UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. --The Wayne State University men's basketball team (7-16 overall, 4-15 GLIAC) saw its three-game winning streak come to an end with a 74-68 loss at at Saginaw Valley State (16-11 overall, 10-9 GLIAC) on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Graduate forward James Gordon IV (Shelbyville, Ky. / Chicago Simeon) scored the first five points of the game as WSU led 5-2 at the arrival of the game's first media timeout.  The contest was tied at 10-10 with 11:51 left to play in the opening half.  Sophomore guard LJ DeWolf (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Ann Arbor Huron) trimmed the home advantage to 19-17 with a corner triple at the 8:28 mark.  Freshman forward Nate Talbot (Lake Orion, Mich.) made it a one-point game, 21-20, following a pair of free throws after he pulled down an offensive rebound.  The Cardinals led 30-22 after a trey from Darnell Hoskins, Jr. with four minutes left before halftime.  A long-range jumper as time expired in the stanza by senior guard Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) trimmed the deficit to 40-32.

A put back by Talbot and layups from senior guard Karim Murray (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) and Gordon brought the Green & Gold within four, 44-40, with 15:06 to play.  The home lead reached nine, 53-44, after a three-pointer by Malik Ellison at the 11:21 mark.  A 10-foot jumper by Murray with 7:57 left in the game made it 58-48.  Wayne State trailed 64-53 after a three-point bucket from sophomore guard Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) at the 4:14 mark.  Murray cut the home advantage to nine, 66-57, with just over two minutes left in regulation.  A triple from Gordon made it an eight-point game, 68-60, at the 53-second mark and another trey from Gordon brought the Warriors within seven 72-65, with 25 seconds left.  Neely hit an acrobatic three-pointer to trim the Cardinals lead to 73-68 at the 16-second mark.  However, SVSU would go on to win 74-68.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Gordon finished with 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.  Talbot also notched a double-double with 11 points to go with a career-best 14 boards and three rejections.  Neely (15) and Murray (12) both finished in double figures.

LEADING THE CARDINALS
Myles Belyeu led all scorers with 22 points, while Ellison tallied 21.  Hoskins finished with 14 points.

UP NEXT
The Warriors conclude the 2019-20 campaign on Thursday night with Senior Day against Ashland.  Wayne State will recognize Murray, the program's lone graduating senior prior to the 7:30 p.m. start.