent from the floor.

OFFSEASON RECAP
A lot happened during the 2023 offseason, let's get you caught up:

March 14 - Sundance Wicks was named the ninth head coach in Green Bay men's basketball history.
March 30 - The rest of the coaching staff is announced. Pat Monaghan, Zach Malvik, and Nic Reynolds are added as assistant coaches and Adam Owens is retained as the Director of Basketball Operations.
April 19 – Will Eames, David Douglas Jr., Preston Ruedinger, and Rich Byhre are added to the roster.
May 1 – Noah Reynolds, Elijah Jones, and Foster Wonders join Green Bay.
June 2 – Rahmon Fletcher joins the staff as the Director of Player Development.

IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN GB
Green Bay hired Sundance Wicks as the program's next head coach on March 14, 2023. Wicks comes to the Phoenix after three seasons as an assistant coach at Wyoming. In his first season with the Cowboys, Wicks helped revamp an offense that led the Mountain West in scoring at 76.5 points per game. Prior to his time with the Cowboys, he spent two highly successful years as the head coach at NCAA DII Missouri Western State in St. Joseph, Missouri. The Gillette, Wyo., native led the Griffons to 18 wins in 2019-20, which was the most by the program in 10 years. In his first season at the helm of the program, his team doubled their win total from the year before. In his two seasons, Wicks mentored six All-MIAA players and an NABC All-District selection. Coach Wicks' first win at Green Bay came on Thursday, Nov. 9 against St. Francis (Ill.).

NEW LOOK ROSTER
The Phoenix underwent a roster transformation this past offseason. Of GB's 15 rostered players, three are returners, six are transfers, and six are incoming freshmen.

FAMILIAR FACES
Two of Green Bay's six transfers have played for coach Wicks prior to his time in GB. Will Eames played under coach Wicks at Missouri Western State in 2019-20 when he was the MIAA Freshman of the Year and All-MIAA honorable mention. Another Phoenix that has played for coach Wicks is Wyoming transfer Noah Reynolds. Reynolds was the second leading scorer on Wyoming last year, averaging 14.5 points per game in 19 games played.

PRESEASON #HLMBB POLL
PL. Team (1st-place votes) – PTS.
1. Northern Kentucky (18) - 435
2. Milwaukee (10) - 397
3. Wright State (12) - 392
4. Cleveland State (1) - 362
5. Youngstown State (3) -342
6. Oakland - 280
7. Robert Morris- 186
8. Purdue Fort Wayne- 166
9. Detroit Mercy- 132
10. IUPUI - 116
11. Green Bay – 96

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Players Mentioned

#3 Clarence Cummings III: F; 6' 5"; Redshirt Junior

#15 David Douglas Jr.: G; 6' 5"; Freshman

#23 Will Eames: F; 6' 7"; Graduate Student

#2 Preston Ruedinger: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore

#34 Rich Byhre: F; 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior

#0 Foster Wonders: G; 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore

#1 Elijah Jones: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#21 Noah Reynolds: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#13 Marcus Hall: F; 6' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Clarence Cummings III
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Junior
: F

#15 David Douglas Jr.
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: G

#23 Will Eames
: 6' 7"; Graduate Student
: F

#2 Preston Ruedinger
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#34 Rich Byhre
: 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior
: F

#0 Foster Wonders
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#1 Elijah Jones
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#21 Noah Reynolds
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#13 Marcus Hall
: 6' 6"; Freshman
: F