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DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball squad (2-1 overall, 1-0 GLIAC) began conference play with a 65-51 victory over visiting Tiffin University (4-2 overall, 0-1 GLIAC) Thursday evening at the Matthaei.

In a see-saw first half that saw 13 lead changes (and eight ties) along with neither team leading by more than six points (TU 22-16), the Dragons held a 33-32 advantage after Michael Bouley split a pair from the foul line with 1.1 seconds remaining before intermission.

Tiffin shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes compared to 39 percent (11-of-28) for Wayne State, but the Warriors had two players in double figures as senior forward Bryan Coleman (Southfield, Mich. / Lathrup) had 11 points and freshman guard Clark Bishop (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) added 10 points.

The second half was a much different story as WSU turned up the defensive pressure limiting the Dragons to five made field goals (on 31 attempts) over the final 20 minutes and out-scoring the guests 33-18 after halftime.

Bishop made a pair of foul shots in the first 30 seconds to put WSU up one (34-33) and on the next possession sophomore Michael Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) scored on a fast-break off a feed from senior Deon Dismuke (Detroit, Mich. / Pershing).  TU's Jonathan Sutherlin put home a dunk to cut the Warrior lead to one (36-35) but Coleman answered with a jumper..

After another Tiffin bucket, senior guard Chene Phillips (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) drained a trip and Coleman scored on a fast-break off a dish from Phillips to increase the lead to six (43-37).  The Dragons would pull within four (43-39), but a 9-0 Wayne State run in less than three minutes pushed the margin to 13 (52-39).  four different Warriors scored during the spurt with Coleman scoring from down lown, Phillips hitting another shot from beyond the arc, senior Michael Martin (West Bloomfield, Mich.) tallying two points on a lay-up and Dismuke scoring on a fast break.

Wayne State's advantage was never less than 10 the rest of the contest.

Coleman recorded a game-high 17 points to lead four Warriors in double figures.  Lewis had a double-double with 12 points and a game-best 11 rebounds as WSU held a slim 38-37 edge on the boards.

Phillips contributed 14 points, four assists and three steals, while Bishop tallied 12 points, four assists and three steals.

Phillips biggest contribution was on the defensive end as he held Tiffin's Joe Graessle to 11 points and no triples.  Graessle entered the contest averaging 27.8 points per game and three three-pointers per contest.  He had scored at least 20 points in 28 of his previous 32 games dating back to the start of the 2012-13 campaign.

Graessle's 11 points were a team-high, while Korab Imami grabbed a TU-best eight rebounds.

Wayne State will look to improve to 2-0 in conference play on Saturday as the Warriors entertain the Ohio Dominican Panthers in a 3 p.m. tip-off at the Matthaei.