MEN’S BASKETBALL KICKS OFF CONFERENCE PLAY ON THE ROAD AGAINST CONCORDIA

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Men's Basketball (5-0, 0-0) will drive across I-94 to Ann Arbor to open WHAC play against the Concordia Cardinals (2-1, 1-0) on Saturday afternoon. After beginning the season 5-0, the Warriors will look to continue that momentum into a highly competitive and talented conference field.

THREE KEY THINGS

WHAC PLAY BEGINS

Saturday's matchup marks the first WHAC competition for Rochester in the 2023-24 season. Before the season, Rochester was ranked second in the WHAC's 2023-24 Preseason Coaches' poll, with the Warriors returning several key pieces while making a few significant additions to the squad.

Last season, the Warriors tied for third in the conference in regular season play, with the team making it to the WHAC semifinals before being defeated by eventual NAIA National Champion Runner-Up Indiana Tech. The Warriors come into conference play with high aspirations this time around.

HIGH FLYIN', WHEELIN' AND DEALIN' DUO

Rochester comes into this matchup with its 2023 All-Newcomer Team duo of Gunner Walters and James Fisher coming off excellent performances in their most recent contests. Fisher and Walters recorded double-doubles during Rochester's Tim Horton's Classic, where both players put up big numbers in crucial wins.

Walters dished out 11 assists in the Warriors' matchup with Calumet St. Joseph while recording 12 points. Fisher recorded a 17-17 performance with four blocks the prior night against Indiana Northwest - all of which were career highs for Fisher. In the Indiana Northwest contest, the pair would connect off an offensive rebound by Fisher, leading to a game-winning three for Walters in front of the Crimson Crazy crowd.

CARDINALS' MCCLENDON NAMED WHAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Leading the way for the Cardinals in this matchup will be junior Zavion McClendon, who was named the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week. The Detroit native averaged 26.5 points a game during the week, including a 28-point performance against Crossroads League opponent Spring Arbor.

McClendon, a guard, leads the conference in rebounding (9.0 RPG) while being second in scoring (23.7 PPG). McClendon hit 10 threes across the two games the Cardinals played during the week. Rochester will look to contain McClendon and the Cardinals while looking to match the performance from three.

COACH'S CORNER

Head Coach Klint Pleasant had this to say about the Warriors beginning conference play and the team's preparation for the matchup with the Cardinals:

"Conference games tend to have a different feel, and [this matchup] indexes the beginning of 22 games, which will all be a grind."

"Concordia is a good team and has good players. We have emphasized the importance of being solid all week and valuing each possession on both sides of the ball. Again, they have plenty of talent, and our hands will be full in terms of trying to get stops."

SPORTS INFORMATION SPOTLIGHT

Rochester's big man tandem of James Fisher and Stavros Polatoglou are both in the WHAC's top-five in per-game rebounding; Fisher is second in the conference with 7.8 rebounds a contest, while Polatoglou slots in fifth at 7.4 boards a game.

AROUND THE CONFERENCE

Concordia and #24 Lourdes are currently the two teams in the WHAC with a win, with only two games played by the conference before Saturday. Lourdes defeated Siena Heights in their conference opener.

Hussein Murray - RU Athletic Communications

Featured Image: Toby Buckheim - Buckheim's Photo & Film