DETROIT -- In the final game inside the Matthaei for the program, the Wayne State University men's basketball team (12-5 GLIAC) clinched its first outright GLIAC regular season title since the 1998-99 season on Saturday afternoon. The Warriors won 70-68 over Ferris State (9-10 Overall, 8-8 GLIAC). Additionally, WSU secured a first-round bye in next week's GLIAC Tournament as the top seed and will face the No. 8 seed at noon eastern on Thursday in Hammond, Ind.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Warriors trailed 3-0 early in the first half after three free throws from Walt Kelser at the 18:54 mark. Both teams went cold until a layup from redshirt Senior
Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) pushed WSU ahead 4-3 with 16:28 left to play. Freshman
Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich.. / Edison Public School Academy) extended the lead to 9-3 with a long-range jumper at the 15:07 mark. A layup from redshirt sophomore
Avery Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) kept the Green & Gold on top, 12-7, with 13:19 remaining in the stanza. Sophomore
Kylin Grant (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) connected from behind the arc to make it 15-9 and Lewis followed with a bucket to increase the margin to 17-9 at the 11:24 mark. Redshirt junior
Darian Owens-White (Detroit, Mich. / River Rouge) saw his program record consecutive made free throw streak come to an end as he split a pair, giving Wayne State a 24-18 advantage with 7:49 left before halftime. The Warriors led 29-22 after a three-pointer from Owens-White and the margin grew to double-digits, 34-24, on a deep three from Grant at the 5:04 mark. The margin stayed at 10, 38-28, after a bucket from Lewis with 1:43 to play before the break. Another two points from Lewis on the next possession pushed the home advantage to 40-28. WSU held onto a 40-30 lead at halftime.
The Bulldogs scored the first six points of the second half to pull within four until a Lewis turnaround jumper broke the drought for WSU. An extremely competitive and physical game continued as a three-point play at the 15:15 mark from Curtis Jackson made it 46-41 in favor of the Warriors. FSU continued to have the momentum until a three-point play by Lewis gave Wayne State a 49-45 lead with 13:49 remaining. Back-to-back driving layups from Neely gave the Warriors a 53-47 lead at the 11:44 mark. Ferris State would not go away and cut the home lead to 55-51 with 9:25 left to play. Four straight points from Lewis helped Wayne State regain control, 59-51, with 7:38 left. A layup and a triple from junior
Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) pushed WSU's advantage to 64-53, at the 5:24 mark. A layup from Williams with 3:46 to play gave WSU a 66-57 lead. Walt Kelser started to get hot and his jumper with 2:35 to play brought FSU within five, 66-61. Another bucket from Kelser trimmed the home lead to three, 68-65, at the 1:22 mark. Jimmy Scholler connected from behind the arc with nine seconds left to tie the game at 68-68. However, Owens-White found room in the paint to knock down a runner, giving Wayne State a 70-68 lead. A full-court inbound pass was stolen by Williams as time expired to seal the win.
LEADING THE WARRIORS
A career-high 24 from Lewis paced the Warriors, while Neely had 18 points.
LEADING THE BULLDOGS
Kelser tallied 18 points, while Schooler had 13 points and Logan Ryan finished with 10 points.
ONE BIG THING
Long distance was working much better on Saturday than it did on Friday for WSU as the Green & Gold went 5-of-14 from behind the arc compared to FSU's 1-of-17.
UP NEXT
The Warriors await to see their opponent in the GLIAC Quarterfinals, which will be played on March 4th in Hammond, Ind. More information can be found
here.
