WSU Falls To Michigan Tech 78-70 In
First Round Of GLIAC Tournament

Chapman earns first team All-GLIAC honors;
Gray named to GLIAC All-Defensive Team

Justin Chapman earned All-GLIAC First Team honors

The Wayne State men's basketball team had its season come to an end on Wednesday afternoon (Feb 27) with a 78-70 loss to Michigan Tech in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament in Grand Rapids. The Warriors close out the season with a 15-12 overall record and a 10-7 markin the league. Individually, junior Justin Chapman (Toledo, Ohio/Rogers) earned All-GLIAC First Team honors, which was announced on Wednesday. Chapman finished the season by leading the team in scoring and rebounding.

The Warriors took an early 6-2 lead following a layup by junior Jeremy Denha (Sterling Heights/Henry Ford II) at the 17:59 mark of the first half. WSU's lead would quickly be extinguished as Michigan Tech went on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to take an 11-6 advantage. MTU would lead the rest of the half and would go into the locker room ahead 32-26.

In the second half, WSU would fall behind by as many as 14 points. The Warriors would make a run at the six minute mark as senior Reggie Kirkland (Detroit/Romulus) drained a three-pointer and Denha made two free throws to cut the deficit to eight points (60-52). Both teams would battle back-and-forth for the remainder of the game as Chapman would score a layup with five seconds left to make the final score 78-70.

Chapman led WSU with 16 points and tied Kirkland for the team-lead in rebounds with seven. Kirkland and sophomore Nick Dyer (Dexter) also scored 14 points each. The Warriors played tough defense throughout the game and held the GLIAC Player of the Year Matt Cameron to two points under his season average (18.1).
Cameron only scored 16 points on 4 of 8 shooting.

Along with Chapman's All-League mention, junior Brandon Gray (River Rouge) was named to the GLIAC South Division All-Defensive Team, which was also released on Wednesday.