Boxscore

Post-game interview with Cole Prophet.

Post-game interview with assistant coach E.J. Haralson.

Audio of Ian Larkin's put-back dunk in the final 40 seconds of regulation.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (16-6 overall, 15-4 GLIAC) remained in first place in the GLIAC overall standings with a 56-53 triumph over visiting Ferris State University (14-10 overall, 13-7 GLIAC) Thursday evening at the Matthaei.

WSU never led for the first 19 minutes of the game until an offensive rebound and dunk by senior forward Ian Larkin (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) in the last 35 seconds before intermission snapped a 29-29 deadlock, which was the sixth tie of the first half.  FSU's Kenny Brown hit a jumper in the final seconds to knot the game at 31 at halftime.

Larkin tallied 14 points in the opening half along with two blocked shots, while Brown led the Bulldogs with 10 points.

A lay-up by junior guard Mike Hollingsworth (Utica, Mich.) on the opening possession of the second half put WSU ahead 33-31.  A triple by FSU's Drew Lehman regained the lead for FSU before Larkin answered with a lay-up.

A bucket by Bulldog Trent Messer at the 17:46 mark was the last point for either team for the next three minutes until senior guard Cole Prophet (Sandusky, Ohio) split a pair from the foul line tying the game at 36.

A 6-1 run by Ferris gave the visitors its largest lead of the second half (42-37) with 11:17 left.  Jumpers by Hollingsworth and Larkin, along with another Larkin hoop following a Messer dunk cut the WSU deficit to one (44-43) at the 9:45 mark.

Neither team scored for the next two minutes until Lehman scored an grabbing an offensive rebound.  On the ensuing possession, Hollingsworth drained a three-pointer to knot the game at 46 at the 7:08 mark.

Over the final seven minutes, FSU went 3-of-12 from the floor with two turnovers including 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.  Meanwhile, WSU connected on 3-of-7 field goal attempts and 4-of-7 from the foul line, and never trailed after Larkin split a pair from the charity stripe at the 5:04 mark snapping the 46-46 draw.

Prophet hit a jumper from the paint before FSU's Josh Fleming scored from inside.  Hollingsworth made 1-of-2 from the foul line, then FSU's Brown missed a jumper and had the ball stripped by Prophet leading to a lay-up by junior forward Gerald Williams-Taylor (Flint, Mich./Northern), which increased the Warrior lead to four (52-48) with 97 seconds left.

Fleming scored again to make it a two-point contest, but Larkin responded with an offensive rebound and dunk in the final 40 seconds.  After FSU missed a lay-up and WSU missed the front end of a one-and-one, Bulldog Dietrich Lever recorded his only made field goal of the contest, a triple from the top of the circle to make it a one-point game at 54-53 with 16 seconds remaining.

Larkin made two foul shots in a one-and-one with 12 seconds left and Lever's desperation three at the buzzer was off the mark.

Wayne State has 15 league wins for the first time since the 1998-99 squad went 16-3 in conference play to win both the GLIAC South Division and GLIAC overall regular-season title.

Larkin finished with a game-high 26 points and tied for team-high rebounds honors with junior forward Jamar Ragland (Detroit, Mich./Loyola) at seven boards each.

Brown led three Bulldogs in double figures with 12 points, although he was 5-of-14 from the field and 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.  Messer had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Wayne State will conclude the regular season with three consecutive road games beginning Saturday at Grand Valley.