DETROIT, Mich. - The Lewis University men's basketball team held off Wayne State Saturday (Nov. 17) for a 74-72 win in a nonconference contest. Wayne State had a chance to win at the buzzer, but a three pointer was off the mark.

The win improves the Flyers to 3-1 overall, while the Warriors fell to 0-3.

Wayne State jumped out to an early 11-4 lead, but Lewis responded with 12 straight points to take a 16-11 advantage as Jake Reinhart (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) came off the bench to contribute five points and two assists during the run. The Flyers maintained the lead for much of the remainder of the first half and held a 38-36 lead at the half.

The Flyers held the Warriors scoreless for the first 3:49 of the second half, but only were able to increase their lead by three points before the Warriors were able to get on the board with a layup. Lewis took the largest lead of the game for either team with 8:31 remaining in the game when Adam Pischke (Cary, Ill./Marian Central Catholic) scored on a breakaway, giving Lewis a 58-49 lead. But back-to-back three-pointers from Wayne State quickly made it a 58-55 game with still 7:47 left.

Lewis though was able to maintain its lead throughout the second half, allowing the Warriors to get no closer than two points the remainder of the game. A pair of Pischke free throws with 15 seconds left made it a 73-69 Lewis lead. Wayne State cut the lead back to two with a dunk with seven seconds left. Kendale McCullum (Elgin, Ill./Elgin Larkin) split a pair of free throws with six seconds left and the Flyers fouled the Warriors with four seconds left. After making the first free throw, the Warriors missed the second one, but got the offensive rebound, setting up the three-point attempt.

Delaney Blaylock (Wyoming, Mich./Godwin Heights) had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Flyers. Frank Vukaj (Davison, Mich./Davison) added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Pischke scored 12 points and McCullum had eight assists and six rebounds. The Flyers won the rebounding battle 41-23.

Lewis returns to action Nov. 24 when it welcomes the defending Division II national champions, Ferris State, to Neil Carey Arena for a 3 p.m. tipoff.