DETROIT -- In a see-saw affair which saw 12 lead changes and nine ties, the Wayne State University men's basketball squad (1-5 overall, 1-2 GLIAC) notched its first win of the season with a 58-52 triumph over visiting Northern Michigan University (2-4 overall, 1-2 GLIAC) Thursday night at the Matthaei.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The game was tied six times in the first 11 minutes with the final occurrence coming at 11-11 on a made free throw by Warrior sophomore Chuck Key (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech).

After the Wildcats took a two-point lead (13-11) on a jumper in the paint by Kenny Williams, WSU went on a 12-1 run over the next three-and-half minutes to open up the largest lead (nine points/23-14) of the first half.  Five different Warriors scored with the spurt concluding on two triples by junior guard Clark Bishop (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance).

NMU ended the opening 20 minutes on a 12-2 run over the final five minutes to grab a one-point advantage (26-25) at intermission.  Both teams made six foul shots in the first half and the Wildcats led in field goals made (9-8), but WSU had a 3-2 edge in three-pointers made.  There were 48 missed shots by halftime.

Seven lead changes took place in the second half with Northern Michigan holding the largest lead (five points/36-31) of the first 16 minutes after intermission.

Wayne State trailed by four (45-41) with just over nine minutes remaining when junior forward Michael Lewis (Ann Arbor, Huron) took over after a free throw by Bishop cut the deficit to three, Lewis drained a triple to knot the game at 45, and 90 seconds later added a jumper to give the Warriors their first lead in over five minutes.  Back-to-back lay-ups by sophomore Marcus Moore (Lansing, Mich. / Waverly) and Lewis completed the 10-0 run by WSU.

When NMU's Marcus Hall connected on a jumper with 100 seconds left in the game it was the first made field goal for the visitors since a Terry Nash lay-up at the 10:27 mark, a span of 8:46.

After a jumper by Wildcat Naba Echols trimmed the Wayne State lead to four (56-52), NMU missed its final two field goal attempts plus had a turnover allowing the Warrior defense to preserve the lead.

WSU LEADERS
Lewis nearly had a double-double with a game-high 17 points along with nine rebounds, which tied for game-high honors.  Bishop contributed 14 points, while sophomore Ronald Booth (Detroit, Mich. / Consortium) dished out a team-best four assists.

TEAM STATS RECAP
WSU shot 39 percent (22-of-56) from the field, including 29 percent (4-of-14) from beyond the arc.  Meanwhile, NMU made 34 percent (18-of-53) of its field goal attempts, while also making four shots (of 18 attempts) from three-point range.  Both teams shot 18 foul shots with NMU leading 12 to 10 made free throws.

Wayne State had 14 turnovers, while Northern Michigan totaled 17 miscues.  Both teams had 12 offensive rebounds, but the Wildcats had a 38-36 edge in total rebounds.

LEADING THE OPPOSITION
Nash was the lone Wildcat in double figures with 11 points, while Jordan Perez led NMU with nine boards.

TELEVISION
Comcast/CN 900 will replay the game six times over the next three weeks (1) Dec. 13 at noon, (2) Dec. 16 at 10 p.m., (3) Dec. 17 at 9 a.m., (4) Dec. 23 at 8 p.m., (5) Dec. 26 at 1 p.m., and (6) Dec. 31 at 9 a.m.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will conclude the 2015 portion of its schedule with a 3 p.m. tip-off on Sunday against Michigan Tech due to WSU Winter Commencement being held in the Matthaei on Saturday.