DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (3-1 GLIAC) finished its first home series of the season on Saturday afternoon against Davenport (0-4 GLIAC) and the Warriors led the entire time, using a strong first half (43-29) to win 88-75 and sweep the weekend series.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Warriors opened the game with a pair of triples from redshirt junior
Darian Owens-White (Detroit, Mich. / River Rouge) and sophomore
Jackie Harris (Sylvania, Ohio / Toledo St. Francis de Sales). The quick start continued following a jumper by junior
Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) at the 17:32 mark to push the home lead to 10-4. Two free throws from Evan Hines brought the Panthers within one, 12-11, with 15:49 to play in the half. Marshall kept the hot hand and a long-range jumper from the top of the key pushed WSU's advantage to 19-13 at the 13:38 mark.  Sophomore
Kylin Grant (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) connected on a long two-point jumper to give the Green & Gold a 21-15 lead with 11:05 to play before halftime. Another trey from Marshall extended the WSU lead to 26-18 at the 8:40 mark. Owens-White drilled a triple with 4:09 remaining before halftime, giving the Warriors a 35-20 lead. An offensive rebounds led to a wide open jumper by Marshall, giving him a career-high 18 points, and pushed Wayne State's lead to 40-27 at the 1:27 mark. Neely's second three-pointer of the afternoon made the halftime score 43-29.
Redshirt sophomore
Avery Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) tallied the first WSU points of the half at the free throw line to keep the Warriors ahead, 45-31, at the 18:26 mark. Wayne State won the race to 50 on a three-pointer from Harris with 17:16 to play in regulation. The margin increased to 23, 57-34, on a mid-range jumper from Lewis at the 14:06 mark. Owens-White's jumper kept the Warriors' lead comfortable, 61-43, with 11:14 to play. Owens-White fourth triple of the day made it 66-43, its largest of the game, at the 10:03 mark. The Panthers pulled within 17, 69-52, with 7:05 remaining in regulation. Two from the charity stripe by redshirt senior
Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) made it 73-55 at the 6:05 mark. A three-point play from Case Conley trimmed WSU's lead to 73-62 with 4:51 to play. Two free throws by Owens-White slowed DU's rally and returned WSU's lead to 14, 77-64, at the 3:52 mark. however, Davenport would continue to force turnovers and convert those into points and trailed 77-68 with three minutes to play. Owens-White connected on an important long-range jumper to make it 80-68 on the following possession. The Panthers could never get closer than nine points as WSU connected on free throws down the stretch to secure the 88-75 victory.
LEADING THE WARRIORS
Five Warriors tallied at least 10 points led by Owens-White who finished with 23 points, including five three-pointers. Marshall collected a career-best 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go with six rebounds. Neely (15), Harris (12) and Lewis (10) rounded out the quintet of double-digit scorers. Harris grabbed a team-best eight boards.
LEADING THE PANTHERS
Scott Ulaneo led all scorers with 24 points and pulled down a team-high six board. Evan Hines tallied 13 points, while Chaz Birchfield finished with 11 points. Elijah Belle (11 points) and Rollins (10 points) also scored in double figures.
ONE BIG THING
The Warriors did damage at the free throw line on Saturday going 25-of-26 (96.2%), while the Panthers went 11-of-16 (68.8%).
UP NEXT
The Green & Gold will travel to Midland, Mich. for a pair of games at Northwood beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m.
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