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 Darrell Evans was 10-of-13 from the foul line Saturday. |
Dec. 18, 2004
DETROIT - Wayne State fell just shy of an upset win over top-ranked Virginia Union as the Panthers came into the Matthaei Center Saturday and escaped with an 87-78 win over the Warriors. WSU (4-3) does come out of the game earning some respect though, scoring the most points against VUU (6-0) in the Panthers' closest game of the season.
The Warriors, who have never faced a No. 1 team, started strong as a Morris Hall (Detroit, Mich./Mott CC) three-pointer gave them a 7-5 lead. On the defensive end, junior Ashanti Burke (Mississauga, Ont./Fordham) had two of his three blocks in the opening three minutes to hold down the Panthers. Junior center Erik Parker (Oak Park, Mich./Alpena CC) also contributed early, scoring eight points in the first nine minutes as WSU led 13-7.
Union answered with an eight-point run, but junior guard Ethan Banks (Warren, Ohio/Harding) came back moments later with a three to put the Warriors ahead by one. VUU countered with a 13-2 run until Dwayne Jones (Inkster, Mich./Lemoyne-Owen) started a Warrior rally with a three-point play. Wayne State would go on a 9-1 run, holding the Panthers to one point in 5:18, as a cutting Darrell Evans (Detroit, Mich./Mott CC) found Burke for a lay-up. VUU closed out the half with five straight points and held a 36-29 advantage at the break.
The Panthers led by as many as 13 with 11:50 remaining in the contest and the teams went back and forth for the next few minutes. After a VUU three, freshman Cortney Jennings (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central) came right back with back-to-back three-pointers to cut the led to eight, 71-63, with 5:10 left.
With both teams shooting the double bonus, WSU took advantage and made seven straight foul shots in just over two minutes to climb within six. On the other hand, Virginia Union missed six of seven down the stretch, allowing the Warriors back in the game.
WSU was within three, 81-78, on Hall's three-pointer with 29.2 ticks left on the clock. But the Warriors would not score again and after their struggles at the line, the Panthers ended up making five straight to hold on for the win.
Wayne State shot better from the floor (55.6 percent to 46.7 percent) and the line (71.0 to 68.4), but VUU pulled down 12 offensive rebounds in the second half alone (17 in all) and forced 23 Warrior turnovers in the game.
Hall had a team-high 21 points as Evans finished with a career-high 18 points on 10-of-13 from the line.
Up next for the Warriors is the Lions Club Holiday Classic at Ferris State's Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids. WSU will face Indianapolis on Monday, then Southern Indiana in a rematch of last season's Great Lakes Regional final on Tuesday.
