DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball squad (3-12 overall, 3-9 GLIAC) battled 23rd-ranked Ashland University (14-4 overall, 8-4 GLIAC) Saturday afternoon at the Matthaei, and led for over 25 minutes, but the visiting Eagles outscored the host Warriors 22-15 over the final 11:20 to upend WSU 68-61.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Wayne State started strong after two early ties (2-2, and 4-4), WSU went on a 17-5 run over the next seven minutes to lead 21-9 on a lay-up by sophomore guard Marcus Moore (Lansing, Mich. / Waverly) with 11:08 left in the first half.

The Warriors again led by 12 (26-14) following a triple by sophomore guard Ronald Booth (Detroit, Mich. / Consortium) at the 8:03 mark.

Ashland closed out the first half on a 15-8 run, which included a 7-for-9 performance from the foul line and four made field goals.

Despite Wayne State leading 18-12 in points in the paint over the first 20 minutes, AU attempted 15 free throws compared to three for WSU before intermission.

The Warriors led by seven three different times in the second half (36-29, 38-31 and 43-36), the last coming with 15:28 remaining.

AU answered with a 10-1 run to take a 46-44 lead as Adrian Cook split a pair from the charity stripe.  An offensive rebound and jumper by junior guard Clark Bishop (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) tied the game at 46 leading to the aforementioned final stretch by Ashland.

LEADING THE WARRIORS

Moore tallied a career-best and game-high 19 points, which included three triples, along with seven rebounds and three assists.  Booth added 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists.  Junior forward Michael Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) tied Booth for the game-high rebounding honors with eight boards.

TEAM STATS RECAP

Ashland shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from the floor in the second half, to finish at 45 percent (21-of-47) for the game.  Meanwhile, the Warriors shot 24 percent (9-of-37) over the final 20 minutes to finish at 30 percent (23-of-77).  Contributing to WSU's low shooting percentage was eight blocks by AU's Michael Hundley, part of 13 total blocks by the Eagles.

The teams were nearly identical from three-point range with Wayne State making 40 percent (6-of-15), compared to 31 percent (5-of-16) for AU.

The Eagles made more free throws (21) than WSU attempted (16).  Ashland shot 68 percent (21-of-31) from the charity stripe, with Wayne State connecting on 56 percent (9-of-16) of its foul shots.

WSU held a 48-42 edge in rebounding and totaled 26 second-chance points on 24 offensive rebounds.  The Eagles had 13 second-chance points on eight offensive boards.

LEADING THE OPPOSITION

Wendell Davis, a GLIAC Player of the Year candidate, was held to 13 points, his second-lowest total of the campaign.  Boo Osborne chipped in with 13 points, while Hundley and Cook each added 11 points.  Osborne, Davis and Marsalis Hamilton led AU on the glass with six rebounds each.

UP NEXT

Wayne State will close out its stretch of six home games in a seven-game span when the Malone Pioneers make their final visit to the Matthaei before exiting the GLIAC this summer.