DETROIT -- In the season opener, the Wayne State University men's basketball program (0-1 overall) hosted Ohio Dominican (1-0 overall) on Friday night and the Warriors fell in double overtime, 87-86.  This contest and Sunday's game at Lake Erie are part of the GLIAC/G-MAC Challenge.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The visiting Panthers jumped out to a 5-2 lead at the 17:55 mark after a two-point bucket by Hasan Varence.  Senior Karim Murray (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) connected on a 12-foot jumper and fellow senior Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) knocked down a three-pointer to give WSU a 7-4 advantage with 17:10 left in the opening stanza.  Freshman Cadin Augustine (Ypsilanti, Mich.) used a turnaround jumper to snap a 9-9 deadlock at the 14:22 mark.  However, ODU would control the next two minutes and take a 16-11 lead with 12:51 to play after a layup by Varence.  The Warrior deficit grew to 21-14 after an old-fashioned three-point play by Sam Hickey.  Murray responded with his own three-point play to trim ODU's lead to 21-19 at the 9:49 mark.  A Neely triple put Wayne State on top 22-21 with 9:15 left before halftime.  Freshman Nate Talbot (Lake Orion, Mich.) kept the deficit at one, 27-26, with his first collegiate points at the 4:11 mark.  Ohio Dominican led 33-29 following two points from Matt King.  Graduate student James Gordon IV (Shelbyville, Ky. / Chicago Simeon) hit from behind the arc as WSU stayed close at 35-34 with just over 60 second left to play.  Two free throws from Murray and a three-point play by freshman Kylin Grant (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) gave the Warriors a 39-35 lead at intermission.

The Panthers opened the second half on a 7-0 run, taking a 42-39 lead and forced head coach David Greer to use an early timeout at the 18:23 mark.  WSU trailed 45-44 at the arrival of the under-16 media timeout.  A 6-0 run by Wayne State powered by a pair of Neely layups moved the Warriors in front 50-47 with 14:40 left in regulation.  ODU responded by taking a 30-second timeout to slow WSU's momentum.  The timeout worked as the Panthers would score seven straight points and took a 54-50 lead with 13:28 left on the clock.  Neely continued to carry the Green & Gold and five straight points from the Oakland transfer made it 56-54 at the 12:09 mark.  Michael Simon connected from deep as ODU pulled within three, 64-61, with 8:56 left to play.  A driving layup by Gordon pushed the home lead to 68-65 at the 6:38 mark.  However, Hickey tied the game at 68-68 on the ensuing possession with a three-pointer from the top of the key.  The game remained deadlocked at 70-70 but sophomore Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) made one of two free throws to give Wayne State a 71-70 lead with 3:45 to play.  After WSU missed several chances to extend its lead, the Panthers took advantage with a Ethan Haynes triple to take a 73-71 advantage at the 2:10 mark.  After a missed ODU jumper, a fast break layup from Neely tied the game at 73-73 with 15 seconds left to play.  King missed a layup underneath the basket for the Panthers and a three-point attempt by Marshall drew only iron as time expired.

Marshall sunk two free throws for the first points of the first overtime session to give WSU a 75-73 lead at the 4:08 mark.  Grant buried a triple to put the Warriors on top 78-75 with 2:54 remaining.  The margin grew to 79-75 as Murray made one of two free throws with 1:38 left in overtime.  The visitors used an offensive rebound and a three-point play to pull within one, 79-78, at the 1:27 mark.  A 15-foot jumper by Marshall pushed WSU's lead to three, 81-78, with just over 60 seconds to play.  Hickey drilled a deep three-pointer to tie the game at 81-81 at the nine-second mark.  Following timeouts by ODU and WSU, the Warriors had a look from Marshall but it bounced off the rim as time ran out.

Augustine gave WSU an 82-81 lead to begin the second overtime as he made one of two free throws.  Augustine found room in the paint for two more points as the Warriors stretched their lead to 86-83 with 2:38 left to play.  The Green & Gold missed several opportunities to add to their lead.  Hickey and the Panthers took advantage and connected on two free throws to trim the deficit to one at 86-85 at the 58-second mark.  Simon made two more free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining to give ODU an 87-86 lead.  Gordon's desperation heave came after the buzzer and the Panthers escaped with a season-opening victory.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Murray paced the WSU offense with 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while grabbing eight rebounds.  Neely tallied 23 points and Marshall finished with 12 points.  Grant and Gordon each pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds. 

LEADING THE PANTHERS
Hickey scored a game-high 27 points, while Varence added 20 points and 13 boards before fouling out.  King posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

WAYNE STATE DEBUTS
Five Warriors were making their first appearance in the Green & Gold (Neely, Gordon, Talbot, Grant, Augustine), while three were playing in their first collegiate games (Talbot, Grant, Augustine).

ONE BIG THING
Despite going 0-for-10 from the floor in the second overtime, Ohio Dominican made all six of its shots from the charity stripe.  Wayne State missed three free throws in the second extra stanza.  For the game, ODU shot 94.7 percent (18-of-19) from the free throw line, while WSU notched a 58.6 percent (17-of-29) clip.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will travel to Painesville, Ohio for a 3:00 p.m. game at Lake Erie on Sunday.