Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Wayne State University Athletics

Carmelo Harris - 2024 vs. Michigan-Dearborn
Taylor Carrow
Carmelo Harris tied the game high in points with 24, his most of the season.
81
Wayne State WSU-M 5-7, 1-3 GLIAC
91
Winner Ferris State FSU 14-1, 4-0 GLIAC
Wayne State WSU-M
5-7, 1-3 GLIAC
81
Final
91
Ferris State FSU
14-1, 4-0 GLIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wayne State WSU-M 43 38 81
Ferris State FSU 46 45 91

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Cooper Weidenthaler, Sports Communications Specialist

Men's Basketball Falls Short at Fourth-Ranked Ferris State

Aside from one tie at 54-54, the Bulldogs led for the entirety of the second half.

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (5-7 overall, 1-3 GLIAC) came up short at No. 4 Ferris State (14-1 overall, 4-0 GLIAC) 91-81 on Saturday afternoon inside the Bulldogs' Jim Wink Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The first seven minutes and change saw a see-saw battle with a combined two ties and 10 lead changes.  At that point, the score read 18-17 in favor of Ferris State.  Wayne State shared the ball well in the opening stretch as six different scorers contributed and five of its six field goals featured an assist.

The bucket that gave the Bulldogs 18 points opened a 15-5 run for the home team and stretched the margin to nine, 31-22.  FSU then extended its advantage to as large as 11 at 37-26 with just over four-and-a-half minutes until the intermission, but WSU didn't back down.

The Warriors rattled off eight straight points to pull within three (37-34) as Kareem Aburashed (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Detroit Country Day [Macomb CC]) drilled back-to-back triples before Carmelo Harris (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) converted a pair of free throws.

From that point until the final first half buzzer, the teams' head-to-head scoring was knotted up at 9-9 and the hosts held a three-point lead (46-43) heading into the locker rooms.

Second Half
Just eight seconds out of the break, Tamario Adley (Detroit, Mich. / Warren De La Salle [Macomb CC]) converted a layup to cut the spread to one at 46-45.  Ferris State scored eight of the ensuing 10 points and was back up by seven at 54-47.

Again, Wayne State was up to the challenge with seven consecutive points of its own to deadlock the score up for a third and final instance at 54-54.  For the following five minutes, the Bulldogs kept the advantage, but never by more than four points as the Warriors continued to fight.

FSU's Jaxson Whitaker drained back-to-back three-pointers and his team was back ahead by double-digits, 69-59.  Then, WSU's Rob Lee, Jr. (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) made one of two at the charity stripe and his high school teammate Harris added five points of his own to make it a four-point affair, 69-65.

Once again though, Ferris State pushed its advantage back to 10 (75-65) and to as big as 12 (87-75, 89-77). At one point, Wayne State's Aburashed hit the last of his career-high four three-pointers and Lee, Jr. dunked one home for a six-point game (80-74), but it was too little, too late. The Bulldogs went on to win by 10, 91-81. 

TEAM STATS
Ferris State shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) to Wayne State's 37.3 percent (25-of-67).  With a combined 45 personal fouls called, free throws were aplenty as the Bulldogs converted at an 81.3 percent (26-of-32) clip to the Warriors' 70.4 percent (19-of-27).  FSU won the rebounding battle by eight, 45-37, including 10 (37-27) on the defensive glass.  Points off turnovers and second-chance scoring were both decided by two points while Ferris State controlled bench scoring (36-18), points in the paint (30-22) and fast-break scoring (28-20).

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Four players scored at least 10 points including Harris with 24 (season high), Lee, Jr. with 19, Aburashed with 12 (season high) and Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Mich.) with 10.  For Harris, the junior notched at least 20 points in back-to-back outings for the first time this season and second time in his career.  He and Aburashed both brought down six rebounds and Lee, Jr. dished out five assists.  Defensively, Lee, Jr. and Aburashed each tallied a pair of steals.

LEADING THE BULLDOGS
Three scorers put up more than 10 points in Ethan Erickson (24), Whitaker (14) and Nathan Claerbaut (11).  Claerbaut was two boards shy of a double-double to go with four blocks.  Jimmy Scholler racked up eight assists, Mykel Bingham added four blocks and Tyler Hamilton finished with two takeaways.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will return home to host Parkside on Thursday evening with the opening tip inside the Fieldhouse slated for approximately 7:30 p.m.

 
Print Friendly Version