Men's Basketball 11/7/2024 4:00:00 PM

Green Bay Set to Host St. Thomas in Home Opener Tomorrow Night

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay men's basketball team is set to host their first home game of the 2024-25 season tomorrow when St. Thomas comes to town for a 6 p.m. showdown. Head coach Doug Gottlieb will look for his first win as a collegiate head coach after the Phoenix fell in their opener at Oklahoma State 89-76.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
St. Thomas (1-0) vs. Green Bay (0-1)
Friday, November 8 | Tickets
6:00 PM CST | Game Notes
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (Mixlr) | Live Stats

ABOUT THE TOMMIES
St. Thomas head coach Johnny Tauer is entering his 14th season in charge of the Tommies. Tauer spent his playing days at St. Thomas from 1991-95 before becoming an assistant in 2000, until eventually landing the head coaching gig in 2011, most notably claiming a DIII national title in 2016. The Tommies finished last season with a 20-13 overall record and 9-7 in the Summit League, coming in fourth.

Kendall Blue is the returning leading scorer for St. Thomas, averaging 10.6 points per game a season ago while averaging 4.1 rebounds. Two other top-scoring returners from last season are sophomore Carter Bjerke (5.7 PPG) and graduate student Drake Dobbs (9.5 PPG).

The Tommies bring in 8 newcomers, including three transfers and five freshmen. A familiar face to Phoenix fans is graduate transfer Rich Byhre, who spent last season with the Green Bay Phoenix, averaging 5.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game under head coach Sundance Wicks. More key transfers include UW-Whitewater transfer Miles Barnstable, who led St. Thomas with 16 points in the Tommies season-opening 96-71 win over North Central.

HISTORY VS ST. THOMAS
This will be the sixth matchup between the Phoenix and the Tommies. The last matchup was on Nov. 25, 2023, in GB, when the Phoenix won, 64-51. St. Thomas holds a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series.

OKLAHOMA STATE OPENER
Green Bay traveled to Oklahoma State in Doug Gottlieb's first game as the Green Bay Head Coach, falling 89-76. Anthony Roy led the Phoenix with 27 points and made seven threes. Marcus Hall added a career-high 21 points and had a team-high seven rebounds. Bryce Thompson scored 22 points to lead Oklahoma State. Green Bay shot 14-for-31 from deep and 25-for-51 from the floor.

ROY ON THE RISE
In his DI return, Anthony Roy stood out offensively for the Phoenix. Roy shot 7-for-13 from three, and tallied 27, enough for his highest scoring performance in his DI career. The senior from Oakland, Calif. also set career DI bests in assists (3), three pointers made (7) and attempted (13), field goals made (9), and field goals attempted (16).

MONEY MARCUS
Second-year forward Marcus Hall had the best performance of his young career to date against the Cowboys, sinking four of his nine threes, both career-highs, while adding another career-high 21 points to the scoreboard, accompanied by a team-leading seven rebounds. Hall played the most minutes of any Phoenix player with 39 minutes.

INTERNATIONAL TALENT
The 2024-25 Phoenix roster features players from three foreign countries and eight different U.S. states. Ben Tweedy is from Australia, Roee Oselka is from Israel, and Mouhamadou Cisse is from Senegal.

TOP 10 TURNAROUND
After a program-low 3-29 season in 2022-23, Green Bay bounced back with a resilient 18-14 record a season ago in head coach Sundance Wicks' lone season with the Phoenix, jumping from last in the Horizon League to third. That 15.0 game turnaround is tied for the 10th-best turnaround in NCAA Division I history.

NEW LOOK ROSTER
The Phoenix underwent a roster transformation this past off-season. Of GB's rostered players, five are returners, five are transfers, and eight are incoming freshmen.

FAMILIAR FACES
Multiple returners will play large roles in the upcoming 2024-25 season, including Foster Wonders, Preston Ruedinger, and Marcus Hall. Last season, Ruedinger averaged 8.4, Wonders averaged 7.8, and Hall averaged 6.4 points per game. Mac Wrecke and Ryan Wade are the other two returners and will be featured in Coach Gottlieb's rotation.

OFFSEASON RECAP
A lot happened during the 2024 offseason. Let's get you caught up:

May 12 – Sundance Wicks named Wyoming head men's basketball coach
May 14 - Doug Gottlieb is named the 10th head coach in Green Bay men's basketball history.
June 6 – The rest of the coaching staff is announced, consisting of Aerick Sanders, Damon Archibald, Dennis Harrington, and Kaden LeCapitaine, joining Jordan McCabe.
Over the summer - The Phoenix bring in eight freshmen for the 2024-25 season: Ayden Goll, Jeremiah Johnson, Ben Tweedy, Bennett Basich, C.J. O'Hara, Brady Fitzgerald, Caden Wilkens, and Roee Oselka. Five transfers make their way to Green Bay this season including, Donovan Santoro, Anthony Roy, Muodubem Muoneke, Isaiah Miranda, and Mouhamadou Cisse.

PRESEASON #HLMBB POLL
PL. TEAM (1st PLACE VOTES) – PTS.
T1. Milwaukee (15) – 421
T1. Purdue Fort Wayne (14) – 421
3. Northern Kentucky (4) – 389
4. Oakland (5) – 345
5. Wright State (4) – 315
6. Youngstown State (1) – 272
7. Cleveland State – 252
8. Green Bay – 171
9. Robert Morris – 148
10. IU Indianapolis (1) – 91
11. Detroit Mercy – 79

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

#4 Mac Wrecke: G; 6' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

#8 Bennett Basich: G; 6' 4"; Freshman

#7 Donovan Santoro: F; 6' 8"; Sophomore

#10 C.J. O'Hara: G; 6' 4"; Freshman

#31 Roee Oselka: F/C; 6' 10"; Freshman

#15 Ryan Wade: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

#4 Mac Wrecke
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

#8 Bennett Basich
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: G

#7 Donovan Santoro
: 6' 8"; Sophomore
: F

#10 C.J. O'Hara
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: G

#31 Roee Oselka
: 6' 10"; Freshman
: F/C

#15 Ryan Wade
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior
: G