SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. -- The Wayne State University men's basketball squad (1-0 Overall, 1-0 GLIAC) began the 2020-21 campaign with an 87-76 GLIAC road victory at Lake Superior State University (0-1 Overall, 0-1 GLIAC) Friday afternoon.

FIRST HALF RECAP
The Warriors scored the first four points and never looked back.  Junior Darian Owens-White (Ypsilanti, Mich. / River Rouge), returning to the lineup after missing all of last season due to an injury, scored WSU's first points on a jumper, and sophomore transfer Avery Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) had an offensive rebound and put back.

The Wayne State defense held the host Lakers without a made field goal for nearly six minutes in building an 11-2 advantage.

Sophomore transfer Jackie Harris (Sylvania, Ohio / Toledo St. Francis de Sales) connected from long distance, while an Owens-White lay-up was followed by a jumper from senior guard Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International).

The Warriors extended their lead to 16-4 with a triple by Neely and another offensive rebound and bucket by Lewis.

A 6-0 run by LSSU pulled the hosts within six at 16-10, but two Harris baskets sandwiched around a Neely lay-up restored the 12-point margin at 22-10.

WSU's advantage remained between nine and 12 points, until a 5-0 spurt by Lake Superior pulled the hosts within six (33-27) with just under two minutes remaining in the opening half.

A triple by Owens-White and a lay-up by junior Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) pushed the lead to 11 (38-27) at intermission.

SECOND HALF RECAP
Wayne State's lead was never less than nine throughout the first 12 minutes of the second half and the margin was 14 points (68-54) with just under eight minutes remaining.

LSSU went on an 11-0 run over the next two-plus minutes to cut the Warrior advantage to three (68-65).

Marshall connected from beyond the arc, after a pair of Laker free throws a minute later the difference was three points (72-69).  Freshman Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) answered with a triple and Owens-White hit two foul shots to increase the lead to eight (77-69) with just under four minutes left.

After the teams traded buckets, Neely made two foul shots and the lead was in double digits (81-71).

Following a 5-0 run by LSSU, Neely again made two free throws to extend the lead to seven (83-76).  A Marshall foul shot and a lay-up by Williams increased the margin to 10 (86-76) with under a minute remaining with the final score being 87-76.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
In his first game action since February 28, 2019, Owens-White totaled a team-high 23 points, along with five rebounds.  The 23 points were two shy of his career-high (scored 25 against Grand Valley State on February 1, 2019).  Neely contributed 14 points as did Williams.  Marshall added 12 points giving WSU four players in double figures.  Lewis and Marshall tied for team-high honors with nine rebounds a piece.

LEADING THE LAKERS
Nigel Colvin tallied a game-high 24 points, while Kemon Bassett added 20 points.  Justin Fischer nearly had a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.

WAYNE STATE NOTES
The Warriors won at Cooper Gymnasium for the first time since February 23, 2012 (six consecutive setbacks).

The WSU triumph ended a four-game losing streak against the Lakers and evened Wayne State's all-time mark at LSSU at 19-19

ONE BIG THING
Wayne State held a 48-40 edge in rebounding.

UP NEXT
Wayne State and Lake Superior State will conclude the two-game series with a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday (1/9) at Cooper Gymnasium.