MTU's Hojnacki and WSU's Smothers Chosen As GLIAC Men's Basketball North and South Division "Players of the Week," Respectively

BAY CITY, Mich. - Michigan Technological University sophomore forward Mike Hojnacki (Milwaukee, Wis./New Berlin Eisenhower) and Wayne State University junior guard Bryan Smothers (Pontiac, Mich./Northern) have been chosen as the GLIAC Men's Basketball North and South Division "Players of the Week," respectively, as announced by the league office.

GLIAC North Division Player of the Week:
Mike Hojnacki - Michigan Tech
6-7, Sophomore, Forward
Milwaukee, Wis./New Berlin Eisenhower

Sophomore Mike Hojnacki turned in back-to-back double-doubles and averaged 22.0 points and 11.5 rebounds as the Huskies split their final two games of 2009-10. The 6-7 forward posted 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in a 61-58 victory over Lake Superior State. His final jumper and ensuing free throw turned out to be the game-winning points. Against SVSU, Hojnacki poured in a game-high 25 points to go with 10 rebounds. He scored four of the team’s final five points to pull with 64-63 before losing 70-64.

North Division Weekly Honor Roll: Justin Keenan - FS, Alvin Storrs - GV, Scott Perkins - LS, Marc Renelique - NM, Chris Webb - SV.

2009 North Division "Players of the Week": (11/23) Tyler Molesworth - MT; (11/30) Keithan Jackson - SV; (12/7) Scott Perkins - LS; (12/14) Avery Stephenson - SV; (12/21) Justin Ringler - GV; (1/4) R. McElroy - NM; (1/11) A. Haider - MT; (1/19) J. Keenan - FS; (1/25) J. Keenan - FS; (2/1) J. Keenan - FS; (2/8) J. Keenan - FS; (2/15) M. Renelique - NM; (2/22) B. Hogan - GV; (3/1) M Hojnacki - MT.

GLIAC South Division Player of the Week:
Bryan Smothers - Wayne State
5-9, Junior, Guard
Pontiac, Mich./Northern

Junior guard Bryan Smothers scored 34 points and had 11 rebounds in two important road wins for the Warriors last week. He tallied 17 points, six rebounds and two steals in a 70-56 win at North Division Champion GVSU. Smothers added 17 points, five rebounds, an assist and three steals in the triumph at Ferris State that helped Wayne State lock up the No. 7 seed in the GLIAC Tournament. Smothers currently leads the GLIAC in free throw shooting percentage at .900 (81-90) and ranks eighth in steals (1.6 per game).

South Division Weekly Honor Roll: Cole Moore - AU, Nathan Hyde - UF, Brent Eaton - HC, Chris Johnson - NU.

2009 South Division "Players of the Week": (11/23) B. Smothers - WS; (11/30) K. Richardson - AU; (12/7) D. Pierce - NU; (12/14) N. Hyde - UF; (12/21) L. Sullivan - NU; (1/4) K. Richardson - AU; (1/11) T. Sparks - UF; (1/19) J. Oden - WS; (1/25) M. Parker - UF; (2/1) B. Eaton - HC; (2/8) L. Sullivan - NU; (2/15) N. Hyde - UF; (2/22) N. Hyde - UF; (3/1) B. Smothers - WS.

Ashland Eagles (13-14, 9-13 GLIAC)

AU went 0-2 last week, but the Eagles will go to the GLIAC Tournament for the first time since the 2007-2008 season. That year, the Eagles lost at Gannon in the first round, 89-70. The last time the Eagles won a GLIAC postseason game was in 2005-2006 when the Eagles defeated Mercyhurst in Ashland, 70-68. That year, AU advanced to the conference semifinals and lost to Grand Valley State, 90-77…the Eagles will play at Findlay in the first round of this year’s tournament. AU went 0-2 against the Oilers this season. These teams met in the first round of the playoffs at Findlay in 2006-2007 and the Oilers were a 70-54 winner…sophomore forward Cole Moore (Lake Orion, OH) recorded his second double-double of the season last week when he had 11 points and 13 rebounds against Findlay. Moore averaged 9.5 rpg., in two games last week with 10 offensive boards. Over the last four games Moore has averaged 9.0 rpg….the AU bench had a resurgence last week. After struggling for two games, the relief corps ran up a 43-27 edge in points in two games last week.

Ferris State Bulldogs (15-12, 13-9 GLIAC)

FSU will be on the road for its quarterfinal-round game in the GLIAC Tournament on Tuesday, March 2. The Bulldogs, who will be seeded fifth overall in the eight-team field, will face fourth-seeded Saginaw Valley State with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday evening... The Bulldog men are 7-12 all-time in 10 previous tournament appearances and advanced to the GLIAC Tournament Championship game in 2005-06 before dropping an 80-58 decision in the title contest (3/3/06) at Grand Valley State. Ferris captured the 1997-98 league tourney title and will be making its fifth appearance in the last six years, including a second consecutive showing... FSU tied SVSU for fourth place in the league’s overall standings, but dropped the tiebreaker for homecourt advantage after falling to the Cardinals twice this season including a narrow 68-66 decision last week (Feb. 18) at University Center... Senior guard Austin Randel reached double-figure scoring for the 12th time in his last 14 outings this year against Wayne State and the 10th consecutive contest.

Findlay Oilers (21-6, 17-5 GLIAC)

The Oilers won a pair of GLIAC games last week on the road to secure home court advantage throughout the GLIAC Tournament…The Oilers defeated Ashland on Thursday by a score of 65-51 and then came away with a 72-71 overtime win at Tiffin on Saturday…In the win over Ashland, senior guard Marcus Parker had 24 points…In the win over Tiffin, junior guard Nathan Hyde registered 32 points and hit 7 three pointers… Hyde went over the 1,000 point plateau in the Tiffin game, becoming the 40th Findlay player to achieve the feat…He has now scored 1,019 career points…Parker moved up the scoring list and currently sits 15th all-time with 1,427 points.

Grand Valley State Lakers (20-7, 16-6 GLIAC)

Grand Valley State notched its 20th win in a 72-70 overtime victory on Saturday against Northwood. It is the fifth straight year that GVSU has reached the 20-win plateau, while the Lakers are 133-27 over that five-year stretch…Grand Valley State will host Wayne State in a GLIAC Quarterfinal game on Tuesday night in Allendale. Last season, the Lakers defeated Ferris State, 67-49, in an opening round game at Fieldhouse Arena…sophomore guard Alvin Storrs (Northville, Mich.) led GVSU with 14.5 points per game and nailed the game-winning jumper with 1.4 seconds left in overtime to give the Lakers a two-point win. Storrs scored a team-high 16 points in the win and is third on the team in scoring (8.7 ppg.)…junior Justin Ringler (Reed City, Mich.) averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for the Lakers and his layup in the closing seconds of the second half against Northwood tied the score, sending the game into overtime. It was the 50th double-digit scoring game of Ringler’s career.

Hillsdale Chargers (14-12, 14-8 GLIAC)

The Chargers completed an amazing regular season with two wins on the road last week, over South Division rivals Ashland and Tiffin…Sophomore Brad Guinane made the game-winning 3-pointer in Saturday’s win over the Eagles in Ashland…Earlier in the month, it was Brent Eaton who made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Hillsdale a win on the road over Wayne State…Hillsdale swept the season series from both of those teams for the second straight season…After starting this season 1-10 and 1-6 in the GLIAC, the Chargers finished the season going 13-2 over their last 15 games, and ascended to the No. 3 seed in the GLIAC Tournament… Hillsdale will host Lake Superior State at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the tournament…This is the second year in a row the Chargers have hosted a first-round game, and the second time overall…The Chargers are still looking for their first win in the GLIAC Tournament in their history...Sophomore guard Tyler Gerber finished the regular season leading the GLIAC in assists per game (4.8) and was tied for first in steals per game (2.1).

Lake Superior State Lakers (14-13, 12-10 GLIAC)

Senior guard Scott Perkins (Perrysburg, Ohio) closed out the regular season averaging 26 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game as the Lakers split decisions at Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan. Perkins has averaged 20.5 ppg since being hobbled for three games from Jan. 30 through Feb. 6 with an injury. Perkins scored a career-high 38 points against the Chargers during a 65-60 win in Sault Ste. Marie on Dec. 3. LSSU takes its 1-1 regular-season record against HC into the quarterfinal round of the GLIAC Tournament …Perkins, who has 1,261 career points and 179 career three-pointers, is ranked fourth in the GLIAC in scoring, averaging 17.7 ppg, and average three-point field goals per game (2.3)…Sophomore guard Kyle Hunt (Macomb, Mich.) is ranked 10th in the league in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and is third in assists (4.3 apg)…Senior guard Garrett Konuszewski (Flushing, Mich.) is tied for sixth in career assists with 344.

Michigan Tech Huskies (9-18, 8-14 GLIAC)

Michigan Tech wrapped up its season, missing out on the GLIAC Tournament for the first time since 1997 … Freshmen and sophomores played 72 percent of the team’s minutes this season. If you exclude junior transfer Tyler Molesworth (Mesa, Ariz./Mesa CC) as an upperclassman, that number jumps to 82 percent … Sophomore Mike Hojnacki (Milwaukee, Wis./ Eisenhower) finished the season averaging 18.5 points and 6.8 rebounds and shooting 53.3 percent from the field in the final eight games. The 6-7 forward turned in four 20-point games and two double-doubles in that time frame to help the Huskies finish 5-3 … Freshman Ali Haidar (Windsor, Ont./Forster) posted his second career 20-point game with 20 points to go with 10 rebounds vs. Lake Superior State. The 6-7 forward concluded his rookie season with a 9.9 scoring average (second among GLIAC freshmen) and 5.8 rebounding average (tops among GLIAC freshmen) … Head coach Kevin Luke wrapped up his 16th season at Tech and has tallied a career record of 283-178 (.614 winning percentage).

Northern Michigan Wildcats (11-15, 8-14 GLIAC)

The Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team concluded the 2009-10 season by splitting its last two games…NMU defeated Saginaw Valley State (74-71) and lost to Lake Superior State (83-79)…Marc Renelique scored 30 points against the Cardinals for his fourth game this season with 30 or more points…Renelique ended the season by leading the Wildcats in scoring by averaging 17.3 ppg, Raymont McElroy was the other ‘Cat averaging over 10 ppg as he ended the season with 16.9 ppg...Jared Benson ended the season with a team-high 159 rebounds (6.1 rpg) and 36 blocks…McElroy ended the season with 100 assists…Senior Chris Warner had a team-high 41 steals.

Northwood Timberwolves (12-14, 9-13 GLIAC)

Northwood finished its season with a pair of losses, falling at Ferris State before losing in overtime at Grand Valley State … NU was the first team out of the tournament, finished the regular season 12-14 overall, 9-13 in the GLIAC … senior Chris Johnson (Belleville, Mich.) had a big week to close out his career… he averaged 24.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game … after scoring 22 points at Ferris State, Johnson finished with a season-high 27 points at Grand Valley State … Lionel Sullivan (Detroit, Mich./DePorres) also played well for Northwood, averaging 19.5 points per game … Sullivan scored in double figures in all 25 games he played in for the Timberwolves this season … NU led from the 5:46 mark of the first half against GVSU all the way until the final seconds of regulation when the Lakers tied the game and forced overtime.

Saginaw Valley State Cardinals (16-11, 13-9 GLIAC)

Saginaw Valley secured the fourth seed in the 2009-10 GLIAC Tournament following a split this past weekend in the Upper Peninsula. The Cardinals, following a 74-71 loss to Northern Michigan University on Thursday (Feb. 25), bounced-back to claim a 70-64 victory over Michigan Tech University on Saturday (Feb. 27). Against the Wildcats, sophomore Greg Foster had 21 points to lead the squad. Senior Avery Stephenson had 13 points and freshman Chris Webb had 12. Junior Dan Genther had nine points and a team-high seven rebounds in the contest. In the game against Tech, Stephenson had 17 points to lead offensively. Junior Keithan Jackson had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Webb added 11 in the game. The Cardinals will host as GLIAC Quarterfinal game against #5 seed Ferris State University on Tuesday (Mar. 2) at 7:30 pm.

Tiffin Dragons (2-25, 1-21 GLIAC)

Tiffin University shot 54 percent in the first half and played aggressively in playing Hillsdale to a 29-29 tie at halftime, but could not keep it going in the second half, shooting 31 percent in falling in a close one 67-56. The Dragons came out of the halftime lockerroom and didn't make a field goal for over 9 minutes as Hillsdale amassed a 15 point lead. TU managed to get as close as 5 points late in the game but Hillsdale outscored TU 15-9 over the final 5:00 to put the game away... Rafael Cuellar led the Dragons with 12 points while Brian Scott had 10 points. DeAngelo Jordan had 8 points and tied Mohammed Fall with 7 rebounds apiece... Tiffin left it all on the court as they locked up with Findlay in a wild season finale, as the Oilers squeaked out a 72-71 victory in overtime. The Dragons shot 56 percent in the first half, leading to a 32-27 halftime edge. The Oilers were cold from the outset, shooting 33 percent in the first half...Scott led TU with 27 points and 5 assists, while DeAngelo Jordan had 13 points. Travis Spahr also had 14 points with 9 rebounds.

Wayne State Warrior (14-12, 12-10 GLIAC)

For the second consecutive year, Wayne State ended the regular-season on a four-game winning streak ... the Warriors will be playing in the GLIAC tournament for the seventh time in head coach David Greer’s nine seasons at the helm ... Greer has a 5-8 post-season mark including a 2-6 GLIAC record (3-2 in the NCAA tournament) ... WSU has not won a first round road (or neutral site) post-season GLIAC contest since a 79-61 victory over Saginaw Valley on Feb. 25, 1999 ... junior guard Bryan Smothers (Pontiac, Mich./Northern) recorded 34 points, 11 rebounds and five steals in last week’s two wins ... senior guard Bryan Wright (Warren, Ohio/Harding) contributed 32 points, 11 rebounds and five assists last week and moved into 13th place on WSU’s all-time three-pointers made list with 103 in just 52 games ... senior guard Larry Edwards (Benton Harbor, Mich.) will become the 17th player in WSU history with 100 career games played on Tuesday ... Edwards is ninth all-time with 237 assists.