Boxscore

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (1-1 overall) recorded a one-point win (70-69) over visiting Lewis University (1-1 overall) Monday night at the Matthaei in the home opener for the Warriors.

The contest featured seven ties, with six of them coming in the final 12:30 of the game, along with 14 lead changes.

The Flyers had a three-point advantage (63-60) with 6:18 remaining on a jumper by Ryan Jackson, but Warrior senior guard Cole Prophet (Sandusky, Ohio) knotted the scored with a conventional three-point play at the 5:48 mark.

Brad Foster's offensive rebound and dunk restored a two-point lead for LU, but senior forward Ian Larkin (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) answered with a dunk to tie the game at 65 with 3:44 left.

Julian Lewis, off a pass from Jackson, recorded a dunk at the 3:18 mark giving the Flyers a 67-65 lead.  Each team had a turnover on their ensuing possessions, before Prophet drained a deep three putting WSU ahead 68-67 with 2:18 remaining.  It was WSU's first lead in nearly eight minutes since a pair Prophet free throws gave the hosts a 58-57 advantage.

Foster's tip-in with 1:57 left would prove to be Lewis' final points.  On Wayne State's trip down the court, junior guard Chene Phillips (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) missed a jumper but Larkin dunked the offensive rebound in a highlight reel play very similar to his ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 plays of two years ago vs. Michigan Tech.

Each team missed a field goal over the next 45 seconds, before Warrior junior forward Gerald Williams-Taylor (Flint, Mich./Northern) stepping into the passing lane to intercept a pass from Jackson.  Williams-Taylor, however, missed both ends of a double bonus with Lewis calling timeout with 0:00.8 seconds remaining.  A long inbounds pass to Julian Lewis gave the Flyers one last chance but Williams-Taylor blocked the shot attempt out of bounds giving Wayne State its first win of the season.

Lewis started the game on fire shooting 59 percent (17-of-29) from the floor before intermission and having a game-high nine point lead (19-10) just over seven minutes in.  The Flyers made their first six field goal attempts in the first five minutes of the game.

After LU's largest lead, the Warriors responded with a 15-3 run over the next four minutes highlighted by seven points from Phillips and five by Larkin along with a triple by junior forward Bryan Coleman (Southfield, Mich./Lathrup).

WSU led by five points a couple of times late in the first half (33-28 and 36-31), the first on a three-pointer by Phillips and the second time on a conventional three-point play by junior center Michael Martin (West Bloomfield, Mich.).

It appeared as if the Flyers would go into halftime with a four-point lead but Prophet drained a triple with four seconds remaining pulling the Warriors within one (40-39) at the break.

Phillips tallied a game-high 23 points, while also recording a game-best six assists.  Prophet contributed 20 points including three three-pointers. 

Julian Lewis led LU with a double-double on 16 points and 11 defensive rebounds.  Jackson scored a team-high 19 points for the Flyers who had four players in double figures.

Larkin nearly had a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds while recording five blocked shots, one shy of his career-high.

Lewis shot 49 percent (30-of-61) from the field, while Wayne State connected on 40 percent (25-of-62) of its shots. 

WSU led in points off turnovers (10-to-8), while the Flyers held the advantage in points in the paint (34-26), second chance points (17-10) and bench points (17-7).

Wayne State will be idle for the Thanksgiving holiday returning to competition on Thursday, Nov. 29 in the GLIAC opener at Tiffin.