DETROIT -- After a 10-day layoff, the Wayne State University men's basketball team (5-3 GLIAC) returned to the court to host Purdue Northwest (5-5 GLIAC) on Friday night and the Warriors used a strong first half and solid defense to win 72-56.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Redshirt sophomore Avery Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) gave WSU a 5-2 lead with a layup at the 18:18 mark and freshman Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) connected from behind the arc to make it 8-2 with 17:12 to play.  The lead grew to 13-6 after a bucket from redshirt senior Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) at the 15:39 mark.  Neely moved the margin to double figures, 19-8, with two more points before sophomore Kylin Grant (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) pushed the home advantage to 22-10 with a triple at the 11:43 mark.  Redshirt junior Darien Owens-White (Detroit, Mich. / River Rouge) knocked down a 12-foot jumper to make it 27-12 with 10:24 remaining in the half.  A long-range bucket from Owens-White pushed WSU's lead to 31-16 at the 8:26 mark.  Junior Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) got in on the scoring with a running layup at the 4:57 mark to give the Green & Gold a 37-18 lead.  Freshman Mike Robinson (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Ann Arbor Huron) hit from deep to push the margin to 45-21 with 2:41 left before halftime.  The Pride scored the final four points of the stanza to put the halftime score at 45-27.

Marshall opened the scoring in the second half for the Warriors with a triple at the 18:54 mark.  Mikell Cooper cut PNW's deficit to 14, 50-36, with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession.  Another deep ball by Marshall made it 58-40.  Lewis found room underneath the basket for two points, making it 65-44 at the 9:59 mark.  A two-point bucket by Owens-White made it 71-49 with 3:34 to play and Wayne State would empty the bench, while cruising to a 72-56 victory.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Owens-White posted a game-high 19 points, while Lewis collected his second collegiate double-double with 15 points and 11 boards to go with three steals.  Marshall also finished with 15 points, while Grant tallied 10 points and nine boards. 

LEADING THE PRIDE
Anthony Barnard led the Pride with 16 points, while Cooper finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

ONE BIG THING
Wayne State scored 25 points off 22 Purdue Northwest turnovers.

THREE-POINT SUCCESS
The Warriors shot 10-of-15 (52.6 percent) from behind the arc on Friday night compared to PNW's 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) performance.

UP NEXT
The teams will meet again on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. inside the Matthaei.