Five Things To Know For January 28, 2015

Here's five things to know in the sports world on your Wednesday Morning:

1. Wings top Panthers 5-4, move into first place

The Detroit Red Wings got two goals from Luke Glendening, and three points (1 goal, 2 assists) from Stephen Weiss in their road victory over the Florida Panthers Tuesday Night. The Wings scored 4 goals to open the second period, and held on for their sixth straight win, and their ninth in the last eleven games. The two points put the Red Wings one ahead of Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division. The teams will play in Tampa Thursday Night, with pregame coverage beginning at 7:10 PM on Lansing's Sports Station The Game 730 AM WVFN.

2. Pistons drop third in a row in Cleveland 103-95

The Detroit Pistons (17-29) lost their third game in a row since losing Guard Brandon Jennings for the season to an Achilles' injury on Saturday. The Cleveland Cavaliers (26-20) got 38 points and six assists from Point Guard Kyrie Irving and 32 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists from LeBron James in the win. Detroit got double-doubles from both Greg Monroe (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Andre Drummond (12 points, 17 rebounds). Monroe now has had 12 double-doubles in the last 15 games.

3. MSU Football picks up commitment from JUCO DB

Michigan State picked up a verbal commitment from junior college transfer Defensive Back Drake Martinez. Martinez, younger brother of former Nebraska Quarterback Taylor Martinez, originally was a part of Bo Pelini's 2013 Cornhuskers class. He spent last season with Saddleback Community College in California, and will have two years of eligibility beginning with the 2015 season. Martinez is expected to fill a hole at the hybrid Linebacker/Safety position.

4. Waverly frontcourt takes advantage of Poljan's absence

The Waverly Warriors' (5-6) big men took advantage of a huge hole in their opponent's frontcourt last night, defeating Lansing Catholic (6-4) 66-54 in a CAAC Red/White crossover matchup. The Cougars' leading scorer Tony Poljan was benched with an ankle injury, and will be out for another two games. Waverly took advantage of numerous offensive rebounds, and got a game-high 19 points from Emmanuel Gildo. Lavell Fomby added 14 points. Catholic's Michael Fata led a fourth quarter rally that came up short. Fata scored 9 of his 25 points in the final stanza. Michael Korrey, starting in place of Poljan, added 16 points.

5. Haslett tops Holt in the final seconds 77-76

The Haslett Vikings (9-1) picked up a non-conference road win over Holt (5-6) 77-76 Tuesday Night. Junior Guard Brandon Allen closed out his 29 point performance with a game-winning lay-up in the waning seconds to lift the Vikings to the victory. Allen added 8 assists to his line as well. Darek Wroblak scored 16 points, Alec Dunckel also finished in double figures with 12 points. Holt had four players in double figures, led by Trent Stone's 18 points. Jaron Faulds held Haslett big man Jon Hudgins in check defensively, and also picked up a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

And, a bonus sixth...

6. East Lansing Freshman leads Trojans to non-conference win

East Lansing Freshman big man Brandon Johns scored 22 points, and added 7 rebounds and 3 steals in the Trojans' CAAC Blue/Red crossover win over St. Johns 55-50 Tuesday Night.  Johns finished a fantastic shooting night (6 of 7 from the field) with eight of his points in the fourth quarter. 12 of the Freshman's points came from behind the 3-point line as the Trojans sank 7 as a team from behind the arc. Caleb Hoekstra added 9 points off the bench for East Lansing, Xzavier Odom came in for 7 points. St. Johns was led by Tyler Bates with 14 points.