Boxscore

University Center, Mich. -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (14-5 overall, 13-3 GLIAC), playing its fourth consecutive game without leading scorer Mike Hollingsworth, dropped a 79-74 decision at Saginaw Valley State University (9-11 overall, 7-10 GLIAC) Saturday evening.

WSU has suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since a five-game losing skein from Dec. 29, 2011-Jan. 12, 2012.

The Warriors tallied 12 points in the first four minutes of the contest building up a seven-point advantage as senior forward Ian Larkin (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) recorded six points.  The teams played nearly even the next four minutes with the Cardinals holding a slim 8-7 scoring lead.

Over the next five minutes, WSU out-scored the host 11-4 to go up 13 at 30-17 with both Larkin and junior guard Chene Phillips (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) tallying four points and junior forward Gerald Williams-Taylor (Flint, Mich./Northern) chipping in a conventional three-point play.

SVSU ended the first half on an 11-6 run to pull within eight (36-28) at intermission.

The Cardinals won all four segments (between media timeouts) of the second half as freshman guard Damon Bozeman connected on four triples in the final 20 minutes after scoring 12 points on three three-pointers and 3-of-4 from the foul line in the first half.  He finished with a game-high 35 points.

SVSU made it a seven-point game (43-36) with 15 minutes remaining as Larkin scored all seven Warrior points in the opening segment then added another bucket after WSU went nearly five minutes without a point.  Larkin's ninth straight Wayne State point trimmed the deficit to one at 46-45 ending a 13-0 Saginaw Valley run.

Of the Cardinals 20 points from 34 to 54, Bozeman had 16.

The game was tight down the stretch but with Williams-Taylor fouling out at the 4:30 mark and Larkin notching his fifth foul with 3:50 left the Warrior offense sputtered in the final minutes.

When Larkin went to the bench, WSU had a 68-65 advantage but would score just six points (two field goals and two free throws) in the final 4:10.

Larkin led three Warriors in double figures with a career-best 28 points in only 22 minutes.  Senior guard Cole Prophet (Sandusky, Ohio) contributed 17 points, three assists and three steals, while Phillips had 14 points.

In addition to Bozeman's 35, Sterling Johnson had 11 points off the bench for SVSU.

Wayne State had a season-high 18 turnovers, but made just 2-of-6 from beyond the arc, while the Cardinals connected on 11-of-19 from three-point range.

WSU will begin its final regular-season homestand on Thursday with a 6:07 p.m. start against Michigan Tech.