DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (5-5 overall, 2-2 GLIAC) will stay on the road this week for a pair of tough games on the west side of the state.  The Warriors will be at Grand Valley State (9-3 overall, 2-2 GLIAC) on Thursday night before heading to Davenport (8-4 overall, 2-2 GLIAC) for a showdown the following Saturday afternoon.

STORYLINES
Wayne State (5-5 overall, 2-2 GLIAC) kicked off 2026 and a four-game road trip by going 1-1 last week in its return to league play.  The Warriors came up short at Saginaw Valley State 65-62 on Friday before bouncing back to defeat Lake Superior State 77-71 two days later.  

Yet to win two games in a row this season, WSU will look to accomplish said feat on Thursday night at Grand Valley State.  Wayne State will then stay on the west side to face Davenport on Saturday afternoon.

At 9-3 overall and 2-2 in conference action, Grand Valley State just went 1-1 in the U.P.  The Lakers handed Michigan Tech just its second overall loss and first GLIAC defeat before losing to Northern Michigan.  Davenport (8-4 overall, 2-2 GLIAC) went 0-2 for the same road trip, which snapped the Panthers five-game winning streak.

SERIES HISTORY
Grand Valley State has won 17 more games than Wayne State in the all-time series (56-39) and has defeated the Green and Gold seven times in the last 11 meetings.  WSU has gone 16-29 all-time at GVSU, but was on the right end of the scoreboard for two of the previous three in Allendale.
Wayne State and Davenport have met 16 times in the all-time ledger with the Warriors out in front 9-7.  WSU has won five of the last six overall against DU, including three straight, but the Panthers are 4-3 when hosting the Green & Gold.

SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY STATE
Only two players have started all 12 games for Grand Valley State, seniors Jalen Charity (13.3 points per game, second on the team) and Mason Docks (3.8 assists per contest, first on the team).  Docks has been taking care of business on both ends of the court as he ranks 13th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.88), seventh in total steals (36) and 10th in steals per effort (3.0).  The team's floor general also averages eight points per outing.

Charity is one of three Lakers putting up double-digit points per game along with graduate student Ethan Alderink (13.7 PPG) and redshirt senior Trevor Smith, Jr. (12.9 PPG).  On the glass, redshirt junior Shamus Thompson (5.8 RPG) and Charity (5.0 RPG) have been the most effective.

As a team, GVSU is 14th in the country in steals per game (10.8), 14th in turnover margin (5.0), 16th in fewest giveaways per contest (10.8), 23rd in free throws made per effort (18.5), 32nd in scoring defense (66.4), 36th in bench scoring (32.3), and 36th in field goal percentage defense (40.2).

SCOUTING DAVENPORT
Davenport is paced by the GLIAC's top scorer in junior Ken Walker at 21.3 points per game, good for 15th in all of Division II.  Among the best in the nation, Walker is also slotted 18th in field goal attempts (199), 30th in free throw percentage (90.1) and 35th in total points (256).  The Georgia native is one of four Panthers pouring in 10 points per contest, the other three being sophomore Dylan Smith (11.3), redshirt junior Alden Ritt (11.1) and redshirt junior Curtis Jackson (10.1).  Walker is the only player on the team to have started all 12 games.

The league's best two rebounders also wear the Red and Black in Ritt (8.8 RPG, first) and Smith (8.5, second) as well as the top assist man in Jackson (4.5 APG).  Ritt has finished with a double-double in seven of the 12 contests, fifth most in the country and is also ninth nationally in defensive boards per game (7.3).

As a team, no squad hits the defensive glass better than Davenport.  The Panthers are first in Division II for defensive rebounds per contest with an average output of 31.3.  DU is also 14th in field goal percentage defense (38.5) and 30th in boards per outing (40.9).

LAST GAME RECAP
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw seven ties and 10 lead changes.  The biggest advantage that either team took was four points, which was enjoyed by Lake Superior State at 19-15.  Wayne State led by as many as three at 31-28, the game's score heading into halftime.

Wayne State's first field goal of the second half didn't occur until the 15:42 mark when Jalen Jenkins (Belleville, Mich. [Macomb C.C.]) drilled a three-pointer from the left corner.  The Warriors were able to convert 5-of-6 freebies in that same four minute and 18 second span to restart play and stay within one, 40-39.

Jenkins' triple kicked off a 13-2 WSU run that gave the visitors their biggest lead of the game (at the time) at seven, 49-42, with 13:45 to play.  Jenkins bookended that spurt with treys while Devin Belle (Lyndhurst, Ohio / Pepper Pike Orange [Lincoln Trail C.C. / Lakeland C.C.]) was responsible for its seven other points.

From that point until the 3:06 mark (10-plus minutes), Lake Superior State held a five-point advantage (23-18) and grinded the deficit all the way down to two at 67-65.

Wayne State countered with four straight points, including a pair of Jotham Nweke (Oak Park, Mich. / Detroit Loyola [Macomb C.C.]) free throws and Carlos Paul III (Southfield, Mich. / Cornerstone Lincoln-King [Missouri State - West Plains]) layup, that stretched the margin back to six at 71-65 with 2:35 to go.

The home team hit two free throws at the 2:12 juncture (71-67) before both squads suffered an empty possession.  Then, Nweke brought down a defensive rebound and the Warriors called a timeout with just 52 ticks remaining.

Jenkins missed a triple try before LSSU's Karter Richards utilized an old fashioned three-point play to pull his team within one (71-70) with the clock reading :39.

Neither team made a field goal from there until the final buzzer, but Wayne State cashed in six free throw attempts, all by Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Mich.), to Lake Superior State's one.

Five Warriors scored in double-figures — Briggs (19), Belle (13, all in the second half), Nweke (13), Paul III (13, nine in second half), and Jenkins (13).  Nweke racked up seven boards and Belle dished out four assists.  Defensively, Jenkins notched two steals and four players blocked one shot attempt apiece.

WARRIOR SPORTS NETWORK
Every men's basketball contest will air on the Warrior Sports Network with veteran play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Brechmacher calling the action for the 10th consecutive season.  He will be joined on the home broadcasts by former WSU basketball student-athletes Andy Dold, Chuck Key and Marcus Moore on a rotating basis.  Veteran Detroit broadcaster Tony Ortiz will handle the sideline reporting duties for a majority of the home games on the Warrior Sports Network as well.