Box Score
Box Score (HTML) l Post-Game Interview With Assistant Coach E.J. Haralson
Midland, Mich. -- The Wayne State University men's basketball squad (6-6 overall, 4-5 GLIAC) dropped a 77-64 decision at Northwood University (10-7 overall, 6-3 GLIAC) Thursday evening. The game started approximately 90 minutes late as the weather between Detroit and mid-Michigan delayed the Warriors travel.
The first half saw six ties with the final deadlock coming at 25-25 as senior guard
Chene Phillips (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) answered a triple by Timberwolves Khalid King with one of his own at the 4:59 mark.
However, the Warriors were unable to score on their next seven possessions (0-7 field goals and one turnover) as Northwood tallied nine straight points for a 34-25 advantage prior to Phillips scoring with under 30 seconds left before intermission.
Phillips led WSU with 11 points in the opening 20 minutes with classmate
Bryan Coleman (Southfield, Mich./Lathrup) adding 10 points. The two WSU seniors were 7-of-14 from the floor in the first half, while the rest of the Warriors were 2-of-13 with senior
Gerald Williams-Taylor (Flint, Mich./Northern) making both of the other two buckets.
Both teams had six turnovers at the break, but Northwood made three more field goals (12 to 9), while taking two less shots. The Warriors shot 33 percent (9-of-27) compared to 48 percent (12-of-25) for the Timberwolves.
The seven point deficit for WSU to begin the second half would be as close as they would get.
Just over six minutes into the second stanza, a lay-up by Williams-Taylor cut the margin to eight (45-37), but NU's Darvin Ham scored the next five points and the Warriors trailed by 13 at the 12:00 mark.
Wayne State made it a nine-point game (53-44) after five consecutive points by freshman guard
Clark Bishop (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance). The teams traded hoops over the next five minutes until Northwood's Will Bowles recorded three straight baskets to push the Timberwolves lead to 16 (69-53) with 3:57 left.
Phillips and Coleman each had 16 points for WSU, while Bishop added 15 and Williams-Taylor contributed 11 points. The 15 points by Bishop equaled a career-high set 12 days ago vs. Malone, while his eight made free throws were more than he had made all season (entered the game 6-of-10 from the foul line).
The other six Warriors to play in the contest combined for six points on 2-of-15 shooting. By comparison, the four double figure scorers for Wayne State were 19-of-41 from the floor.
Bowles had a double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds while also recording six blocked shots. Wes Wilcox chipped in 20 points which included 9-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Wayne State will conclude its four-game road trip with a 7 p.m. tip-off on Saturday at Saginaw Valley as the Warriors try to end a three-game losing skein.
