TIFFIN, Ohio -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (5-14 overall, 5-11 GLIAC) notched its second road victory in the last six days with a 69-61 triumph at Tiffin University (10-13 overall, 6-10 GLIAC) Thursday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first 12 minutes were a see-saw affair with four lead changes and four ties.  The biggest lead up to that point was a 12-7 advantage by the Dragons at the 15:11 mark.

On TU's ensuing possession, Tony Kynard missed a lay-up then was assessed a technical foul.  Sophomore guard Ronald Booth (Detroit, Mich. / Consortium) made both free throws to start a 6-0 run by the Warriors.  Junior guard Clark Bishop (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) had a lay-up and sophomore forward Chuck Key (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech) gave WSU a 13-12 lead with a lay-up.

Tiffin's last advantage was 15-13 following a triple by Terrell Mabins with 10:39 remaining in the first half.  Two foul shots by sophomore center Tristan Wilson (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) knotted the game at 15, with the last lead change going to WSU on a breakaway dunk by sophomore Marcus Moore (Lansing, Mich. / Waverly).  Even though TU's Jonathan Sutherlin was trying to catch up to Moore, Sutherlin did not commit a flagrant foul like he did on January 14th in Detroit.

Kynard made both shots from the charity stripe at the 8:02 mark for the game's final tie at 17-17.  The Warriors went on a 4-0 run as sophomore swingman George Spencer (Detroit, Mich. / Belleville) had a fast-break lay-up after a dunk by Wilson.

The Dragons were within two (23-21) after a Mabins bucket, but WSU scored the next four consecutive points on a fast-break lay-up by Bishop and a jumper by junior forward Michael Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron).  The teams traded baskets twice over the final four minutes of the first half as only eight points combined were scored in that span.

Both teams attempted 27 field goals in the opening 20 minutes with WSU converting 13 times to 10 for Tiffin resulting in a 31-25 lead for the Warriors at intermission.

Wayne State began the second half on a 7-0 run for the largest lead of the game (13 points at 38-25) with four different Warriors tallying points.  TU answered with five consecutive point prior to a jumper by Moore and a hook shot by Wilson pushed the lead to 12 (42-30).

Over the next five minutes, the Dragons outscored the Warriors 12-4 to cut their deficit to four (46-42) with 11:13 remaining.

After the teams traded buckets twice more, back-to-back lay-up by Moore and Lewis along with a free throw by Moore increased WSU's margin to nine (55-46) at the 8:04 mark.

Wayne State's lead was never fewer than six over the final nine minutes.  Bishop's offensive rebound and put-back with 2:14 left was the Warriors last field goal, but WSU was 10-of-12 from the charity stripe in the final 1:42 to seal the win.

LEADING THE WARRIORS

Booth led four Warriors in double figures with 15 points.  Wilson and Bishop each contributed 14 points, while Lewis chipped in with 11 points and a game-best four steals.  Wilson just missed a double-double as he grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

TEAM STATS RECAP

Both teams made 12 field goals in the second half.  WSU shot 44 percent (25-of-57) for the game, while Tiffin shot 43 percent (22-of-51).  Wayne State was just 1-of-9 (11 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Dragons made 42 percent (5-of-12) of their three-point shots.  The Warriors were 18-of-24 (75 percent) from the foul line, compared to TU's 60 percent (12-of-20).  Wayne State had a 39-28 edge in rebounding.

LEADING THE OPPOSITION

Kynard finished with a game-high 16 points, but had five turnovers.  Sutherin and Alex Brown each had 10 points.

UP NEXT

Wayne State will play its lone home game between two three-game road trips this Saturday against Ohio Dominican.  The 3 p.m. tip-off will be televised live on Comcast CN 900 with Joe Abramson and Rod Beard calling the action.