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 Senior Darrell Evans tied his career-high with 12 assists. |
Jan. 15, 2005
DETROIT - Wayne State and Ferris State's men's basketball squads battled back-and-forth for 40 minutes in a game that saw 16 ties and 15 lead changes, but the Warriors pulled away with their fifth straight win, 76-69. WSU's record now stands at 10-5 overall and 5-1 in second place in the GLIAC South. Ferris State drops to 11-4, 3-4 GLIAC.
Warrior senior guard Morris Hall (Detroit, Mich.) hit a running lay-up and Darrell Evans (Detroit, Mich.) found Herb Goliday (Royal Oak Twp., Mich.) for a bucket and 10-6 WSU lead to start the game.
Ferris State came back with an 8-2 rally to go up, 14-12, with 10:51 left in the first half, but junior Ethan Banks (Warren, Ohio) drove the baseline to tie the game and Goliday gave the Warriors a two-point lead with a jumper. The Bulldogs scored six straight, but Banks drained a three-pointer to put WSU back up by one at the 8:28 mark.
Hall's three-point attempt hit the back of the rim, stalled and rolled in for a 22-19 lead, but the Bulldogs connected on two straight three's of their own for a six-point run. Mills ended the FSU run with a foul shot and Hall hit another shot to tie the game for the 10th time in the half.
Ferris State went up by five with 2:18 on the clock, but Banks answered with his second three of the half. FSU led 35-32 at the break.
The Warriors came out of the locker room hot as Banks hit one three and Hall drained a pair of three-pointers to give WSU a 45-42 lead in the first four minutes of the second half. FSU notched the game at 46 when Evans retaliated with another Warrior trey, the team's seventh of the contest.
FSU took a 59-58 edge, but WSU answered with another three by Evans and junior center Erik Parker (Oak Park, Mich.) made three free throws for a five-point Warrior advantage.
The Warriors went up by six until Ferris' Terrance Shaw drained a three with 1:15 left in the game. Evans missed a three on the other end, but Goliday got the offensive put-back for a four-point lead. FSU's Carlton Epps made it a two-point game with 37.1 seconds left on a three-pointer, but WSU made 5-of-6 free throws and Ferris State did not score from that point.
WSU's defense held Carlton Epps, the GLIAC's leading scorer, to just 15 points. He entered the game with a 21.1 points per game.
Evans recorded his second career double-double with 11 points and tied a career-high with 12 assists. His assist-to-turnover ratio was a very impressive 12-to-1.
Over the last two games, Banks has connected on 11-of-12 three-pointers, today he made five and totaled 17 points. Hall led all scorers with 19 points as Parker added 14 and Goliday finished with 12 for the Warriors.
Wayne State travels to seventh-ranked Findlay for a battle atop the GLIAC South on Thursday, Jan. 20. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
