MIDLAND, Mich. -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (3-2 GLIAC) started its second road trip of the season on Friday at Northwood (3-2 GLIAC) and the Warriors could not overcome a cold first-half and fell 74-67.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams started slow and Northwood led 2-0 at the 18:12 mark.  Redshirt senior Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich. / Western International) tied the game at 4-4 with 16:29 to play in the opening half.  Neely knocked down a 12-foot jumper to keep the game tied, 7-7, at the 14:25 mark.  Back-to-back buckets from sophomore Kylin Grant (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) kept the Warriors close, 13-11, with 10:45 to play before halftime.  An Avery Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) basket followed by a triple from Mike Robinson (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Ann Arbor Huron) gave the Green & Gold a 17-13 advantage at the 8:16 mark.  The Warriors held onto a three-point lead following buckets from junior Darian Owens-White (Detroit, Mich. / River Rouge) and Lewis.  However, a 5-0 spurt by NU pushed the home team ahead 23-21 with 5:13 remaining.  The T-Wolves led 29-25 following an Evan Lowden layup at the 3:18 mark.  WSU pulled within two after a pair of free throws from freshman Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) and a tip-in from Lewis tied the game at 29-29 with 2:19 to play before intermission.  However, NU answered with back-to-back triples and another bucket to go into the locker rooms with a 37-29 lead.

Northwood continued to hold the momentum early in the second half.  WSU trailed 43-37 after a layup from Lewis at the 16:05 mark.  Jack Ammerman connected from behind the arc and Trevor Davis followed with two-points to push the NU lead to its largest of the night, 48-37, with 14:50 to play.  Neely made two free throws to keep Wayne State within nine, 50-41, at the 12:17 mark.  Junior Antonio Marshall (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) grabbed an offensive rebound and then collected a pair of second-chance points to make it a 10-point game, 57-47, with 9:13 left in regulation.  An old-fashioned three-point play from Neely trimmed the deficit to nine, 59-50, at the 8:35 mark.  Northwood led by 12 with 6:29 left.  Williams cut the NU lead to seven points, 68-61, at the 2:28 mark with a layup.  Two Neely free throws made it 68-63 with 1:07 remaining and another bucket from Neely kept WSU close, 70-65, at the 32-second mark.  Williams brought the Green & Gold with three with 18 second to play with a layup but NU answered with a basket before Owens-White missed a three-pointer attempt.  The Timberwolves would sink the final two free throws to win 74-67.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Neely finished with 22 points, while Lewis posted his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.  Williams tallied 11 points a game-high 13 boards.

LEADING THE TIMBERWOLVES
Ammerman scored a game-high 25 points, powered by five three-pointers.  Lowden poured in 19 points, while Richard Nunez (10 points) and De'Airrus Ware (10 points) both finished in double figures.  Lowden led the way on the glass with 10 rebounds to notch a double-double of his own.

ONE BIG THING
WSU went 2-of-8 (25 percent) from long range compared to NU's 7-of-13 (54 percent) clip from behind the arc.

UP NEXT
WSU and NU will finish the regular season series on Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. tip-off.