BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (10-14 overall, 4-11 GLIAC) led Ferris State (19-6 overall, 9-5 GLIAC) 37-36 at halftime on Saturday, but was outscored 41-32 after the break en route to a 77-69 defeat.  The Warriors fell to 7-10 this season when taking an advantage into the intermission.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Ferris State led by as many as seven points three times through the first 13 minutes and change of the game.  That trio of seven-point advantages came at 18-11, 20-13 and 28-21.  Wayne State then countered with 10 of the next 12 points to take its first advantage of the game, 31-30.

That run was both started and capped by Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Mich.) thanks to a fast-break layup and three-pointer.  Following a pair of free throws and jumper, all by the Bulldogs, Matt Coffey (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) converted back-to-back two-pointers to give the Warriors their advantage back, 35-34.

Then, Briggs hit a pair at the charity stripe and FSU tipped one back in to keep the WSU margin at one, 37-36, heading into the locker room.
 
Second Half
Wayne State's largest lead of the afternoon was seven and thrice happened in the opening four minutes of the stanza (43-36, 45-38 and 47-40). 

However, Ferris State responded with an 18-4 run of its own that lasted just over eight minutes and put it ahead by seven, 58-51, with 8:09 to play.

From there until the final buzzer, the closest the Warriors could get was six (58-52, 75-69) while the Bulldogs' advantage grew to as large as 15 (69-54) before the final deficit of eight points.
 
TEAM STATS
Ferris State shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59) to Wayne State's 44.2 percent (23-of-52) and 88.5 percent (23-of-26) to 68 percent (17-of-25) at the free throw line.  Both teams struggled from behind the arc including 30 percent (6-of-20) for the Warriors and 21.1 percent (4-of-19) by the Bulldogs.  FSU finished with 17 assists to just seven turnovers while WSU notched 12 of each.  Ferris State's bench outscored Wayne State's 39-21 while the visitors had the upper hand in paint scoring, 34-26.
 
LEADING THE WARRIORS
Rob Lee, Jr. (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) made it 10-straight games in double figures with a team-high 16 points to go with three rebounds and three assists.  Also scoring in double figures for Wayne State were Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) with 11 and Tamario Adley (Detroit, Mich. / Warren De La Salle (Macomb CC)) with 10.  Williams came two rebounds within a double-double and Briggs dished out four assists.  Defensively, Colin Golson, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Ferndale (Siena / Eastern Michigan)) and Coffey each notched a block while three different Warriors tallied a steal.
 
LEADING THE BULLDOGS
Ethan Erickson paced all scorers with 26 points (4-of-9 3FG) and was joined in double figures by Ben Davidson's 18.  Ferris State's other leaders included Deng Reng (10 rebounds), Amari Lee (seven assists and three steals) and Jimmy Scholler (two blocks).

UP NEXT
Wayne State will come back to Detroit for the final two home games of the 2023-24 season beginning with Michigan Tech on Thursday night.  Opening tip against the Huskies inside the Fieldhouse is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.