Jan. 7, 2007

Midland, Mich. - The Wayne State University men's basketball squad (7-5 overall, 3-1 GLIAC) remained in a tie for second in the GLIAC South Division with a 69-60 triumph at Northwood University (5-8 overall, 1-4 GLIAC) Saturday evening.

A low scoring first half in which the teams combined to shoot 16 of 59 from the floor ended in a 19-19 tie. The game was tied at 2, 4, 6 and 8 before the Timberwolves scored the next five points on a lay-up and a three-pointer by Eric Giesow. Following a tip-in by freshman Michael Henderson (Flint, Mich./Southwestern), the hosts scored the next four points on two free throws by Enrique Hope and a lay-up by Aaron Simpson for a 17-10 advantage.

Senior guard Kris Krzyminski (Flint, Mich./Central) drained a three-pointer and senior Will Pierce (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) made back-to-back lay-ups to knot the game at 17. After a lay-up by Hope, senior guard Joe Carr (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) hit a jumper in the final minute to tie the contest for the sixth time.

A Jason Saddler (Detroit, Mich./Cody) tip-in two minutes into the second half tied the game at 21 before NU scored the next four points. Krzyminski made three consecutive free throws when fouled on a triple try by Tony Marcotullio to cut the deficit to one at 25-24.

Krzyminski's three-pointer at the 16:17 mark tied the game at 27 and a Wynn Sarden (Sterling Heights, Mich./Warren Cousino) lay-up gave the Warriors their first lead since 4-2. Giesow hit a three for NU, but Krzyminski responded with a lay-up.

The game was tied for the 10th time following another driving lay-up by Krzyminski at the 12:09 mark which started a 9-0 run for WSU. Krzyminski completed the three-point play with a free throw and Henderson followed with a lay-up. Krzyminski continued with four consecutive free throws for a 42-35 lead.

After NU's Aaron Simpson split a pair from the foul line, Pierce and Krzyminski made lay-ups sandwiched around a Simpson bucket to keep the lead at eight.

Northwood answered with a 14-8 run to pull within two at 54-52 with just over three minutes left on a lay-up by Giesow. After neither team could score, Carr drained a triple with 2:06 left for a five-point lead at 57-52. A Giesow three-pointer made it 57-55 with 1:50 remaining but Pierce responded with a triple.

After a turnover by NU's Curt Ludtke, Carr scored a fast break lay-up for the winning points. Carr made all six of his free throw attempts including two following a technical foul on the NU head coach down the stretch to preserve the victory.

WSU shot 52 percent (13 of 25) from the floor in the second half, while holding Northwood to 44 percent on 15 of 34. The Warriors finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds to Northwood's 22 defensive rebounds. Both squads only made five three-point shots.

Krzyminski scored a game-high 24 points, while Carr had 14 and Pierce contributed 13 points. Saddler recorded a career-best 10 rebounds with Henderson also grabbing a career-high rebounds with nine. Krzyminski made a career-high 10 free throws.

Wayne State continues its road trip with a Thursday evening contest at Ashland University.