DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (2-10 overall, 2-7 GLIAC) was outscored by 15 points in second half in suffering a 61-55 setback to visiting Tiffin University (7-9 overall, 3-6 GLIAC) Thursday night at the Matthaei.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams started sluggish withe the first made field goal coming at the 16:07 mark by WSU junior Michael Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) which turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead.  Sophomore Chuck Key (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech) made two free throws on the ensuing possession before sophomore Ronald Booth (Detroit, Mich. / Consortium) split a pair from the charity stripe.  Sophomore Tristan Wilson (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) finished off the 7-0 run with an offensive rebound and putback.

After the Dragons pulled within two twice (7-5 and 9-7), WSU went on a 7-2 spurt which included a triple from Booth, a basket by Lewis and a fast-break dunk by Wilson which gave the hosts a 16-9 lead.  Tiffin answered with a 9-6 run before Wayne State ended the opening 20 minutes on a 5-0 run to lead 27-18 at intermission.

WSU shot 35 percent (10-of-29) in the first half, compared to 29 percent (7-of-24) for the Dragons.  Each team made one three-pointer before halftime.  Wayne State held a 27-11 edge on the glass with Tiffin not recording an offensive rebound in the first 20 minutes.

TU began the second half on a 13-2 run to take its first advantage since 1-0.  Jonathan Sutherlin tallied seven points in the first 5:10 of the second half to give the Dragons a 31-29 lead.  Wayne State responded with five consecutive points, all by Lewis for a 34-31 advantage at the 13:32 mark.

The game was tied twice more (36-36 and 39-39) with Lewis draining a triple for the second tie.  TU's Terrell Mabins recorded the next four points before a Clark Bishop (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) jumper cut the WSU deficit to two (43-31) at the 7:45 mark.  The teams traded hoops before Tiffin went on a 6-0 run as the Warriors did not score for over three minutes between baskets by Wilson.


Lewis' third triple of the contest with 77 seconds remaining came after Sutherlin hit a jumper in the paint as the shot clock was expiring to extend the Tiffin lead to six (53-47).  TU's Juwan Johnson scored on a driving lay-up with 52.5 seconds remaining.  Following a 30-second WSU timeout, Booth missed a lay-up and Chrisean Marsden made both ends of a one-and-one with 32.2 seconds left making it 57-50.  Wilson drained a three-pointer, his first collegiate attempt from beyond the arc, to pull the Warriors within four at 57-53 with 25.6 seconds remaining.

Marsden was fouled on the inbounds and sank both in another one-and-one situation with 24.4 seconds left.  Wilson scored from inside with 16.5 seconds left but Johnson made two free throws in a double bonus situation to conclude the scoring.

LEADING THE WARRIORS

After scoring just 18 points in 78 minutes prior to tonight, Wilson totaled a career-high 17 points in 21 minutes with five rebounds.  Lewis notched his second career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.  His previous double-double also came against the Dragons at the Matthaei on Dec. 5, 2013.

TEAM STATS RECAP

Wayne State shot 28 percent (11-of-39) in the second half to finish at 31 percent (21-of-68) for the game.  TU shot 56 percent in the second half (14-of-25) to finish at 43 percent (21-of-49).  WSU made five triples compared to three for the Dragons.  The Warriors were 8-of-11 from the foul line, while Tiffin made 16-of-21 free throw attempts.

LEADING THE OPPOSITION

All five Tiffin starters scored in double figures led by Mabins with 13 points.  Sutherlin registered 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds along with a game-high three blocked shots.

UP NEXT

Wayne State will play its lone road contest in this seven-game stretch with a 3 p.m. tip-off on Saturday at Ohio Dominican.