DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball program (2-7 overall, 2-3 GLIAC) stifled Northern Michigan (8-4 overall, 3-2 GLIAC) 73-51 on Thursday night.  A strong second half at both ends of the floor propelled the Warriors to their second GLIAC win of the season.  WSU scored 43 points in the second half compared to NMU's 24.  The 51 points allowed is the best defensive performance since WSU allowed 47 points versus Michigan Tech on Feb. 9, 2017.

It's Wayne State's first home win over the Wildcats since 2015 as the road team had won the previous four meetings.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Northern Michigan jumped out to a 9-3 lead following back-to-back buckets from Myles Howard and a layup by Isaiah Johnson at the 16:40 mark.  The Warriors trailed 14-7 with 13:32 left in the opening half after two points from Naba Echols.  The Green & Gold pulled within three, 14-11, following dunks by Tristan Wilson (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) and Xavier Cochran (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) with just over 10 minutes left to play.  Cochran was fouled behind the arc and knocked down all three from the charity stripe to cut the NMU advantage to 16-14 at the 9:15 mark.  Darian Owens-White (Ypsilanti, Mich. / River Rouge) connected from deep to keep WSU within two. 19-17, with 6:06 left before halftime.  Another triple from Owens-White made it 23-20 in favor of the Wildcats at the 4:15 mark.  Wayne State outscored the visitors 14-4 over the final four minutes of the stanza, including Owens-White fourth trey of the contest as time expired to give the Warriors a 30-27 halftime lead.

Cochran extended the home lead to 32-27 to begin the second half with a layup.  WSU led 35-31 at the 16:17 mark after a triple by Latin Davis, Jr. (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Milan).  The Warriors used a 17-0 rally, to take a 55-35 lead just over 10 minutes left to play in the contest, capped by a fast break layup from Karim Murray (Detroit, Mich. / Western International).  Two free throws by Davis, Jr. stretched the Warriors advantage to 61-38 with 6:50 left in regulation.  An acrobatic layup by Davis, Jr. gave WSU a 63-42 lead at the 3:53 mark.  Wayne State continued to control the tempo and the scoreboard down the stretch, leading 68-46 at the 2:07 mark.  The Warriors would cruise to a 73-51 victory.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Owens-White notched a game-high 20 points, including 4-of-6 from three-point range.  The four made triples matches his season and career best.  Cochran finished with 11 points and seven boards, while Murray tallied nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.  Davis, Jr. totaled 13 points and seven boards.

LEADING THE WILDCATS
Johnson and Echols came into the game averaging 22.5 points and 18.8 points per game.  Echols finished with 11 and Johnson collected nine points.  Sam Taylor chipped in 11 points, while Howard posted an 11-rebound performance.

TEAM STATS
WSU shot 45 percent from the floor (25-of-56) compared to NMU's 30 percent (18-of-60).  The Warriors went 17-of-20 from the free throw line and out-rebounds the Wildcats 42-36.

UP NEXT
The two-game home stand concludes on Saturday against Michigan Tech.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and can be seen on Comcast CN900 or Warrior All-Access.