The Purdue Northwest men's basketball team celebrated Senior Day with a huge home win against Wayne State on Saturday afternoon, 69-48, and secured their spot in the GLIAC Tournament.

Game Note: Prior to the start of the game, the Purdue Northwest men's basketball team honored seniors Mikell Cooper (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech), Anthony Barnard (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo), and Joan Giner (Tenerife, Spain/IES Mayor Bernabé Rodríguez).

The Basics

• Records: Purdue Northwest (12-16, 5-13), Saginaw Valley (8-17, 5-13)
• Location: John Friend Court, Hammond, Indiana
• Attendance: 600

Laborer Local 41 Player of the Game: - Senior Mikell Cooper (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech) led the Pride with a game-high 26 points and dished out a team-high four assists, and senior Joan Giner (Tenerife, Spain/IES Mayor Bernabé Rodríguez) who scored two points and grabbed four rebounds.

Inside The Numbers

• Junior's Anthony Irvin (Chandler, Ariz./Corona Del Sol) and Brevin Jefferson (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) each scored 13 points.
• Junior Kalil Whitehead (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) chipped in seven points and four rebounds off the bench.
• As a team, the Pride finished the game shooting 21-of-57 (36.8%) from the field and went 8-of-28 (28.6%) from the three-point line.
• Chris Mutebi led Wayne State scoring 11 points.
• As a team, the Warriors ended the contest going 20-of-59 (33.9%) from the floor and shot 3-of-20 (15.0%) from behind the arc.

The Breakdown

• Both teams battled back-and-forth for the entire first half trading baskets and leads.
• The Pride finished the first half strong and took a 31-26 lead heading into halftime.
• Purdue Northwest started the second half strong with a big 17-4 run to make the lead 48-30 with less then thirteen minutes remaining.
• The Pride continued their momentum and strong effort for the rest of the game and held on for the huge 69-48 victory.
• Purdue Northwest dominated in fast break points, 18-2.
• The Pride outrebounded Wayne State, 38-34.

Game Quote from Head Coach Boomer Roberts:
"I'm really proud of our entire team, because we showed a lot of toughness and grit with our backs against the wall. It wasn't a pretty game offensively, but multiple guys stepped up on D. And what can I say about Mikell Cooper (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech)? His last two weeks have been as good as an individual performance as I've ever been as a coach. Joan, Kell, and AB are huge parts of our basketball family forever, and it was special go win for those guys on senior night.
We're fired up for next week. We understand we have to be at our best against a really good Ferris team."

Up Next

• The Pride get ready to compete in the GLIAC Men's Basketball Tournament. The squad will begin tournament play as the 7th-seed and hit the road to take the 2-seeded Ferris State on Wednesday.

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