Northwest Wayne News

The Wayne State University men's basketball team is preparing for its final two road games of the 2024-25 regular season. The Warriors, who currently hold a 12-12 overall record and an 8-8 mark in the GLIAC, will face off against Grand Valley State on Thursday night before taking on Davenport two days later.

Wayne State's season has seen its ups and downs, highlighted by an 81-69 victory over Saginaw Valley State followed by a 90-83 defeat at Roosevelt. The Warriors have found success primarily on Thursdays this season with an impressive 8-1 record but have struggled on other days, posting a 4-11 record.

Grand Valley State, with a record of 13-11 overall and 9-7 in conference play, holds a one-game lead over Wayne State in the GLIAC standings. Despite losing their last game to Parkside, snapping a three-game winning streak, the Lakers have demonstrated strong performances against ranked teams such as Lake Superior State and Ferris State.

Davenport has had a challenging season with a current standing of 5-19 overall and just one win in conference play. The Panthers are looking towards next season after enduring losses in their last twelve games. Their sole recent victory came against Michigan Tech.

In their all-time series against Grand Valley State, Wayne State trails with a record of 38 wins to GVSU's 56. Meanwhile, Wayne State leads Davenport with eight wins to seven in their encounters.

Grand Valley excels in several areas including bench points per game and field goal percentage defense. Mason Docks is noted for his assist-to-turnover ratio while Kaden Brown leads the team in scoring. For Davenport, Matyas Vrabel stands out as the top rebounder alongside notable contributions from Jovan Tucker and Joey Cabana.

In their previous matchup against Roosevelt, Wayne State experienced multiple lead changes but ultimately fell short despite strong performances from players like Rob Lee Jr., Carmelo Harris, and Carlos Paul III.

Carmelo Harris has been exceptional from the free throw line this season ranking second in the GLIAC for free throw percentage while Ray Williams Jr. continues to move up Wayne State’s career records list across various categories.