Michigan Tech guard Gabe Smith defends during a game against Wayne State Thursday in Detroit.

DETROIT — The Michigan Tech Huskies basketball team trailed nearly the entire first half and showed life in the second half with an eight-point advantage with 13:12 to play (51-43), but couldn’t find the shots down the stretch to hold off Wayne State, dropping by a score of 74-62 at the Wayne State Fieldhouse on a Thursday night in Detroit.

“We didn’t do anything we talked about — Wayne State was good tonight and had a good game plan and we just weren’t mentally there and we got pushed all over the court,” said Huskies coach Josh Buetter. “The two things we talked about the most were taking care of the ball and rebounding and in crunch time we didn’t do that. Credit to them, I thought they played well and had some guys make some shots. I’m just a little disappointed in our fight tonight.”

Michigan Tech (15-6, 10-3 GLIAC) trailed from the opening minutes and were down by as much as 10 points by the 13:19 mark, with Wayne State’s (11-10, 7-6 GLIAC) Rob Lee, Jr. doing most of the damage in the opening 20 minutes as he finished the half with a team-leading 15 points allowed Marcus Tomashek willed the Black & Gold back into the game scoring 13 of the Huskies final 15 points in the last 7:25, with Dawson Nordgaard adding two free-throws, capping the period with a last-second 3-pointer off an assist in transition by Josh Terrian, making it 35-34 entering halftime.

In a second half that showcased multiple runs, the Huskies pulled ahead in the first minute and held momentum for the opening minutes with an eight-point advantage twice up to the 13:12 mark, with Gabe Smith scoring 10 points in the second 20 minutes. Although, the Warriors didn’t back down and went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 51-all by the 10:35 mark and seven minutes later, off an and-one from Tamario Adley, Wayne State had an eight-point advantage of its own, stringing together a 17-9 run in that time.

The Huskies tried to get back into the contest, but shooting woes from the field and free-throw line, ultimately doomed Michigan Tech of a late-game comeback, as the Warriors tied the series at one win apiece, with the home team coming away victorious with the final score being 74-62.

Tomashek led all scorers with 28 points, adding three assists and two rebounds. Smith also reached double-figure scoring with a new career-high 12 points to go with three steals. Nate Abel and Pete Calcaterra controlled the glass for MTU with six boards, respectively.

Adley led a trio of Warriors in double-figure scoring with 20 points. Rob Lee, Jr. finished with 18, Carlos Paul III added 11 points and Ray Williams, Jr. neared a double-double with nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Huskies are back on the road Saturday, traveling to Saginaw Valley State slated for a 3 p.m. tipoff.