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Wayne State University Athletics

Ray Williams 2023 vs. Davenport
Zack Belsky/WSU Athletics
Ray Williams, Jr. had a team-high 22 points.
63
Davenport Daven 7-18,3-12 GLIAC
68
Winner Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 8-14,5-10 GLIAC
Davenport Daven
7-18,3-12 GLIAC
63
Final
68
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne
8-14,5-10 GLIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Davenport Daven 45 18 63
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 29 39 68

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Strong Second Half Gives Men's Basketball Win Over Davenport

WSU out-scored the Panthers 39-18 over the final 20 minutes.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball squad (8-14 overall, 5-10 GLIAC) rallied from an 18-point deficit just before intermission to post a 68-63 triumph over visiting Davenport University (7-18 overall, 3-12 GLIAC) Thursday evening at the Wayne State Fieldhouse.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
After a couple of early lead changes, the Warriors had a lead for nearly five minutes until DU went on an 8-0 run to lead 16-11 with just over 13 minutes left in the first half.  For the next four minutes, the Panthers maintained an advantage from three to six points until a conventional three-point play by Marcedus Leech, Jr. extended the margin to seven (23-16).

WSU pulled within four (25-21) on a triple by freshman Justice Gordon (Brampton, Ont.) and an offensive rebound and put-back by junior Kaimen Lennox (Kansas City, Mo. / Truman H.S.), but Davenport responded with a 15-3 spurt to grab a 40-24 lead with 2:15 remaining before intermission.

A jumper by Leech extended the guests advantage to 18 (45-27) with 62 seconds remaining in the opening half.  A bucket by Lennox reduced the margin to 16 (45-29) at halftime.  Leech had 17 points in the first 20 minutes.

Second Half
Wayne State began the second half on a 8-0 run as four different players scored two points apiece - senior Nate Talbot (Lake Orion, Mich.), Lennox, junior Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) and freshman Matt Coffey (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King).

DU led 50-37 with just over 16 minutes left, however the Warriors responded with a 10-0 run to pull within three points (50-47) with just under 12 minutes remaining.  The Panthers tallied the next seven points for a 10-point advantage (57-47) with 6:25 left.

Another offensive rebound by Lennox (he had five offensive rebounds in the game) and put back started another WSU rally.  Lennox made two foul shots before Williams, Jr. connected twice from beyond the arc in less than 20 seconds to knot the game at 57-57.

A lay-up by Gordon off a feed from Lennox completed the 12-0 spurt by the Warriors.

After Leech split a pair from the charity stripe, a Coffey bucket made it 61-58.  Two free throws by Lennox and a driving lay-up by Williams sealed the home court win for Wayne State.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot 33 percent (24-of-72) from the floor, while Davenport shot 39 percent (21-of-54).  However, the biggest difference was DU shooting 53 percent (16-of-30) in the opening half and 21 percent (5-of-24) over the final 20 minutes.  WSU was 6-of-29 (21 percent) from three-point range, while the Panthers 4-of-18 (22 percent) on long-range shots.  The Warriors made 14-of-19 foul shot attempts (74 percent) with Davenport making 17-of-22 (77 percent).  Wayne State had a 45-41 edge in rebounding, including 18 offensive rebounds which led to a 23-10 advantage in second-chance points.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Williams, Jr. tallied a career-high 22 points to tie for game-high scoring honors.  Lennox contributed 19 points and a game-best (a career-high) 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.

LEADING THE PANTHERS
Leech scored just five points in the second half but led DU with 22 points.  Jordan Sterling added 16 points.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will play its final home game of the 2022-23 campaign on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Grand Valley State on Senior Day.








 
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