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DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (6-3 overall, 4-2 GLIAC) ended a two-game losing streak with a 66-63 home court victory over Malone University (5-5 overall, 3-3 GLIAC) Saturday afternoon at the Matthaei.

The first half was a see-saw affair with six ties and three lead changes.  The Warriors had a pair of six-point advantages (12-6 and 14-8) in the first 6:15 with six different WSU players accounting for at least two points each.

The Pioneers responded with a 9-0 run in a span of 2:36 to grab a 17-14 lead at the 11:12 mark on a jumper by Cory Veldhuizen.  A triple by Wayne State senior guard Chene Phillips (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) knotted the game at 17, but Malone's Vince Kazmierczak answered with a three-pointer.  Warrior freshman guard Clark Bishop (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) drained a triple to tie the game at 20 on the ensuing possession.

The contest was again tied at 22 and for the final time at 26 on a three-pointer by MU's Christian Graves.  However, Bishop connected from long distance against 26 seconds later putting the Warriors ahead for good at 29-26.  An offensive put-back and dunk by senior forward Bryan Coleman (Southfield, Mich./Lathrup) on WSU's possession was part of a 7-0 spurt which concluded on a lay-up by senior forward Jamar Ragland (Detroit, Mich./Loyola).

Graves hit another triple with 1:41 left before intermission for the final points of the opening half.  Both teams made 12 field goals in the first 20 minutes with WSU holding a 5-4 edge in triples and 4-1 margin in made free throws for a 33-29 lead at halftime.

Malone's Isiah Elliott scored on a lay-up on the first possession of the second half to cut the Warrior lead to two (33-31), but Wayne State responded with six consecutive points on a triple by Phillips and a conventional three-point play by senior center Michael Martin (W. Bloomfield, Mich.).  WSU's lead remained between 6-10 points until back-to-back buckets by Bishop and Phillips extended the lead to 12 (49-37) with just under 13 minutes remaining.

The Warrior margin was never fewer than eight prior to a 7-0 run by the Pioneers which included the final five points by Daniel Wise, three of which were from the foul line (3-4 FT).

Holding just a three point lead (56-53), senior forward Gerald Williams-Taylor (Flint, Mich./Northern) grabbed an offensive rebound and scored the first of five consecutive points for him as he had a conventional three-point play after a stop by the Warrior defense.

Bishop scored on a lay-up sandwiched between two foul shots and a jumper by Elliott making it a six-point game (63-57) with 1:11 left.

After a steal by the Pioneers, Veldhuizen scored from down low with 53.7 seconds left cutting the WSU lead to four (63-59).  Veldhuizen had a steal and lay-up 10 seconds later to make it a two-point game.  Ragland was fouled on the in-bounds and sank one of two free throws increasing the Warrior margin to three (64-61).

Elliott scored on a lay-up and Bishop was fouled on the in-bounds with 29.2 remaining.  Bishop made both from the charity stripe to re-gain the three-point advantage.  Ragland grabbed a defensive rebound but had his outlet pass stolen and Graves misfired on a off-balance triple with two seconds left.

Williams-Taylor and Bishop tied for team-high scoring honors with 15 points apiece for the Warriors, with Phillips adding 13 points and a game-best seven assists.  Ragland recorded a game-high 10 rebounds including five on the offensive end.

Elliott led all scorers with 17 points, while Wise contributed 14 points for the Pioneers.

Wayne State was 12-of-29 from the floor in each half to finish at 41 percent, while Malone shot 42 percent (26-of-62) for the game.  WSU connected on 43 percent (6-of-14) of its triple tries, while limiting the Pioneers to 25 percent (4-of-16) from beyond the arc.  WSU shot a solid 80 perecnt (12-of-15) from the foul line compared to 58 percent (7-of-12) for MU.

The Warriors will play their next four games on the road starting with a Thursday contest at Hillsdale.  WSU will wrap-up games against the South Division next Saturday with a 3 p.m. tip at Findlay.  The following week (Jan. 16 and 18) is the beginning of 14 straight games against the North Division.