DETROIT -- Despite giving up an 18-point first-half lead and the score being tied twice in the final two minutes and 25 seconds, the Wayne State University men's basketball team (7-6 overall, 4-3 GLIAC) held on to defeat Parkside (8-6 overall, 3-4 GLIAC) 82-78 inside the WSU Fieldhouse.  The Warriors played their first home game in 26 days while winning a second straight game for the first time this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Wayne State opened the game with nine of the first 11 points.  Four of those nine came from Carlos Paul III (Southfield, Mich. / Cornerstone Lincoln-King [Missouri State - West Plains]) while Devin Belle (Lyndhurst, Ohio / Pepper Pike Orange [Lincoln Trail C.C. / Lakeland C.C.]) added three and Marshall Thorn (Canton, Mich. / Plymouth [Schoolcraft C.C.]) chipped in a pair.

Parkside answered with six of the ensuing eight points to cut the margin to three (11-8), but the home team took the punch in stride.

The Green and Gold proceeded to uncork a 15-2 run that pushed their lead to 16 (26-10) with under 10 minutes left on the clock.

During that spurt, the Warriors' scoring column featured JaKobie Boose (Flint, Mich. / Hamady) with six, Jotham Nweke (Oak Park, Mich. / Detroit Loyola [Macomb C.C.]) with five, Paul III with two and Jalen Jenkins (Belleville, Mich. [Macomb C.C.]) with two.

From there until the final buzzer, UWP outscored WSU by six (19-13) to make the contest a 10-point affair (39-29) heading into halftime.

Wayne State shot 53.3 percent (16-of-30) to Parkside's 39.1 percent (9-of-23) and won the rebounding battle as well, 17-9.

Second Half
Parkside came out of the intermission with some momentum thanks to an 11-4 outburst through the initial three-plus minutes.  Leading by just three (43-40), Wayne State rattled off another big run, this time to the tune of 16-2 to lead by 17 (59-42) at the 12:14 mark.

Paul III and Jenkins each notched five points in that span while Cooper Craggs (Northville, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central [Oakland]) converted a three-pointer, Boose hit a layup and Adam Ayrault (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) sank a technical foul three throw.

The Rangers simply wouldn't go away though as they chipped away, bit by bit, tallying 32 points to the Warriors' 15 over the course of the next nearly 10 minutes of game time.  The visitors' Braden McGlothlin cashed a triple to cap that run and the score was tied, 74-74, with 2:25 remaining.

Paul III made a layup on the other end (76-74) before another deadlock at 76-76 when UWP's Josiah Palmer splashed in a jumper.

But just like the rest of the game, Parkside never took the lead and Wayne State was 6-for-6 at the charity stripe down the stretch.  Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Mich.), Belle and Jenkins each went 2-for-2 on freebie attempts, the Rangers managed just two points (Palmer layup) in that same span, and the good guys held on for a four-point victory.

TEAM STATS
Both teams shot the ball well from the field including 53.6 percent (30-of-56) for Wayne State and 49 percent (24-of-49) for Parkside.  The Rangers made seven more free throws (24-of-29 to 17-of-20), but 13 of those Warrior makes came after halftime.  WSU thrived in bench scoring (29-13), points in the paint (44-30) and second-chance scoring (14-5) while winning the rebounding battle by four (28-24).

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Paul III racked up a career high 23 points (9-of-12 FG) with three rebounds, one assist and a block.  The senior forward was one of four scorers in double-figures along with Briggs (12), Jenkins (11) and Boose (10).  Thorn brought down eight boards and Briggs dished out four assists.  Defensively, Kelvin Tamakloe (Accra, Ghana / Spring Creek Academy [Blinn College]) notched a pair of steals while Paul III and Nweke each blocked one shot attempt.  All 10 Warriors that saw playing time scored at least one point.

LEADING THE RANGERS
Parkside played nine players, only seven of which scored.  Leading the way were Luka Mateski (30), Paxton Warden (15), Palmer (13) and McGlothlin (11).  Palmer paced his team in assists with five, steals with four and blocks with one.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will host Roosevelt on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip.