Men's Hoops Hosts Rockford, Lakeland This Week

WLC currently stands third in NAC South

January 21, 2013

Sophomore Kyle Stelse

MILWAUKEE – The Wisconsin Lutheran College men’s basketball team begins a three-game homestand this week with a pair of Northern Athletics Conference games at the Recreation Complex. The Warriors will face NAC South Division foe Rockford (5-13, 3-6 NAC) Wednesday night before hosting NAC North-leading Lakeland (16-3, 7-1 NAC) Saturday afternoon.

LIVE COVERAGE: Live audio, stats, and video will be provided for both games this week. Jon Henseler (play-by-play) and Sam Siemers (color analyst) will call the action of the games courtside. All links can be found at wlcsports.com.

WISCONSIN LUTHERAN UPDATE: The Warriors dropped their only game last week against NAC South leader Aurora, 71-59. WLC held a lead with about 15 minutes to play but the Spartans closed the game strong to remain unbeaten in conference play. Sophomore Kyle Stelse (Jefferson, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) led the Warriors in scoring with 15 points while senior Julion Griffin (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) posted a double-double with 13 points and a game-best 13 rebounds. Wisconsin Lutheran owned the battle of the boards against Aurora, grabbing 48 rebounds compared to 31 for the Spartans.

HEAD COACH SKIP NOON: Skip Noon is in his 21st season as head coach of the Warriors. Noon, the second-longest tenured coach in the state of Wisconsin, has compiled a 263-285 career coaching record. He owns a 164-131 career conference mark, and has been named Coach of the Year of the former Lake Michigan Conference five times. Prior to arriving at Wisconsin Lutheran, Noon spent six seasons coaching at Michigan Lutheran High School in St. Joseph, Mich.

SCOUTING ROCKFORD: The Regents have been struggling of late as they enter the week on an eight-game losing streak, including dropping six straight conference games after starting conference play 3-0. Junior guard Scott Suchy has been the Regents' top player as he ranks second in the conference averaging 17.2 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY: The Warriors hold an 8-6 series lead over Rockford heading into Wednesday's matchup. The two teams met earlier this season on December 5 in Rockford, Ill., where the Regents held on for a 72-65 victory. Sophomore Brett Lubbe (Las Vegas, Nev./Faith Lutheran) posted career-highs in points (18) and rebounds (13) in the loss.

ROCKFORD HEAD COACH RYAN REBSOM: Ryan Rebsom is in his eighth season as head coach of the Regents. The 2008-2009 NAC Coach of the Year owns a 76-122 record during his tenure at Rockford, which includes a 9-7 league record last season where RC finished one win shy of the NAC South Division crown. Rebsom was a high school coach in Montana, serving stints at two different schools, before coming to Rockford.

SCOUTING LAKELAND: The Muskies are the current leaders of the NAC North Division as they bring a 9-1 league record and a 16-3 overall record into this week. Lakeland dropped its first conference game of the season, a 75-70 setback against MSOE Thusday in Sheboygan, Wis. Jake Schwarz has been the Muskies' top player this season as he leads the conference in scoring (23.4 points per game), and is second in rebounding (9.5 rebounds per game).

SERIES HISTORY: Saturday's matchup marks the 58th all-time meeting between Wisconsin Lutheran and Lakeland, with the Muskies holding a 35-22 lead in the series. Last season LC won both meetings, including a 96-74 win at Wisconsin Lutheran where Schwarz led Lakeland with 20 points and nine rebounds. WLC was led by Alex Merbach's 15 points, while Nate Bauer (Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) chipped in with 14.

LAKELAND HEAD COACH AARON AANONSEN: Aaron Aanonsen is in his fifth season as head men’s basketball coach at Lakeland. Aanonsen owns a 75-49 career record and the Muskies have improved every season since he took over the program prior to 2008-2009, including a 21-7 record a season ago.

IN THE POLLS: Wisconsin Lutheran was tabbed for a sixth-place finish in the NAC South Division with 16 poll points. Lakeland was a near unanimous favorite to win the North Division, receiving 11 of 12 first-place votes and 71 poll points, while Rockford was slated for a third-place finish in the South with 41 poll points.

NEXT WEEK: The Warriors conclude their three-game homestand next week with a Tuesday night game against Dominican (8-10, 6-4 NAC) before traveling to face Edgewood (4-14, 3-6 NAC) Saturday afternoon.

PROJECTED STARTERS:

WISCONSIN LUTHERAN
#5 Tim Demuth, 5-10, Sr., G, Franksville, Wis./Racine Lutheran
15.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.2 apg
#12 Nate Bauer, 6-0, Sr., G, Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran
12.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.6 apg
#15 Sam Kuehl, 6-4, So., F, Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran
7.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.1 apg
#23 Julion Griffin, 6-3, Sr., F, Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran
6.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 0.8 apg
#32 Brett Lubbe, 6-4, So., F, Las Vegas, Nev./Faith Lutheran
6.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 0.9 apg

ROCKFORD
#2 Scott Suchy, 6-0, Jr., G, Genoa, Ill./Genoa-Kingston
17.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.0 apg
#3 Tory Minnifield, 6-0, Jr., F, Blue Island, Ill./Eisenhower
12.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
#4 Arthur Miller IV, 6-0, Jr., G, Burlington, Wis./Burlington
4.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.2 apg
#12 Grant Olsen, 6-4, Sr., G, DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb
11.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.9 apg
#15 Sam Chones, 6-5, Sr., F, Milwaukee, Wis./Riverside
6.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.9 apg

LAKELAND
#10 Joey Burris, 6-3, So., G, Kiel, Wis./Kiel
13.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.1 apg
#21 Jake Schwarz, 6-5, Sr., F, Sheboygan, Wis./South
23.4 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.9 apg
#24 James Oshkeshequoam, 6-4, Jr., G, Keshena, Wis./Shawano
13.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.3 apg
#25 Brandon Hagenow, 5-10, Fr., G, Sussex, Wis./Hamilton
5.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.1 apg
#35 Justin Ward, 6-9, Jr., F, Wisconsin Dells, Wis./Wisconsin Dells
16.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.3 bpg