DETROIT -- Looking to build momentum from a blowout victory over Ferris State on Saturday, the Wayne State University men's basketball team (3-3 overall) will travel to Tiffin (3-4 overall) on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. tip before hosting Lewis (1-6 overall) on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.

STORYLINES
The Wayne State University men's basketball team (3-3 overall, 1-1 GLIAC) dropped its GLIAC opener at Purdue Northwest on December 2 (77-58), but bounced back in a big way at home this past Saturday afternoon (December 6).  The Warriors blew out Ferris State 98-77, their most points against the Bulldogs since 1992, to break into the league's win column.

Tiffin (3-4 overall, 0-2 G-MAC) has lost two straight, while Lewis (1-6 overall, 1-2 GLIAC) just snapped a six-game season-opening losing streak.

SERIES HISTORY
Wayne State has dominated the all-time series against Tiffin to the tune of 21-3.  Two of those three losses have come on the Dragons' floor where the Warriors are 10-2 in their history.  WSU has won the last seven match-ups since a 2016 setback at home in the Matthaei.

Lewis on the other hand has won 10 of the 18 meetings with Wayne State, including two of the last three.  With that being said, the Warriors are 6-2 against the Flyers when playing in Detroit.  This will be the 16th consecutive year (excluding COVID in 2002) the teams have met.

SCOUTING TIFFIN
Tiffin is coached by second-year man Desmond Balentine (10-25 overall record) following his two seasons as an assistant coach.  So far this season, Balentine has a pair of players averaging in double figures for points in senior forward Jonah Nesmith (12.6 PPG) and redshirt freshman guard Noah Smith (10 PPG).  Junior guard Demar Burton is the team's top rebounder at 6.4 per game, while graduate guard KJ Pruitt has been the top assist man at 3.7 per contest, but has not played in the last four contests.  Redshirt junior guard TJ Pangonas has been the top threat from behind the arc with 11 makes in his 29 attempts for a 37.9 percentage.

SCOUTING LEWIS
After spending eight seasons with Lewis as an assistant, Nick Rocco took over for 19-year head coach Scott Trost prior to this season.  Trost guided the Flyers to five 20+ win seasons and six NCAA Tournament berths, while averaging 18 victories a year.  So far in 2025-26, two Flyers are leading the way in the scoring department including redshirt sophomore guard Arius Alijosius (14.1 PPG) and senior guard Collin Albert (13.3 PPG).  Freshman forward Drew Fisher (4.6 RPG) and rookie forward Timofei Komissarov (4.5 RPG) lead the way on the glass, while Albert is dishing out 2.8 assists per outing.  From long range, Alijosius has been the most effective at 20-of-48 (41.7 percent).

LAST GAME RECAP
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 at 29-29, Marshall Thorn made a lay-up 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 was responsible for six points, while Thorn, Jotham Nweke and Carlos Paul III 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 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 percent (20-of-35) clip in the first 20 minutes and missed only three of its 13 attempts at the free throw line (77 percent).  Ferris State wasn't too shabby in its own right including 53 percent (16-of-30) from the field and 7-of-15 (47 percent) from behind the arc.

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 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.

Wayne State shot a season-high 56 percent (38-of-68) from the floor, 33 percent (8-of-24) from deep and 74 percent (14-of-19) at the charity stripe.  Ferris State finished with clips of 49 percent (28-of-57), 42 percent (11-of-26) and 67 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).

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.