DETROIT, Mich. – Lewis University's men's basketball team dropped a 68-66 decision at Wayne State (Mich.) as the Warriors hit a shot with 0:03 remaining to break a 66-66 tie on Wednesday evening at the Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit, Mich. The Flyers fall to 0-3 on the season while Wayne State moves to 1-1.

The game was a back-and-forth affair with the Warriors leading by as many as six in the opening half but Lewis rallied with an 18-7 run to take its largest lead of the half at 30-25 on an old fashioned three-point play by Connor Niego (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) with 0:38 left in the half.

Wayne State cut the lead to two at the break as Brailen Neely hit a three-pointer off an offensive rebound with 0:05 left in the frame.

The Flyers shot 37.9 percent (11-for-29) from the field, were 1-of-11 from three and shot 70 percent at the foul line. Niego led the way with 10 points while Beau Frericks (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) added seven. Lewis forced 14 turnovers which they turned into 16 points.

The Warriors weren't much better shooting as they hit 35.7 percent (10-of-28) of their attempts, were 1-of-10 from three and shot 64 percent at the foul line. Mike Robinson led Wayne State with 11 points of the bench while Neely added six points.

The Flyers led by as may as seven points on three different occasions in the second half but each time the Warriors had an answer. The last answer game when Wayne State went on an 11-0 run that spanned nearly four minutes late in the contest.

Lewis came back to tie the game at 62 on a pair of free throws by Dre Bell (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) with 3:02 to go. Wayne State pushed its lead back to four a minute later but Bell once again had the answer hitting a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 66-65 with 1:39 left.

The Flyers had a chance to retake the lead with 0:53 to play but Vlado Zrnic (Greendale, Wis./Greendale) was only able to hit one-of-three shots at the foul line to tie the game at 66. Niego got the offensive rebound but turned the ball over.

The Warriors had a chance to retake the lead but Avery Lewis missed a jumper with 0:35 left and Marquise Jackson (Macon, Ga./Windsor Academy) got the rebound giving the Flyers a chance to hold for the final shot.

After a pair of timeouts by Lewis, Atakan Sahinkaya (Istanbul, Turkey/Perkiomen School) attempted the game-winning shot but his layup attempt was blocked by Lewis and Neely got the rebound and raced down the floor to lay it in to give Wayne State the lead.

The Flyers had one final chance to win the game but Bell's desperation three at the buzzer was off the mark.

Lewis finished the contest shooting 43 percent (24-for-56) from the field, was 6-of-23 from three and shot 71 percent (12-for-17) at the foul line. It was outrebounded by the Warriors 41-35. Niego led three Flyers in double figures with 17 points while Frericks and Bruno Williams (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) added 13 points apiece.

Wayne State also shot 43 percent in the contest, was 5-of-21 from three but shot only 61 percent at the foul line. Neely led all scorers with 22 points and was one of four Warriors to reach double figures in scoring.

Lewis continues its three-game road trip next Tuesday as it travels to Hillsdale, Mich., to take on No. 5 Hillsdale at 6 p.m. (CST).