DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (3-3 overall, 1-1 GLIAC) bounced back from Tuesday's conference-opening loss at Purdue Northwest with a vengeance on Saturday afternoon inside the WSU Fieldhouse.  The Warriors hung 98 points on Ferris State (2-4 overall, 1-1 GLIAC), their most against the Bulldogs since 1992, in a 98-77 dismantling that broke them into the league's win column.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The game's initial 12 minutes and 59 seconds saw a back-and-forth affair with a combined five ties and eight lead changes.  Then, at the 7:01 mark with the score knotted up at 29-29, Marshall Thorn (Canton, Mich. / Plymouth [Schoolcraft C.C.]) made a layup that gave Wayne State the lead (31-29) for good.

That deuce kicked off a 12-2 run for the Warriors that lasted just over two minutes and put them ahead by 10, 41-31.  In that spurt alone, Devin Belle (Lyndhurst, Ohio / Pepper Pike Orange [Lincoln Trail C.C. / Lakeland C.C.]) was responsible for six points while Thorn, Jotham Nweke (Oak Park, Mich. / Detroit Loyola [Macomb C.C.]) and Carlos Paul III (Southfield, Mich. / Cornerstone Lincoln-King [Missouri State - West Plains]) each added a pair.

Following a Ferris State three-pointer, the home team punched back with nine of the ensuing 12 points and increased the positive margin to 13 at 50-37.  Seven of those nine points came from Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Mich.) and Nweke tacked on two more of his own.

From there until the final first-half buzzer, FSU could get no closer than nine (50-41) and WSU went into the locker room up 12, 53-41.

Wayne State shot at a 57.1 percent (20-of-35) clip in the first 20 minutes and missed only three of its 13 attempts at the free throw line (76.9 percent).  Ferris State wasn't too shabby in its own right including 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field and 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from behind the arc.

Second Half
Ferris State's halftime adjustments worked in the early going as a 14-3 outburst slimmed the deficit to one, 56-55, exactly three minutes in.

Once again, Wayne State had an answer.  This time with a 14-2 barrage and the host's advantage ballooned back up to 13, 70-57.  Briggs accounted for half of those 14 points and Nweke cashed in a triple try, while both Belle and Jalen Jenkins (Belleville, Mich. [Macomb C.C.]) tallied two apiece.

The Bulldogs then began to run out of steam as they thinned the difference to just nine on three occasions, 70-61, 73-64 and 75-66.  The last of those three instances came with 11:16 remaining before the Warriors' proceeded to outscore their opponent 23-11 the rest of the way.

At one point in that final 11-plus minute stretch, WSU was out in front by as many as 22, 97-75, before the final 21-point margin, 98-77.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot a season-high 55.9 percent (38-of-68) from the floor, 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from deep and 73.7 percent (14-of-19) at the charity stripe.  Ferris State finished with clips of 49.1 percent (28-of-57), 42.3 percent (11-of-26) and 66.7 percent (10-of-15), respectively.  The Warriors won the rebounding battle by 12 (37-25) and dominated defensively thanks to five blocks and 13 steals.  The Bulldogs accumulated only two blocks and six steals in their own right.  In the team head-to-head, WSU had the upper hand in points off turnovers (25-18), second-chance scoring (21-8), points in the paint (48-26) and fast-break points (6-2).

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Briggs racked up a career high in points for the second game in a row, but this time in a victory, and did so with 35 on 13-of-16 shooting.  The junior splashed in 4-of-6 from long range and 5-of-5 freebies to go with five rebounds, five assists and three steals in 34 minutes.  The point guard was one of four Warriors to score in double-figures along with Paul's 19 (one off personal best), Belle's 12 and Nweke's 12.  Nweke was the ringleader in boards with six and tied Briggs for the team lead in steals with three.  Also on defense, five different Green and Gold performers notched a block.

LEADING THE BULLDOGS
Three Bulldogs scored more than 10 points in Mykel Bingham (26), Joey Cabana (17) and Brandon Claerbaut (11).  Bingham and Claerbaut each finished with five rebounds while Tyler Hamilton dished out five assists.  Defensively, Bingham finished with three steals and a block while Hussein Elmaraghy added a block as well.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will travel to Tiffin on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. non-conference affair against the Dragons inside The Gillmor Student Center.