SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Trailing by eight with two minutes remaining, the Lawrence Technological University men's basketball team finished on a 10-1 run to knock off University of Michigan-Dearborn, 66-65, at the Don Ridler Field House on Wednesday, December 5. Senior guard Ty Searles (SR/Pontiac, Mich.) scored eight points in the final 98 seconds to propel the Blue Devils to their third conference win of the season.

Searles scored Lawrence Tech's (6-7, 3-3) final 12 points of the contest. He led the team with 28 points. Senior Devonte Myles (SR/Tampa, Fla.) was a force in the paint, scoring 15 off the bench, grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Isiah Cumberland hauled in eight boards as well.

The Blue Devils won the battle on the glass, out rebounding UM-Dearborn (2-9, 1-3) 48-37. LTU holds a slight edge over its opponents this season in the category with a +1.8 margin. Lawrence Tech took care of the rock, limiting its turnovers to just seven. The free throw line became a major factor in the outing, as the Blue Devils went 22-of-32 from the line. The Wolverines attempted just 14 free throws for the whole game.

UM-Dearborn was up by seven, 64-57, with less than two minutes to play. Searles would take over in the final two minutes. The Pontiac, Michigan, native hit three-ball from the top of the key to ignite the LTU run. Following a Wolverine miss, Searles went coast-to-coast, pulling up from deep on the wing to bury his third three of the game.  

The deficit trimmed to one, 65-64, with 51 ticks left on the clock, UM-Dearborn turned the ball over on the offensive end with an off-the-ball foul. Searles and the Blue Devils capitalized on the late miscue, as Searles and Jalen Bethel (FR/Columbus, Ohio) played a give-and-go for the senior to lay it in off the window.

Searles ranks 11th nationally with 280 points thus far in the 2018-2019 season, while Devonte Myles leads the team with 101 rebounds.

Lawrence Tech has a pair of games remaining in the 2018 calendar year- at Concordia University (Mich.) on December 8th and at Ashland University (Ohio) on the 15th.