Men's Basketball Loses 74-71 At Wayne State

The Northwood University men's basketball team dropped another close game Thursday night (January 10), falling 74-71 at first-place Wayne State 74-71.

The Timberwolves are now 4-9 overall, 3-6 in the GLIAC.  The Warriors are now 9-2 overall, 8-0 in the GLIAC.

The loss was Northwood's sixth this season by five points or less.  In those six losses, Northwood has lost by a total of 18 points.

Wayne State led for the majority of the first half, which saw the two teams go back and forth down the stretch.  The Warriors led by eight (31-23) with 7:23 left in the half, but Northwood fought back to take the lead at 36-35 with 2:58 remaining in the half.  WSU finished the half with the final run, scoring the final seven points of the opening 20 minutes to take a 42-36 lead at the break.  Both teams shot well in the half – WSU finished at 55.2 percent (16-29) while Northwood shot 51.9 percent (14-27).

The Warriors extended their lead to 50-40 with 16:25 remaining, but Northwood fought back to tie the game 60-60 with 6:25 remaining.  The Timberwolves cut the lead down to 70-68 and 72-71 in the final moments, but WSU responded with baskets each time.  Northwood had a triple attempt to tie the game at the buzzer, but it was no good.

Wayne State finished at 51.0 percent from the floor (25-49), while Northwood shot 47.5 percent (28-59).  WSU earned the win thanks in large part to the 3-point line, where they finished 8-15 compared to Northwood at 3-15.  NU out-rebounded the Warriors 36-24, which was a big part of the Timberwolves finishing with a 40-18 advantage in points in the paint and a 17-5 edge in second chance points.

Will Bowles (East Detroit, Mich./South Lake) led the way for Northwood with his best game at Northwood.  He finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds, going 11-16 from the floor.  Wes Wilcox (Roselle, Ill./Harper CC) added 16 points, while Andrew VanDierenDonck (Wyandotte, Mich./Roosevelt) and Darvin Ham (Bridgeport, Mich.) added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Northwood will host Lake Superior State Saturday afternoon (January 12).  Game time is set for 1 p.m.