Wayne State Rides Dominant First Half to 85-76 Win Over Saginaw Valley State

Wayne State built the game where it mattered most, in a commanding first half, then had enough answers late to finish an 85-76 win over Saginaw Valley State on Saturday at Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit. The Warriors surged ahead early, carried a 48-26 lead into halftime and withstood a much stronger second-half push from the visitors.

The turning point came in the opening 20 minutes. Wayne State raced to a 13-2 lead by the 13:57 mark of the first half when Jordan Briggs drilled a 3-pointer to cap an early run. The Warriors kept extending the margin with balanced scoring and productive bench play, an edge that proved decisive by night's end. Late in the half, Marshall Thorn threw down consecutive dunks to make it 42-22 with 2:08 left, and Jordan Briggs added a jumper with 39 seconds remaining to send Wayne State into the break up 22.

Wayne State's offensive balance showed throughout the night. Jordan Briggs led the Warriors with 24 points, Carlos Paul III added 18, and Chris Mutebi finished with 11. The Warriors also got 42 bench points, scored 15 points off turnovers and produced 38 points in the paint. That full-team effort helped offset a second-half rally by Saginaw Valley State, which scored 50 points after halftime and received 30 bench points of its own.

The visitors came out sharper after the break and immediately began trimming the deficit. Kevonne Taylor scored on a tip-in just 21 seconds into the second half, and Saginaw Valley State kept applying pressure from there. Wayne State answered key stretches, including a layup by Carlos Paul III at 16:26 off an assist from Jalen Jenkins that made it 57-35, then a 3-pointer by Carlos Paul III at 9:35, assisted by Jotham Nweke, that pushed the lead back to 73-57.

Still, Saginaw Valley State did not go away. A fastbreak layup by Triston Nichols cut Wayne State's lead to 75-64 with 7:21 remaining, making the game tense after the Warriors had once led by more than 20. The response was immediate. Just 29 seconds later, Jordan Briggs buried a 3-pointer to restore a 14-point cushion at 78-64, halting the run and giving Wayne State needed breathing room. He added another late 3-pointer at the 1:54 mark to make it 85-68 and help seal the result.

Saginaw Valley State was led by Kevonne Taylor with 15 points, while Triston Nichols scored 14 and Bryson Huckeby added 13. The visitors matched Wayne State with 38 points in the paint and seven fast-break points, and they held a 19-16 edge in second-chance points, but the damage from the opening half was too much to overcome. Wayne State's early shot-making, bench production and timely answers down the stretch carried the Warriors to the 85-76 victory.