DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball program (6-15 overall, 5-11 GLIAC) hosted Parkside (12-10 overall, 10-6 GLIAC) on Thursday night and the Warriors avenged an overtime loss at UWP earlier this season with a 71-70 triumph.  The see-saw contest featured 15 lead changes and nine ties.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rangers took an early 7-4 lead with 17 minutes left in the opening half after a bucket from Joey St. Pierre.  Javon Henderson (Detroit, Mich. / University Prep) scored the first 10 points for the Warriors as the home team led 10-9 at the 13:59 mark.  Darian Owens-White (Ypsilanti, Mich. / River Rouge) connected from behind the arc on back-to-back possessions, moving WSU's lead to 18-16 with 10:47 left before halftime.  Xavier Cochran (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) hit a triple to give Wayne State a 28-27 lead and followed with a turn around hook shot, capping a 10-2 run to give WSU a 30-27 advantage.  Cochran continued to carry the offense and tied the game at 34-34 but the Rangers answered with two points of their own to give the visitors a 36-34 lead at halftime.

Parkside opened the second half on an 8-2 run to take a 44-36 lead.  Owens-White slowed the momentum with a trey, bringing the Green & Gold within five, 44-39, at the 16:59 mark.  WSU trailed by two with 16 minutes remaining but UWP had an answer and pushed its lead to 49-42 with 14:51 to play in regulation.  A fast break basket by Henderson trimmed the visitor's lead to 52-48 at the 13:02 mark.  A baseline reverse layup from Karim Murray (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) cut the margin to three, 55-52, with 9:36 to play.  The teams traded buckets as the UWP lead went from five to three on several occasions but a Henderson 10-foot jumper and a layup from Murray brought WSU within one, 61-60, with seven minutes to play.  The Warriors took a 62-61 lead on a fast break dunk by Murray and Owens-White followed with a jumper to keep the one-point lead intact, 64-63, at the 6:07 mark.  An offensive rebound led to a slam from Henderson to give the home team a 66-65 lead at the 3:13 mark.  After a defensive stop by WSU, another big dunk from Henderson moved the margin to three, 68-65, with 1:26 to play.  Parkside tied the game with a triple with 1:02 remaining and had a chance to take the lead but the Warriors' defense stood tall.  Latin Davis, Jr. (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Milan) hit a pair of free throws to give WSU a 70-68 lead at the 16 second mark.  UWP used a timeout and a Chavares Flanigan basket tied the game at 70-70 with nine seconds left.  Davis drove to the rim and drew a foul before sinking the first of two shots from the charity stripe.  As the final seconds ticked off the clock, UWP's desperation full-court prayer went unanswered and Wayne State would secure the 71-70 victory.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Henderson finished with a game-high 23 points, while Owens-White tallied 17 points and Davis chipped in 11.

LEADING THE RANGERS
Flanigan led the Rangers with 21 points, while St. Pierre scored 16 points, which all came in the first half.

TEAM STATS
Parkside out-shot Wayne State from the floor 53 percent to 44 percent.  The Warriors finished with 21 second-chance points as the rebounding battle was even at 32-32.  WSU turned 14 UWP turnovers into 15 points.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will welcome Purdue Northwest to the Matthaei on Saturday afternoon.  Prior to tip-off the Warriors will honor their three seniors in front of the home crowd.  In addition, the six newest inductees in the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame will be recognized during halftime of the contest.