PAINESVILLE, Ohio – The Wayne State University men's basketball squad (2-12 overall, 2-9 GLIAC) battled tough but fell 72-67 at Lake Erie College (6-9 overall, 3-8 GLIAC) Thursday evening.
The Warriors allowed 15 triples to Lake Erie and received great efforts from redshirt sophomore
Michael Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron), sophomore
Clark Bishop (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) and freshman
Chuck Key (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech).
WSU held an early 15-12 lead, before the Storm went on a 13-4 run in the middle of the opening stanza to go ahead by six at 25-19.
Wayne State closed out the first half on a 9-8 run to pull within five (33-28) at intermission.
In the second half, WSU was 14-of-15 from the charity stripe and received triples from Lewis and senior
DeMarius Miller (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Romeoville).
Lake Erie led by as many as 15 (63-48), before the Warriors closed the game on a 19-9 run.
Lewis drained a triple with 40.8 seconds left to make it a three-point game at 70-67, then LEC's Trey Howard split a pair in a one-and-one situation pushing the Warrior deficit to four.
WSU missed a couple of chances around the bucket as the baseline referee let play continue before the Warriors were forced to foul. Andy Bosley made the first of two with 8.9 seconds remaining to complete the scoring.
Lewis tied for game-high scoring honors with 21 points, while grabbing a game-best nine boards. Bishop chipped in with 15 points, including 7-fo-8 from the foul line, while Key added 12 points off the bench.
Lake Erie, who made 15-of-30 from beyond the arc during the game, was led in scoring by Jamil Dudley with 21 points (4-of-7 on three pointers) and Michael Morris with 20 points (6-of-9 on triples).
WSU held a 31-27 edge in rebounding.
Wayne State will play at Ashland on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m.