ALLENDALE, Mich. -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (7-3 GLIAC) won its fourth straight game, 62-59, on Tuesday evening at Grand Valley State (5-5 GLIAC). The Warriors trailed by as many as nine but were able to come back and win, holding GVSU to 33 percent shooting in the second half, including 1-of-7 from behind the arc. It was WSU's first win in Allendale since Feb. 1, 2014 (69-64 / OT). The contest featured nine ties and five lead changes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lakers led 4-0 less than one minute into the game but a pair of free throws from redshirt junior
Darian Owens-White (Detroit, Mich. / River Rouge) gave WSU a 6-4 advantage at the 17:23 mark. Deleon Brown pushed GVSU ahead 11-6 with 14:26 to play in the opening period. Another two points from Brown made it 17-10 at the 11:29 mark. A jumper by Owens-White followed by a three-pointer from redshirt senior
Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) trimmed the deficit to two, 23-21, with 5:29 remaining before halftime. Grand Valley State held onto a one-point lead for much of the next four minutes but four straight points from sophomore
Nate Talbot (Lake Orion, Mich.) dead locked the game at 29-29 at the 1:31 mark. Neely found freshman
Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) in the corner as time expired for a long-range jumper, tying the game at 32-32.
Junior
Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) scored his first points of the afternoon early in the second half to give the Green & Gold its first lead since the 17:23 mark of the first half. Williams knocked down another triple to extend WSU's lead 39-34 with 18:21 to play. Two technical free throws by Owens-White pushed the visitors lead to 43-34 at the 18:15 mark. However, the Lakers defense started to find its footing as GVSU would come back to tie the game at 46-46 after a layup by Christian Negron. Williams broke the tie at the 12:16 mark with a layup and then hit his third three-pointer of the day to keep WSU close, 53-51, with 8:46 remaining. Owens-White brought the Warriors within one, 55-54, with a layup at the 4:05 mark. Redshirt sophomore
Avery Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) kept the deficit at one with two points and two free throws from Neely gave Wayne State a 58-57 advantage. Owens-White fouled out with 2:38 left to play but WSU responded with two points by Williams to make it 60-57 in favor of the Warriors. Jake Van Tubbergen answered with a tip-in dunk to cut the visitors' lead to one, 60-59. On the next possession, Marshall missed a three-point attempt but Van Tubbergen would travel and turn the ball over. With a foul to give, the Lakers opted to play defense, allowing WSU to let the clock run down before a deep jumper by Neely was rebounded by sophomore
Kylin Grant (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) who drew a foul. Grant broke away on the inbound play for a late layup, putting the final score at 62-59.
LEADING THE WARRIORS
Owens-White led the way with 18 points and extended his free throw streak to 43 straight. Neely chipped in 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Williams connected on three very important three-pointers to finish with 13 points. Marshall pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds.
LEADING THE LAKERS
Van Tubbergen notched a double-double with 18 points and 13 boards. Jordan Harris tallied 17 points, while Brown had 12 points.
ONE BIG THING
WSU's perimeter defense was solid on Tuesday, allowing GVSU to shoot just 15 percent (2-of-13) from three-point range. The Warriors made seven of their 19 attempts (37 percent).
UP NEXT
The Warriors will stay on the road this weekend for two games at Parkside. Both Friday's and Saturday's game will begin at 4:00 PM (eastern time).
