DETROIT -- The Wayne State university men's basketball team (4-3 GLIAC) avoided a three-game losing streak against Ashland (4-4 overall, 4-3 GLIAC) on Tuesday night, 58-50. The Warriors trailed 50-45 with 4:29 to play but would hold the Eagles scoreless the rest of the way and defend their home court, moving into a tie for first place in the division.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Redshirt junior
Darian Owens-White (Detroit, Mich. / River Rouge) opened the scoring with a jumper and a driving layup to put WSU on top 4-0 at the 16:32 mark. Redshirt senior
Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) knocked down a corner triple, extending the home advantage to 7-2 prior to the game's first media break. Another 12-foot jumper by Owens-White made it 9-4 with 14:06 to play before halftime. Ashland tied the game after two Derek Koch free throws but sophomore
Nate Talbot (Lake Orion, Mich.) answered with a jumper, giving the Green & Gold an 11-9 lead at the 10:18 mark. Paul Burris gave the Eagles an 18-11 lead but Owens-White connected on a long two-point basket to keep WSU within five with 6:41 to play. Junior
Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) hit a baseline jumper to cut the AU lead to one, 18-17, at the 4:36 mark. Aaron Thompson pushed the visitors lead to 25-17 with 1:59 left to play before intermission. The Warriors ended the half on a 6-0 run to go into the locker rooms trailing, 25-23.
WSU tied the game at 25-25 on a jumper by Owens-White 30 seconds into the second stanza. Owens-White stayed hot and connected from behind the arc to give WSU a 28-27 lead at the 18:15 mark. Redshirt sophomore
Avery Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) made one of two at the charity stripe to keep the Warriors on top 31-30 with 16:29 remaining. Ashland led 35-34 after Marshall made one of two free throws at the 12:52 mark. AU continued to respond and Bo Furcron hit from long range to give the Eagles a four-point advantage. The run reached 8-0 for the Eagles, giving them a 43-34 lead and forced head coach
David Greer to use a timeout with 10:42 left in the contest. Buckets from Marshall and Neely brought WSU back within five, 43-38, at the 8:20 mark. A hard-earned three-point play by Neely cut the deficit to 47-43 with 6:45 left to play. Neely made it a one-point game 50-49 with a layup at the 2:36 mark before tying the game at 50-50 with a free throw with 1:24 to play. Another bucket by Neely gave him seven straight points and pushed the Green & Gold ahead 52-50 at the 52-second mark. Neely forced a turnover and found Marshall down the court for an emphatic dunk to make it 54-50. The Warrior defense continued to stifle the visitors down the stretch and Owens-White made four free throws to secure the eight-point victory.
LEADING THE WARRIORS
Owens-White finished with a game-high 23 points and grabbed five rebounds to go with three assists. Neely scored 10 second-half points to finish with 15, while collecting five assists and four steals. Lewis tallied a game-high 12 rebounds, while Marshall poured in 11 points.
LEADING THE EAGLES
Thompson led AU with 17 points and eight boards, while Furcron tallied 15 points.
ONE BIG THING
Both teams struggled from the free throw line but the difference could be found on the glass as WSU won that battle 41-29.
UP NEXT
WSU will head to the west side of the state and play a pair of games at Grand Valley State on Saturday (1:00 PM) and Sunday (3:00 PM).
