Eastern Wayne Today

The Wayne State University men's basketball team secured a victory against Michigan-Dearborn on Wednesday night, with a final score of 85-77. The game took place at the Fieldhouse in Detroit, marking only the second meeting between these teams in the past seven seasons.

In the first half, Michigan-Dearborn initially led for nearly ten minutes, reaching a six-point advantage at one point. However, Wayne State responded with a 13-point run, thanks to contributions from Carlos Paul III, Carmelo Harris, and Kareem Aburashed. This surge helped Wayne State build a lead that they maintained throughout most of the game.

Wayne State's Carmelo Harris hit a three-pointer and Tamario Adley added a layup to extend their lead to nine points. By halftime, Wayne State had increased their advantage to 12 points with a score of 44-32.

In the second half, Michigan-Dearborn narrowed the gap to five points within eight minutes. Despite this effort, Wayne State managed to push their lead back up multiple times. A significant contribution came from Paul III and Aburashed who scored crucial points during this period.

Although Michigan-Dearborn reduced the deficit to six points with just 40 seconds left on the clock, Jordan Briggs secured Wayne State's win by converting four free throws in response to Michigan-Dearborn's late layup attempt.

Statistically, Wayne State shot 51.5% from the floor compared to Michigan-Dearborn's 43.9%. They also excelled in rebounding and assists while dominating in points in the paint and bench scoring.

Carlos Paul III tied his career high with 20 points for Wayne State. Other notable performances included Carmelo Harris with 16 points and Tamario Adley who contributed across various categories including rebounds and assists.

For Michigan-Dearborn, Jackson Reynolds led with 23 points followed by Joshua Warren and Collin Miller who scored 18 and 17 respectively.

Wayne State will next face Northwood on December 19th as part of an in-region matchup.