HILLSDALE, Mich. -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (2-8, 2-5 GLIAC) traveled to Hillsdale (8-3, 6-1 GLIAC) on Thursday night. An early lead for WSU would not be enough as the Warriors dropped their third straight game, 64-48.
The Warriors led 22-10 midway through the first half after a
Gavin Toma (Troy, Mich. / Southfield Christian) jumper capped a 9-1 run.
The Chargers slowed the WSU momentum and trimmed the deficit to 22-17 with 7:34 remaining before halftime. Both teams went scoreless until
Tristan Wilson (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) broke the drought with a bucket at the 5:39 mark to put WSU up 24-17.
Garrett Jones knocked down a triple and Kyle Cooper followed with a layup to give the Chargers a 31-30 lead with 1:25 left in the half. It was their first lead since the 16:48 mark.
At intermission, Hillsdale led 33-30. Toma led WSU with seven points including a three-pointer for the 10th straight game this season. Stedman Lowry led all scorers with eight points. The Warriors collected 12 points off the bench including six from DeMarius Miller (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Romeoville) as he connected on two triples. In addition, WSU out-rebounded the Chargers 21-16 including nine on the offensive glass.
Toma opened the second half with his second three-point of the night to tie the game at 33-33. The Chargers answered quickly and led 39-33 at the 17:26 mark after a triple from Lowry and forced a timeout from head coach
David Greer.
WSU's offense began to sputter and Hillsdale took advantage, sprinting out to a 52-36 lead at the 10-minute mark. Cody Smith connected from behind the arc to cap a 19-3 run.
Chuck Key (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech) collected a defensive rebound leading to a
Joel Ndondo (Ajax, Ont. / Christian Faith Center Academy) jumper to bring the Warriors back within single digits at 54-45 with 5:52 to play.
However, that would be as close as WSU would get and Hillsdale cruised down the stretch, collecting the 64-48 win.
Toma led WSU with 13 points while Cooper led all scorers with 15 points. Wilson chipped in six points and seven boards.
The Warriors will play at Saginaw Valley State (10-2, 7-0 GLIAC) on Saturday at 7 PM.
