DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball program (4-9 overall, 1-8 GLIAC) lost at Purdue Northwest (7-10 overall, 2-7 GLIAC) on Saturday evening, 84-73. The Warriors have dropped six straight contests.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Warriors led 6-4 at the 16:30 mark following a layup by sophomore guard
Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King). Marshall connected from behind the arc to extend WSU's advantage to 11-7 with 15 minutes to play before halftime. Senior guard
Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) kept the Green & Gold on top, 13-11, with a bucket at the 12:31 mark. The teams traded punches and a jumper by freshman forward
Nate Talbot (Lake Orion, Mich.) put the visitors on top, 17-15, with nine minutes to play. A triple by sophomore guard
LJ DeWolf (Ypsilanti, Mich.) evened the score at the 7:12 mark but the Pride led 25-20 with six minutes remaining. A basket from graduate student
James Gordon IV (Shelbyville, Ky. / Chicago Simeon) and a three-pointer by freshman forward
Kylin Grant (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) tied the game at 25-25 at the 4:43 mark. Purdue Northwest used a 12-3 run to take a 37-28 lead with 2:22 left before intermission. The Warriors trailed 43-34 at halftime following a bucket by Talbot with 35 seconds left.
The deficit stayed around 10 for the early stages of the second half as PNW led 48-38 at the 17:44 mark and 60-48 with 14:40 remaining after a layup from Gordon. DeWolf cut the home lead to eight, 63-55, with a three-pointer at the 13:31 mark. The Pride stretched their lead to 79-56 with eight minutes left in regulation. A 7-0 run from WSU brought the Warriors within 10, 76-66, at the 6:28 mark. That would be as close as WSU would come as Purdue Northwest won 84-73.
LEADING THE WARRIORS
Gordon tallied a career-high 24 points along with seven rebounds, while Marshall finished with 13 points and Talbot posted 12 points and three blocks. Neely chipped in 11 points and a career-best 17 assists, which is a program record. The previous mark was held by Darrell Evans who had 15 against Ashland on Feb. 17, 2005.
LEADING THE PRIDE
Timothy Gilmore scored a game-high 27 points, while Jyrus Freel finished with 14 points. Gregory Boyle chipped in 10 points.
UP NEXT
Wayne State will return to the Matthaei to host Saginaw Valley State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.