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Wayne State University Athletics

James Gordon
James Gordon collected his third double-double of the season with a career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds.
73
Winner Northwood NW 9-10,4-7 GLIAC
71
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 4-11,1-10 GLIAC
Winner
Northwood NW
9-10,4-7 GLIAC
73
Final
71
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne
4-11,1-10 GLIAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Northwood NW 32 41 73
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 37 34 71

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

Late Free Throw Struggles Doom Men's Basketball

The Warriors missed two at the charity stripe with under 30 seconds to play.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball program (4-11 overall, 1-10 GLIAC) nearly snapped its losing streak on Saturday afternoon, but late misses at the free throw line extended the losing streak to eight games as the Northwood Timberwolves escaped the Matthaei with a 73-71 victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED
A pair of free throws from senior guard Karim Murray (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) early in the first half gave the Warriors a 6-4 lead at the 16:14 mark.  Freshman forward Nate Talbot (Lake Orion, Mich.) connected on a turn around hook shot pulled WSU within one (12-11) at 14:25 mark.  Graduate student James Gordon IV (Shelbyville, Ky. / Chicago Simeon) knocked down a 18-foot jumper to tie the game at 13-13 at the 13:25 mark.  Northwood used a quick 8-0 run to take a 21-13 advantage with 11:50 remaining the stanza.  NU's Kelvin Calhoun converted an old-fashioned three-point play to highlight the rally.  The Green & Gold responded with an 8-0 run of its own to tie the game at 21-21 with 9:19 left before halftime.  A three-pointer from senior guard Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) sparked WSU during the rally.  Sophomore guard Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) gave the Warriors 25-23 lead with a baseline jumper at the 5:31 mark.  The momentum stayed with the home team and a jumper by freshman forward Kylin Grant (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) put Wayne State on top 27-25 with 4:11 left before halftime.  A trey from Gordon pushed WSU's advantage to 33-29 at the 2:22 mark and another basket by Murray made it 37-32 with just under 60 seconds to play, which would be the score at the break.

WSU started the second stanza with jumpers from Grant and Murray to lead 41-36 at the 18:35 mark.  A steal and fast break layup from Marshall gave Wayne State a 43-39 advantage with 15:55 remaining.  Marshall connected from behind the arc to push the lead to 48-43 at the 14:14 mark.  Back-to-back layups from Neely pushed the home advantage to 52-44 with 12:20 left on the clock.  The Timberwolves started to chip away and trailed 52-49 after a two-pointer from Evan Lowden at the 10:50 mark.  Neely made a pair of free throws to slow NU's tempo and give WSU a 57-52 lead with 8:49 to play.  The teams traded baskets as Neely gave WSU a 63-57 lead, but NU's Ja'Kavien Lewis answered with a triple to make it 63-60 at the 5:45 mark.  The margin stayed at three, 65-62, with 4:18 left in regulation.  David Jelinek trimmed WSU's lead to 65-64 with a jumper at the 3:28 mark, but Gordon had an answer on the next trip down to the court and his jumper pushed the lead back to three at 67-64.  The T-Wolves evened the score at 67-67 with 2:42 remaining on a three-pointer from Lowden.  Gordon tied the game at 69-69 at the 56-second mark with a layup, but Jelinek continued to have the hot hand and put NU back on top 71-69 with two free throws.  Neely made the one of two free throw attempts with 24 seconds left to play to trim the deficit to one (71-70).  WSU grabbed the offensive rebound after the miss but was unable to convert the second chance attempt.  Lewis went 1-for-2 at the NU free throw line to make it 72-70 as the clock dipped under 10 seconds.  Once again Neely, made the first but missed the second at the charity stripe to keep it a one-point game at 72-71.  The Timberwolves would add another free throw and Neely's 60-foot prayer went unanswered as time expired.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Gordon posted a career-best 26 points along with his 11 rebounds to lead Wayne State.  Neely finished with 20 points and 10 assists, while Marshall chipped in with 13 points and four steals.

LEADING THE TIMBERWOLVES
Lewis paced the NU attack with 18 points, while Jelinek and Trey McBride both tallied 13 points.

ONE BIG THING
Other than the late struggles at the free throw line, turnovers were an issue for WSU.  Northwood scored 22 points off 18 Warrior giveaways.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will host Lake Superior State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. inside the Matthaei.

 
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