DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team escaped Calihan Hall with a 56-54 exhibition triumph over Detroit Mercy on Monday night.  With just 1.9 seconds remaining, the Titans came up empty on a buzzer-beating three-point attempt from the left corner.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Wayne State opened the game on a 10-2 run and was 4-of-6 from the field in those initial four minutes.  Three Warriors found the scoring column in that span including Tamario Adley (Detroit, Mich. / Warren De La Salle [Macomb CC]) with five points, Kareem Aburashed (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Detroit Country Day [Macomb CC]) with three and Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) with a pair.

Detroit Mercy answered with a 13-4 spurt of its own to take its first lead of the game at 15-14.  That surge lasted over six and a half minutes with six different Titan scorers scoring during the stretch.  A turnaround jumper from Williams, Jr. at the 7:57 mark helped WSU whether the storm and was the second of six lead changes in the final eight and a half minutes of the first half.

Williams, Jr. found the bottom of the net with a deuce again at the 1:45 juncture that put his team ahead 25-24 heading into halftime.

Second Half
Detroit Mercy's Jared Lary started the scoring back up with a layup 37 seconds into the half that gave his squad the lead again, 26-25.  The home team's advantage was short lived, though, as Rob Lee, Jr. (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) connected on a pair of crucial triples to claim a 31-30 advantage for Wayne State.

The Warriors and Titans continued to exchange blows as neither team could eclipse a lead of more than five points in the half.  The hosts led by five on a pair of occasions including 48-43 and 50-45.

With 2:38 remaining in the game, Williams, Jr. drove right baseline and finished with a tomahawk dunk to put WSU ahead by three, 55-52.  UDM called a timeout, regrouped, and Orlando Lovejoy scored a bucket in the paint to narrow the margin down to one, 55-54.

Both squads experienced a dry spell, as neither could notch a point until Williams, Jr. captured one at the charity stripe to stretch Wayne State's lead back to two, 56-54, with just 31 ticks remaining.  On the other end, out of a Warrior timeout, Detroit Mercy was unable to connect on the aforementioned triple attempt.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot just 33 percent (20-of-60) from the field compared to Detroit Mercy's 33.8 percent (21-of-62).  Both teams struggled from behind the arc, as the Warriors went 6-of-26 (23 percent) while the Titans converted on 3-of-17 (17 percent).  WSU connected on 10-of-15 free throws (66 percent) and UDM turned in a 9-of-12 effort from the charity line.  The Green and Gold lost the rebounding battle 46-39, but won in the second-chance points department, 19-12.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Williams, Jr. and Adley were the top scorers for Wayne State as both notched 13 points.  Williams, Jr. went 6-of-14 from the field, adding one free throw to go along with five boards.  Adley finished the game 5-of-7 (1-of-1 from behind the arc), connecting on 2-of-3 free throws while bringing down seven rebounds and dishing out three assists (both team highs).

LEADING THE TITANS
Mak Manciel and Nate Johnson were the only two Titans to reach double-figures, as Maciel finished with 13 points and Johnosn scored 11.  Despite not scoring, Emmanuel Kuac was able to secure 10 rebounds with a steal and an assist as well.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will open its 2024-25 regular season at Lincoln (Mo.) on Friday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. eastern time.