Wayne State University Athletics

Brendan Baker

Carmelo Harris scored a team-high 13 points at Oakland.

Men's Basketball 10/30/2023 7:25:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Men's Basketball Falls 86-71 In Exhibition Contest At Oakland University

Harris and Golson both score in double figures.

Box Score ROCHESTER, Mich. -- The Wayne State University men's basketball squad opened its exhibition slate Monday evening with an 86-71 setback at Division 1 Oakland University.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
OU scored the first four points and never trailed in the contest. A triple by transfer Colin Golson, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Ferndale [Siena / Eastern Michigan]) at the 19:12 mark pulled the Warriors within one at 4-3. Sophomore guard Carmelo Harris (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) answered a Golden Grizzlie three pointer with one of his own to make it 7-6 with 17:33 left. The three-point barrage continued as Harris drained another from long distance after an Oakland shot from beyond the arc. A lay-up by Golson at the 15:35 mark cut the WSU deficit to two (13-11).

Freshman Kareem Aburashed (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Detroit Country Day [Macomb CC]) connected from three-point range to pull Wayne State within one (15-14), but OU responded with a 6-0 run for 21-14 advantage before a dunk by senior Ray Williams, Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) and a lay-up by freshman Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Mich.) off a feed from Williams, Jr.

Sophomore Matt Coffey (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) joined the scoring parade with a lay-up off a dish from senior Kaimen Lennox (Kansas City, Mo. / Truman H.S. [Hutchinson CC]) to make it a three-point game at 23-20. The game remained tight after newcomer Tamario Adley (Detroit, Mich. / Warren De La Salle [Macomb CC]) grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast just before the mid-point of the half. Oakland then went on a 5-0 spurt to lead 30-24 prior to another bucket by Adley.

The Warriors trailed by seven (33-26) before a Golson jumper which preceded a four-minute scoring drought by WSU. Golson scored down low off a feed from Adley to make it 35-30 with 3:32 remaining in the opening half. The Golden Grizzlies scored nine of the final 11 points of the first half to lead 44-32 at intermission.

Second Half
A lay-up by Coffey on the first possession after halftime trimmed the margin to 10 (44-34). Another trey by Harris once again cut the Oakland advantage to 10 (51-41) with 17:33 left.

The deficit grew to 17 (58-41) before Williams, Jr. found Aburashed for a lay-up. Briggs made a pair of foul shots with 11:28 remaining to close the margin to 10 (63-53).

For the fourth time in the second half, Wayne State pulled within 10 (66-56), this time on a triple by Williams, Jr. with 8:31 left, but that would be as close as the Warriors would get.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot 45 percent (28-of-62) from the field, while OU connected on 41 percent (25-of-61) of its field goals. WSU was 9-of-24 (38 percent) from beyond the arc, with the Golden Grizzlies making 10 of their 32 (31 percent) three-point attempts. The Warriors were 6-of-8 (75 percent) from the charity stripe, while Oakland was 26-of-33 (79 percent). OU had a 36-30 edge in rebounding, with WSU holding a 32-26 advantage in points in the paint. Oakland had a 15-5 margin in second-chance points.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Harris tallied a team-high 13 points, while connecting three times from beyond the arc, along with dishing out a team-best four assists. Golson chipped in with 11 points, and tied Adley for team-high rebounding honors with seven boards apiece.

LEADING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Jack Gohlke scored a game-high 25 points on 6-of-15 shooting (all field goal attempts were from three-point range) and 7-of-7 at the charity stripe. Trey Townsend had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while DQ Cole also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will play its second and final exhibition game on Thursday evening at Detroit Mercy. Tip-off at Calihan Hall is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Kareem Aburashed: C; 6' 10"; Sophomore

#5 Tamario Adley: G; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#2 Jordan Briggs: G; 5' 11"; Freshman

#44 Matt Coffey: C; 6' 8"; Sophomore

#1 Colin Golson, Jr.: F; 6' 5"; Redshirt Junior

#11 Carmelo Harris: G; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#22 Kaimen Lennox: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#23 Ray Williams, Jr.: G/F; 6' 4"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#4 Kareem Aburashed
: 6' 10"; Sophomore
: C

#5 Tamario Adley
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: G

#2 Jordan Briggs
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: G

#44 Matt Coffey
: 6' 8"; Sophomore
: C

#1 Colin Golson, Jr.
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Junior
: F

#11 Carmelo Harris
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: G

#22 Kaimen Lennox
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#23 Ray Williams, Jr.
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G/F