DETROIT – The Wayne State University men's basketball team (7-5 overall, 5-2 GLIAC) knocked off 24th-ranked Lake Superior State University (12-3 overall, 6-1 GLIAC), 63-60, Saturday afternoon at the Matthaei.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Less than 48 hours after having a 16-point second half lead against No. 10 Ferris State evaporate into an 86-80 setback in Big Rapids, the Warriors never trailed in the final 15:30 in the contest against the Lakers.

LSSU did knot the score at 58-58 with 67 seconds remaining as Akaemji Williams made the second free throw after being fouled on a jumper.  Williams foul shot ended a 7-0 run by Lake Superior State as Wayne State had five consecutive possessions without a point (0-for-3 from the field and two shot clock violations).

Senior Ronald Booth (Detroit, Mich. / Consortium) connected on a pull-up jumper and was fouled by LSSU's Michael Nicholson with 39 seconds left.  Booth's made shot from the charity stripe gave the hosts a 61-58 lead.  On the ensuing possession, Nicholson made a lay-up with 22.4 on the clock and was fouled.  He missed the free throw and the ball was batted out of bounds by Laker, a play confirmed by instant replay.

WSU senior Marcus Moore (Lansing, Mich. /Waverly) was fouled with 12.2 seconds remaining.  Despite missing two foul shots with 1:21 on the clock, Moore sank both free throws pushing Wayne State's advantage to three (63-60).

The Warriors defense forced an off-balance triple try by Williams and Nicholson fed the rebound to Blake Marquardt who also misfired on his three-point attempt.

The win was WSU's second over a top-25 program this year, as the Warriors upended 24th-ranked (preseason NABC Coaches Poll) Kentucky Wesleyan in the GLIAC/G-MAC Challenge on Nov. 12 in the Motor City.

The first half began with the Lakers for nearly a five-minute stretch after an 8-8 tie on a lay-up by senior George Spencer (Detroit, Mich. / Belleville).

The game was tied twice more (17-17 and 19-19), prior to LSSU going on an 11-4 run over a six-minute stretch.

Wayne State trailed 33-27 at intermission.  Lake Superior again had a seven-point lead (36-29), before the Warriors started to chip away and eventually evened the score at 41-41 on a lay-up by senior Chuck Key (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech).

The game was tied just once more (45-45) on a Nicholson fast-break bucket until the aforementioned 58-58 deadlock.

A triple by junior Latin Davis, Jr. (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Milan) started a stretch of the teams trading hoops and WSU had a seven-point margin (58-51) with 5:48 on the clock.

TEAM STATS

Wayne State shot 46 percent (24-of-52) from the floor, while LSSU connected on 51 percent (25-of-49) of its field goal attempts.  The Warriors were just 2-of-10 (20 percent) from three-point range, with the Lakers making 3-of-12 (25 percent) from beyond the arc.  The Warriors were a solid 13-of-16 from the foul line (81 percent), while Lake Superior was just 7-of-12 (58 percent).

LSSU had a commanding 35-23 edge in rebounding, but the Lakers also had 19 miscues to 10 turnovers for Wayne State.

LEADING THE WARRIORS

Booth had a team-high 17 points, while also leading the squad with three steals.  Key contributed 16 points, with Davis adding 12 points and a team-best four assists.  Spencer grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

LEADING THE LAKERS

Nicholson had game-high totals of 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Williams also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists.

UP NEXT

Wayne State, which started a stretch of six home games in a seven-game span today, will host Saginaw Valley State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.   The game will air on both Comcast CN 900 and The Patriot (101.5 FM / 1400 AM).