ALLENDALE, Mich. -- The 2025-26 Wayne State University men's basketball season came to a close Wednesday evening with an 81-67 setback at Grand Valley State University (23-6 overall) in a GLIAC Quarterfinal contest.  The Warriors finish with a 13-14 overall record.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The host Lakers scored the first 11 points of the game before redshirt freshman JaKobie Boose (Flint, Mich. / Hamady) split a pair at the charity stripe.  WSU had four turnovers and were -for-2 from beyond the arc prior to Boose getting Wayne State on the scoreboard.  GVSU had a bucket and the Warriors missed both a triple and a two-point attempt until senior Carolos Paul III (Southfield, Mich. / Cornerstone Lincoln-King [Missouri State-West Plains]) connected on a hook just over five minutes into the contest.

Junior Jotham Nweke (Oak Park, Mich. / Detroit Loyola [Macomb C.C.]) drained a shot from three-point range, and Boose again split two free throws to cut the deficit to six (13-7).  A triple by Laker Mason Docks ignited a 7-0 run until a driving lay-up by senior Cooper Craggs (Northville, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central [Oakland University]).  Craggs answered a Grand Valley State three pointer with one of his own to keep the margin at 11 (23-12) with just over 8:30 remaining until intermission.

GVSU went on a 16-6 run over the next 4:30 to extend its lead to 21 (39-18), the finished the half by scoring eight of the final 13 points to lead 47-23 at halftime.  WSU had nine miscues in the opening 20 minutes and shot 29 percent (7-of-24) from the floor.  Meanwhile, Grand Valley State had one turnover and shot 54 percent (20-of-37) during the first half.

Second Half
Wayne State's deficit remained between 22 and 26 points for the first 5:50 after intermission, until buckets by Boose and junior Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Mich.) cut the margin to 19 (54-35).

A triple by sophomore Adam Ayrault (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) trimmed the deficit to 18 (58-40) with 12:19 left.  The Laker advantage was 17 (61-44) after a fast-break dunk by Ayrault.  GVSU led by 21 (65-44) with 9:36 remaining, but the Warriors responded with a 23-14 scoring edge over the next six minutes to pull within 12 (79-67).  Paul tallied eight points during the rally, while Boose chipped in with seven.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot 52 percent in the second half to finish the game at 42 percent (24-of-57), while GVSU finished 30-of-60 (50 percent).  WSU was 5-of-17 (29 percent) from beyond the arc, with the Lakers connecting on 9-of-24 (38 percent) triple tries.  The Warriors were 14-of-22 (64 percent) at the charity stripe, with Grand Valley State making 80 percent (12-of-15) of its foul shot attempts.  Wayne State had a 37-30 edge in rebounding, but trailed 15-8 in points off turnovers.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Paul tallied a team-high 18 points, while Nweke grabbed a game-best nine rebounds and had two blocks.  Boose finished with 14 points, with Craggs scoring 11 points.  Briggs dished out four assists.

LEADING THE LAKERS
David Wilkerson totaled a game-best 25 points, while Docks contributed 20 points.  Four different GVSU players grabbed five rebounds apiece, while Trevor Smith, Jr. had four assists, and Jalen Charity blocked three shots.