DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (0-1 overall) dropped its 2026-27 season opener to No. 14 Walsh (1-0 overall) on Monday night inside the WSU Fieldhouse. The Cavaliers forced 19 Warrior turnovers, 15 of which were on steals, while the Green and Gold missed 11 free throw attempts (20-of-31) and were outscored 46-18 in bench points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The first six-plus minutes saw a back-and-forth affair that featured two ties and three lead changes. Walsh's Jadi Cunningham hit a layup at the 13:16 mark that put his team up three (12-9) and came in the midst of a 9-2 run for the away team.
The back-and-forth play then returned briefly as each squad notched six points and the Cavaliers maintained their three-point advantage, 18-15. The visitors then mounted a 12-2 spurt that gave them their biggest lead of the night at 13, 30-17.
Wayne State didn't go away quietly though and punched back with eight of the next 10 points to cut the deficit to seven, 32-25, with 4:25 on the clock. In that span alone, six of the Warriors' eight points came at the charity stripe while
JaKobie Boose (Flint, Mich. / Hamady),
Marshall Thorn (Canton, Mich. / Plymouth [Schoolcraft C.C.])) and
Rudis Donis (Talsi, Latvia / Ventspils State Gymnasium No. 1 [Latvijas Universitate])) each contributed to the scoring column.
However, WU was able to extend its upper hand back to 12 (42-30) with just over a minute remaining in the half, but WSU returned the favor slightly heading into the intermission.
Jalen Jenkins (Belleville, Mich. [Macomb C.C.]) cashed in a three-point attempt and
Da'ron Mason (Pontiac, Mich. / Bloomfield Hills) converted a pair of freebies to slim the margin to seven (42-35) at the break.
Second Half
Sandwiched around Walsh's Matthew Biddell making a jumper out of the locker room, Thorn hit a free throw and Donis followed suit with three of his own to make it a five-point game, 44-39. That difference was the smallest the game would see for the rest of the night.
The Cavaliers' advantage would balloon to as big as 16 (75-59) with 4:14 to play before the final 13-point spread.
TEAM STATS
The Cavaliers relied on depth, subbed in five players at a time and 11 of their 12 players that got on the court played at least 10 minutes.
Wayne State shot 44 percent (22-of-50) to Walsh's 43.9 percent (29-of-66), including 6-of-20 (30 percent) from behind the arc to the visitors' 10-of-26 (38.5 percent). WU won the rebounding battle over WSU, 40-32, including 13-8 on the offensive glass. At the charity stripe, Walsh missed just twice (15-of-17) while Wayne State went 20-of-31.
The Warriors' assist-to-turnover ratio finished at 17-to-19 (including 15 Cavalier steals) while the away team concluded at 16-to-13. The Cavaliers' bench outscored the Warriors' back-up players 46-18 and the visitors held a 19-12 edge in points off turnovers.
LEADING THE WARRIORS
Thorn tied the game high with 15 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double.
JaKobie Boose added 13 points and
Adam Ayrault (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) finished with 10. Jenkins (seven points) dished out six assists,
Anthony Benard (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. / Grosse Pointe South [Mercer / Canisius]) swiped a trio of steals and Ayrault also blocked a pair of shot attempts. Donis matched Jenkins in the point column with seven of his own.
LEADING THE CAVALIERS
Because of so the balance in minutes played, five Cavaliers scored in double-figures. That fivesome included Biddell (15), Kaleb Schaffer (15), Cunningham (12), Tyler Grove (12), and Jordan Dickson (10). Cunningham, Biddell and Aiden Shaker each secured six boards while Kyle Monterrubio tallied four dimes. Defensively, Cunningham racked up six steals and Shaker stuffed a pair of shot attempts.
UP NEXT
Wayne State will head to Ashland, Ohio to face Malone on Friday at 1 p.m. and the host Eagles on Saturday at 3 p.m.
