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Wayne State University Athletics

James Gordon IV
James Gordon IV scored the winning basket at Lewis.
67
Winner Wayne State WS 2-1
66
Lewis LEWIS 0-3
Winner
Wayne State WS
2-1
67
Final
66
Lewis LEWIS
0-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wayne State WS 34 33 67
Lewis LEWIS 35 31 66

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Cameron Weidenthaler, Assistant Media Relations Director

Men's Basketball Wins 67-66 At Lewis

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (2-1 overall) won a hard-fought game, 67-66, at Lewis (0-3 overall) on Saturday evening.  The Warriors trailed 35-34 at halftime, but won the second half 33-31 to knock off an NCAA Tournament team from a season ago.

HOW IT HAPPENED
In a game that featured 16 lead changes, it was a final surge by WSU that propelled the visitors to the victory.  The host Flyers took a three point lead (65-62) on a jumper from the paint by Adam Pischke with 79 seconds remaining.  Sophomore guard Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) knotted the game at 65-65 with a triple at the 56-second mark.  The teams exchanged turnovers over the next 23 seconds before LU's Donovan Oliver split a pair at the charity stripe with 29 seconds left.  Graduate forward James Gordon IV (Shelbyville, Ky. / Chicago Simeon) hit a jumper from the left elbow with 0:09 left to put Wayne State back in front 67-66.  Anthony D'Avanzo had a last-second field goal attempt that was blocked by Gordon IV to preserve the road victory.

The Warriors started strong scoring the first five points on a triple by Gordon IV and a pair of free throws by senior guard Karim Murray (Detroit, Mich. / Western International).  The Flyers went ahead 6-5 on back-to-back triples by Dre Bell and Oliver.  There were six lead changes in the first 6:04 of the contest.  WSU had a 23-15 lead at the 9:05 mark on the second triple of the early going by senior guard Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International).  Lewis responded with an 11-2 run that continued into a 17-4 spurt over a seven minute stretch giving the hosts a 32-27 lead.  Baskets by freshman forward Nate Talbot (Lake Orion, Mich.) and Murray late in the opening stanza cut the Warrior deficit to one (35-34) at intermission.

There were three lead changes in the first three minutes after halftime with Wayne State holding a five-point advantage (44-39) at the 15:46 mark on a jumper by Gordon IV.  The Flyers rallied to grab a 47-46 lead with 12:18 remaining.  After Lewis knotted the game at 51-51 on a jumper by D'Avanzo, Murray responded with a jumper and Gordon IV drained a shot from beyond the arc for a 56-51 lead.  LU answered with a 10-4 run to re-gain the lead at 61-60 on a triple by Jake Reinhart.

A layup by Lewis' Brandon McCombe extended the hosts advantage to three (63-60) with 4:13 left.  A Talbot jumper made it a one-point game before the aforementioned jumper by Pischke.

TEAM STATS

Wayne State shot 52 percent (27-of-52) from the floor, including 37 percent (7-of-19) from beyond the arc.  Meanwhile, the Flyers were 26-of-65 (40 percent) on field goal attempts, but only 26 percent (7-of-27) from three-point range.  WSU was 6-of-7 (86 percent) from the charity stripe, with Lewis making 7-of-10 free throw attempts.  The Warriors held a 34-33 edge in rebounding.

LEADING THE WARRIORS

Murray tallied a game-high 20 points and had a double-double with a team-best 10 rebounds.  Gordon tallied 16 points, while Neely contributed 14 points.  Marshall chipped in with 11 points, while Talbot dished out a game-best six assists.

LEADING THE FLYERS
Oliver led four Flyers in double figures with 14 points, while McCombs had 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, with Oliver also recording a double-double with 10 rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Green & Gold will return to the court on Nov. 27th at former GLIAC member Hillsdale with a 6:00 p.m. tip-off.



 
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