YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (0-0 overall) began its 2022-23 campaign with an exhibition contest at Eastern Michigan (1-0 overall) on Monday evening.  The Warriors started strong and finished strong, but ultimately fell 75-66.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Warriors scored seven points in the first 3:05 of the contest to take a 7-3 lead.  After a bucket by redshirt senior forward Avery Lewis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron), junior guard Kaimen Lennox (Kansas City, Mo. / Truman H.S.) notched the next five points.  WSU led 10-6 at the first media timeout following a triple by freshman guard Carmelo Harris (Flint, Mich. / Beecher).

Over the next four minutes, the host Eagles tallied six of the 10 points but Wayne State still led 14-12 with 11:42 remaining.  All four Warrior points were scored at the charity stripe by Lennox.

WSU made just two field goals over the final 16:30 of the first half.  A basket by graduate student Cortez Jackson (Harper Woods, Mich. / St. Clair Shores Lakeview) with 11:05 left, along with a bucket by junior guard Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) with 3:30 remaining.

Wayne State shot 30 percent (6-of-20) in the opening 20 minutes, including just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.  EMU had a 16-3 advantage in points off turnovers, with WSU committing 18 miscues.  Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan was 13-of-35 (37 percent) from the floor.

Second Half
Eastern Michigan began the final stanza on a 13-7 run to increase its lead to 48-27.  The Warriors then went on a 7-3 run.  Harris split a pair from the charity stripe before freshman Matt Coffey (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) connected for a bucket.  Jackson drained a triple then Williams made a free throw (there was a lane violation on his second attempt).

WSU did not quit and went on a 14-0 spurt late to cut a 28-point deficit (70-42) in half.  Senior forward Kylin Grant (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance) connected twice from three-point range, while freshman Justice Gordon (Brampton, Ont.) added a triple of his own.  Freshman Chris Mutebi (Farmington Hills, Mich. / U. of Detroit Jesuit) had a jumper in the paint, with Harris concluding the run with a conventional three-point play.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot 55 percent (17-of-31) from the floor in the second half to finish the game at 45 percent (23-of-51).  Eastern Michigan was 30-of-67 (45 percent) from the field.  WSU made 8-of-23 (35 percent) from beyond the arc, compared to EMU's 7-of-18 (39 percent).  The Warriors were 12-of-19 (63 percent) at the charity stripe, with the Eagles connecting on 8-of-9 (89 percent) foul shots.  Wayne State had a 37-32 edge in rebounding, and only had three turnovers in the second half.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Harris tallied a team-high 17 points, while Grant contributed 11 points and Lennox finished with 10 points.  Harris grabbed nine defensive rebounds.

LEADING THE EAGLES
Orlando Lovejoy led five Eagles in double figures with a game-high 18 points, 14 of which came in the second half.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will begin regular-season play this Friday with a 7 p.m. tip-off at Hillsdale.