HAMMOND, Ind. -- The 2022-23 Wayne State University men's basketball season came to an end on Saturday as Purdue Northwest eliminated the Warriors from GLIAC Tournament contention, 69-48. WSU finishes year No. 1 under head coach, Bryan Smothers, with an overall record of 8-17, 5-13 in league play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The first half saw three ties and three lead changes, the third coming at the 7:07 mark when Purdue Northwest went ahead, 18-17, and would hold the advantage for the rest of the game. The Pride pushed its advantage to as many as seven, 31-24, before leading by five, 31-26, at halftime.

Second Half
A layup by Nate Talbot (Lake Orion, Mich. / Lake Orion) just under three minutes into the second half pulled WSU within five, 33-28, before PNW took the game over. A 15-2 run by the home team stretched the margin to 18, 48-30, with 12:18 to play. From there until the final buzzer, the visitors' deficit was as little as 15, 48-33, and as large as 21 (56-35, 65-44, 69-48).

TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot 33.9 percent (20-of-59) to Purdue Northwest's 36.8 percent (21-of-57). In just the second half, the percentages were 29 percent (9-of-31) for the Warriors and 46.2 percent (12-of-26) for the Pride. PNW racked up 24 free throw attempts, converting 19 of them, to just seven attempts and five makes for WSU. Purdue Northwest outscored Wayne State, 14-7, off turnovers and 18-2 on the fast break.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Chris Mutebi (Farmington Hills, Mich. / Univ. of Detroit Jesuit) scored a season-high 11 points, all in the second half, and Talbot added 10.

LEADING THE PRIDE
Three players scored in double figures including Mikell Cooper (26 points), Anthony Irvin (13) and Brevin Jefferson (13).