DETROIT -- The postseason is here for the Wayne State University men's basketball team.  Competing in the GLIAC Tournament for the first time since 2021, the seventh-seeded Warriors (13-14 overall, 7-11 GLIAC) will be at second-seeded Lake Superior State (21-7 overall, 13-5 GLIAC) on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip in Sault Ste. Marie.  WSU will look to avenge a pair of two-point losses to LSSU during the regular season.

STORYLINES
Wayne State has qualified for the GLIAC Tournament for the first time since 2021.  The Warriors did so by defeating Saginaw Valley State 75-74 on Saturday thanks to Carmelo Harris' last-second lay-up.  Entering Wednesday's quarterfinal match-up, WSU has won three in a row and five of its last seven.

Lake Superior State had the two seed locked up even before its 76-68 victory over Parkside to cap the regular season.  The Lakers have suffered just one defeat at home (13-1) this season, an 83-78 non-conference loss to Lewis back on December 30.

THE SERIES
Wayne State leads the all-time series with Lake Superior State by 10, 47-37, but has dropped 10 of the last 12 meetings between the two teams.  The Warriors are four games under the .500 mark in Sault Ste. Marie, 19-23, and haven't won there since January of 2021 (0-4 since).  

This season, both meetings between WSU and LSSU were decided by two points.  Lake Superior State came out on top in a low-scoring affair, 64-62, in Detroit on Jan. 27.  Then, in Sault. Ste. Marie on Feb. 15, the Lakers got the best of the Warriors again, 92-90 in double overtime.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Lake Superior State and 17th-year head coach Steve Hettinga represent the top scoring defense in the GLIAC allowing just 68 points per game.  That number is good for 37th in the country, where the Lakers are also fifth in three-point percentage (.406), 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.53), 14th in effective field goal percentage (.572), 26th in three-pointers per game (9.8), 30th in field goal percentage (.484) and 33rd in turnovers per game (11.0).  Individually, LSSU is paced by a quartet of scorers averaging double figures.  Those four are Tyson Edmondson (13.2), Kingsley Perkins (12.8), Devin Womack (12.0) and Xander Okerlund (11.8).  Perkins is tied-for-third in the league in rebounds per game (6.4) and Womack has been averaging 3.6 assists per contest, which is tied-for-fifth in the conference.

LAST TIME OUT - AT SAGINAW VALLEY STATE
In a slow start, each team scored just three points in first three minutes of the contest as SVSU's Toodles Seal connected from beyond the arc, as did Warrior Tamario Adley on the ensuing possession.  A jumper by Carmelo Harris tied the game at 5-5 and ignited a 6-0 run by the Warriors.  Back-to-back jumpers by Adley increased the WSU lead to 9-5.

Wayne State led 16-7 about 7:30 into the game on a triple by Ray Williams, Jr. and an offensive rebound a put back by Jordan Briggs.  The teams split the next eight points 4-4, before Kareem Aburashed and Briggs each drained a triple, and Colin Golson, Jr. connected on a jumper for a 28-12 lead with just over nine minutes left before intermission.

SVSU tallied nine of the next 11 points to pull within nine (30-21), before a lay-up by Rob Lee, Jr. and two fouls shots by Golson made it 34-21.  The Cardinals answered with a 7-0 run before an offensive rebound and lay-up by Lee pushed the margin to eight (36-28).  Saginaw Valley ended the half on a 9-2 spurt to cut the Warrior lead to one (38-37) at halftime.

The contest was tied twice in the first 80 seconds after intermission, before a bucket by Williams and a dunk by Lee made it 46-32 in favor of the guests.  A Tre Garrett lay-up with just over 15 minutes remaining gave SVSU its first lead since 5-3.  Wayne State tied the contest at 56-56 on a triple by Lee about five minutes later.

Saginaw Valley had leads from one to five points (64-59) for almost seven minutes until another long-range shot by Lee gave the Warriors a 69-67 lead.  Seal drained a triple with 92 seconds left to put the Cardinals in front 70-69.

After each team missed a field goal attempt, Golson was fouled on a rebound with 50.6 seconds remaining and made both free throws in a one-and-one situation for a 71-70 WSU lead.

Garrett gathered an offensive rebound and made a lay-up with 35 seconds remaining putting the Cardinals in front 72-71.  Following an SVSU timeout, Williams made a step-back jumper from beyond the foul line with 10.4 seconds remaining in this see-saw affair as WSU re-gained the advantage at 73-72.

Garret missed a driving lay-up with six seconds left, but SVSU's Kevonne Taylor followed with the offensive rebound/dunk with 4.8 seconds left.  Harris took the in-bounds pass and went coast-to-coast as the ball went through the hoop as the backboard lit up.

TOURNAMENT TIME
Wednesday's game will be WSU's first post-season contest since 2021, when the Warriors lost in the GLIAC Quarterfinals (76-74) to Saginaw Valley State in Hammond, Ind., then fell 76-61 to Ashland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Evansville, Ind.

The last time Wayne State won an opening round GLIAC Tournament game either on the road (or neutral site) was Feb. 25, 1999, when the Tartars defeated SVSU 79-61 in Battle Creek.

Since winning the GLIAC Tournament in 2011 in Big Rapids, then posting an 84-77 triumph over Northwood at the Matthaei on Feb. 29, 2012, WSU has lost four consecutive GLIAC Quarterfinal contests.

This will be the Warriors fourth GLIAC Tournament appearance in the last 11 seasons (2017, 2018 and 2021).

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Wayne State's leading scorer is Carmelo Harris at 12.8 points per contest thanks to 15 games of at least 12 points including eight straight from Nov. 18 to Dec. 17.  Harris is one of five Warriors notching at least 8.7 points per outing, along with Colin Golson, Jr. (9.9), Ray Williams, Jr. (9.6 PPG), Rob Lee, Jr. (9.5) and Tamario Adley (8.7 PPG).  Williams, Jr. and Golson, Jr. are neck and neck when it comes to the rebounding crown averaging 5.9 and 5.6, respectively.  Assist wise, Adley is on top of the squad with 3.1 per performance (10th in the GLIAC).  Offensive efficiency wise, Lee, Jr. is first in three-point percentage (.476) and Harris ranks first in free throw percentage (.884).

DOUBLE OVERTIME AFFAIRS
Prior to the Feb. 15 double overtime setback at Lake Superior, WSU's previous two-overtime game was Nov. 8, 2019, at home vs. Ohio Dominican.  The Panthers won that game 87-86.

ALL FIVE STARTERS IN DOUBLE FIGURES
All five WSU starters scored in double figures in the Feb. 15 double overtime loss at LSSU.  It was the second time this season, all five Warrior starters were in double figures.  The first was Nov. 21st in an 84-73 WSU home court victory over Lake Erie.

PLAYOFF BROADCAST COVERAGE
Kevin Brechmacher, the voice of Wayne State basketball, will broadcast the game on Warrior All-Access (audio only), while the video stream will be available through FloHoops.com.