ANN ARBOR — This is it. The Game. Michigan-Ohio State. And whether it’s to maintain an unbeaten record or if there are no postseason stakes involved, whether you’re a multi-touchdown favorite or underdog, this game means everything to the two programs.

Top-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State, 11-0 this season and already a lock for the playoff, will face No. 15 Michigan 9-2, 7-1, vying for a potential berth in the Big Ten title game and playoff, on Saturday at Michigan Stadium in the series’ 121st meeting.

Michigan has won four straight against Ohio State, including a 13-10 upset last year as a three-touchdown underdog in Columbus. The Buckeyes won the eight games prior to that streak.

“Anybody that says that this is just another game is crazy, because it’s not,” captain and tight end Marlin Klein said Monday. “This is The Game, and that’s for a reason.

“I can’t really tell you what it feels like. I can’t really tell you the emotions that I have when I go out there for a game like that, especially for that game. You can’t really talk about it. You got to be in it, and you got to experience it.”

This will be Sherrone Moore’s second Michigan-Ohio State coach as head coach, but he led the Wolverines to victory in 2023 as acting head coach. Much has been made of Michigan having a perceived mental edge against the Buckeyes during the four-game streak. In 2023, the Wolverines were trying to remain unbeaten and went on to win the national championship. Last year, they had just become bowl eligible a week before and had nothing but pride on the line. This year, the Wolverines have the potential, if other things fall into place, of making the Big Ten title game and the playoff.

Mental edge or not, the Wolverines simply want to beat their arch rivals.

“Whatever happened in the past doesn’t matter, so all we can do is focus on now,” Moore said. “This is a new team, new staff, new players, new coaches, new environment, different, so all we can do is focus on today, and that’s it.

“But the players on the team the previous couple year’s wins, they know what it takes to win this fight, right? They understand what the game is about. But again, they’re a different team, we’re a different team.”

Klein said Moore’s message to the team Monday was clear.

“It’s about us. It’s about Michigan. That’s what it’s always about,” Klein said of the message delivered. “There’s a playoff game. We win this one, we’re in playoffs. But you win this game, you’ll be remembered in Ann Arbor forever. We, especially as seniors, get to put our stamp on this one, which is super exciting.”

Starting left guard Gio El-Hadi, also a captain, and Klein will share their experiences from this game with the younger players, and there are quite a few of them on offense, starting with freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. Freshman receiver Andrew Marsh also will be making his Michigan-Ohio State debut, and the offensive line starts three redshirt freshmen.

El-Hadi has been around for these games since 2021, but last year was the first he started.

“And just that feeling you get, it’s kind of like when siblings fight,” El-Hadi said of facing the Buckeyes. “You guys know that feeling when siblings fight, you have that rage. We have three guys that never played against this team, so I try to explain to them how important it is to play against this team that’s (going to) be a brawl. They throw some jabs, we throw some jabs. Be a couple uppercuts.

“The end of the day, we have to win the game. That’s what’s important.”

Winning at Ohio Stadium last year for a second straight time after not winning in that stadium since 2000 was enormous for the program, which went on to upset Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

“It was sweet winning down there last year, but it’s gonna be even better here in front of our fans and our student section, our band and just in Ann Arbor, the best place on earth,” Klein said. “Getting that win against that team at home will be huge. So just super excited for the opportunity.

ESPN’s College GameDay and Fox Big Noon Kickoff will host their shows from Ann Arbor, and Moore is more than aware of the distractions before this game. He said he wants his players to remain in the playoff mindset they’ve embraced since losing at USC before winning five straight entering this game.

“There’s a lot of things going on, but at the end of the day, we got to channel our focus on our preparation, and that’s how you win,” Moore said.

Klein said he thinks about the Michigan-Ohio State game every day.

“That’s what this game means to me,” he said. “It means everything to me. If you ask me what the greatest day of my life was, it was last year going down there and beating them in their place. It was the best day of my life so far. And just trying to repeat that this year.”

He was asked how a win Saturday would rate.

“My senior year, Senior Day, them coming to our house in front of our fans, students, band,” Klein said, “it’ll be the best day of my life.”

Injury update

Two-time captain Max Bredeson, a fullback/tight end, was in a right boot and on crutches in the second half of the game at Maryland. Moore said Bredeson had X-rays.

“Didn’t look great, but if anybody can push through it, it’s Max Bredesen,” Moore said. “So we’ll know more as we go through the week.”

Receiver Semaj Morgan and linebacker Ernest Hausmann, a captain and the team’s leading tackler, did not travel to the Maryland game last weekend.

“Semaj will be fine, and Ernest will be day to day,” Moore said.

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions won’t have much time to enjoy their thrilling overtime victory against the New York Giants Sunday, and perhaps that’s a good thing.

For all the memorable moments that it provided, the majority of the Lions’ performance was forgettable — a shocking unraveling for most of four quarters before Jahmyr Gibbs stitched it all back together with two big-time touchdown runs in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The Giants played Detroit like they have most contenders they’ve faced this season: With a general fearlessness that keeps them in it until the very end. In their prior two games, they took both Green Bay and Chicago to the wire, with both Lions’ divisional foes needing a late touchdown to win; the Packers scored their winning touchdown with 4:02 to go, and the Bears took their lead with 1:47 remaining.

All of this is to say that the Giants were no easy out, despite being the first team eliminated from the playoffs with Sunday’s loss.

And while that’s not going to make any nervous Lions fan feel better about the road ahead, what ultimately matters most is that they added to their win column instead of the loss column. The 8-seed Lions (7-4) are still on the outside looking in of the playoff picture after Sunday’s events, and a loss would have put them in a hole that could have been tough to climb out of, especially given what’s on the docket.

Detroit’s next six opponents have a combined record of 39-25-2, tied with Chicago for the third-most difficult remaining schedule in the league, per Tankathon. (Green Bay, for what it’s worth, is first.)

All of the Lions’ remaining opponents except Minnesota, which beat the Lions in Week 9, are .500 or above.

Week 13: vs. Green Bay (7-3-1)

Week 14: vs. Dallas (5-5-1)

Week 15: at Los Angeles Rams (9-2)

Week 16: vs. Pittsburgh (6-5)

Week 17: at Minnesota (4-7)

Week 18: at Chicago (8-3)

Under normal circumstances, the Lions likely would have to find three more wins in this six-game span just to get into the playoffs, but even that might not be enough: The 49ers (7-4) are currently in the 7 seed. It might take 11 wins (and a 4-2 record down the stretch for Detroit) to find a way in if they can’t track down Chicago for the division lead.

The silver lining is the Lions can quickly climb the standings by beating the teams ahead of them. These next three games are critically important. They can jump Green Bay in the North with a win Thursday. A win over Dallas the following week would go a long way toward shoving the Cowboys out of the playoff picture while adding an NFC win. And if they can win those two and find a way to beat Los Angeles, well, we’d have to think Detroit is the favorite to win the NFC North.

Of course, it won’t be that simple. Green Bay stuffed Detroit in a locker in Week 1, and the Packers’ front is still a major mismatch for a Lions offensive line that has since lost a starter. Dallas has a potent offense and has shown a propensity for shutting down the run since making some trade-deadline acquisitions. And the Rams have established themselves as the best team in football through 12 weeks.

When I look at the back half of this schedule, I’m really not sure what to expect. They could go 5-1 or 2-4, and neither would truly surprise me.

On the one hand: The pass protection is still an inconsistent mess; the pass rush has barely gotten home in the last three weeks; the secondary has been extremely volatile at times; and the Lions, one of the league’s worst third-down teams (25th), have lost one of their best money-down options, tight end Sam LaPorta, indefinitely.

On the other hand: The Lions have the best lineman-running back-receiver trios in the league in Penei Sewell, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown; their defensive front has been playing lights-out against the run; they’re expected to continue getting defensive starters back; and they still have the pedigree of a team that’s used to winning the division.

Everything is on the table — positive and negative — for these final six weeks.

Audio glitch

Had Jake Bates missed the last-minute kick that tied the game, there would be one major topic of conversation today that’s instead being glossed over.

After quarterback Jared Goff moved the chains with a 9-yard completion to St. Brown, he spiked the ball at Detroit’s 47-yard line to stop the clock with 1:12 left in the game. The team huddled, but with the play clock winding down, the Lions ended up using their third and final timeout anyway.

Why?

Lions coach Dan Campbell said there was an issue with the headset, and he couldn’t get the play to Goff after the spike. The broadcast cameras showed Campbell immediately talking into the headset after the spike, but as the clock wound down to under 10 seconds, the team remained in the huddle.

“I don’t know what happened with that, to be honest with you,” Campbell said. “I just knew I couldn’t get to him. So, I don’t know if something happened, I don’t know. The procedure of what goes on for me, from me to him. Yeah, it was just one of those oddball, weird deals, where thank God it didn’t cost us.”

Goff’s on-field actions — he approached the ref and pointed to his headset after the timeout was called — seemed to confirm that was the case, and the Lions immediately overcame it by hitting Gibbs for an 11-yard pass that went for a first down, helping move Detroit into field-goal range for Bates.

And there is, of course, an argument to be made that one decision begot the other: Because the Lions spiked the ball on first down, they couldn’t afford to run a dud play on second down, and therefore needed to use the timeout to avoid cratering the last-gasp possession.

But it probably still shouldn’t have happened. Campbell has talked at length about how Goff knows the offense as well as he does, and how he can get them into the right play when things go wonky. Yet, that didn’t occur in a moment of utmost importance.

And while it might be asking too much of Goff to just take over the huddle at a moment’s notice and call a play, it’s not like it was the first time a headset has gone down during an NFL game. There needs to be a contingency plan for moments like those, because it could have cost them dearly.

Comeback kids

In last week’s “Final Drive,” one of the things I bemoaned about this Lions team was that they haven’t played well from behind all season. In each of their four losses, they fell behind in the first half and never regained a lead at any point in the second half.

The Lions threatened to extend that streak Sunday, falling behind 17-7 in the second quarter and not regaining the lead until overtime.

But for the first time all season, they prevailed. And yes, it was against a crappy opponent, but when they fell behind against the Eagles, for example, it was hard to foresee a comeback; they just hadn’t done it. Now, they have.

That goes further in the locker room than one might think.

“You never know what these (types of wins) can do. Sometimes, it’s just important to remind yourself what we’re all capable of, even when the chips are down and things get hard,” Campbell said. “You don’t ever forget how to dig in one more time and find a way to lean on each other and do your job. And anytime you can get a win like this, it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing.

“Because that very easily a number of times could have gone the other way, and we all know it. But it didn’t, it didn’t. we made the plays we had to make.”

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg scored 15 points and No. 7 Michigan routed San Diego State 94-54 on Monday night in the opening round of the Players Era tournament.

Elliot Cadeau and Morez Johnson Jr. each had 13 points. Nimari Burnett and Rodd Gale Jr. scored 11 apiece and Will Tschetter added 10. Michigan (4-0) outrebounded the Aztecs (2-1) 45-39 and scored 15 fast-break points.

For the Aztecs, freshman Elzie Harrington scored 15 points and B.J. Davis added 11. San Diego State turned the ball over 17 times.

Michigan started the second half with an 8-0 run to turn a 12-point halftime advantage to 20 points in the first 2:41. Johnson had five of the eight points. The Aztecs never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

The Wolverines led by 17 points midway through the first half, but San Diego State cut it o nine with 1:26 left in the half on Harrington’s 3-pointer. Burnett countered with his own 3-pointer with 1:05 left and the Wolverines went into the half with a 45-33 lead.

Up next

On Tuesday, Michigan will play No.21 Auburn, and San Diego State will face Oregon.

Trailing Grosse Pointe South by four points, Farmington Hills Mercy edged out the Blue Devils in the last event of Saturday’s D2 girls swimming and diving state finals in Ypsilanti to be crowned champs for the third year in a row.

The foursome of Avery Tack, Campbell Shore, Lyla Collins and Ella Hafner — none of which are graduating following this season — slipped past GP South by a little over a second with a time of 3:26.05 in the 400-meter relay. That gave Mercy 337 points to South’s 335.

It secured the sixth title under head coach Michael Venos, including the second three-peat. The Marlins’ previously won a handful of titles in a row (2007-10 in D2, 2011 in D1) under former coach Shannon Dunworth. The win also marked Mercy’s 14th championship overall.

The schools from Birmingham came in just behind the Mercy-GP South tandem. Seaholm came third place with 260.5 points, followed by Groves with 155.5. Berkley took eighth with 96 and South Lyon East came in ninth with 94 to round out the top-10.

Beyond that, Royal Oak finished 11th (74 points), Rochester Adams ended 12th (69), South Lyon was 15th (47), Walled Lake Northern finished 17th (27), North Farmington took 23rd (19) and Holly finished 26th (13).

GP South beat out Seaholm (Leah Isaksen, Payton Garn, Layla Stephens, Madailein Howard; 1:46.96) and Groves to win the 200 medley relay and jump out in front to start the day at Eastern Michigan. In the 200 free relay, the Blue Devils won again, just barely defeating Mercy’s same quartet by 31-hundredths of a second.

Elsewhere, the Marlins made headway when Hafner (1:47.53) came runner-up in the 200 free to Adrienne Schadler (1:46.85) of Ann Arbor Skyline as both surpassed the former D2 record held by Marian’s Mollie Pulte. Tack, who took second in the 200 IM as a sophomore, won it this time around with a time of 2:04.64.

Hafner set a new D2 record in the 500 free with her prelim time of 4:49.74, but a mark of 4:49.90 in the finals was only good for second as Schadler raised the bar with a winning time of 4:48.50.

West Bloomfield’s Eichbrecht wraps career in record-breaking fashion at D1 swim and dive finals

South Lyon senior Emma Klotz was just two-hundredths away from winning the 50 free event a year after Whitney Handworth of GP South, who again took first, beat Klotz out by three-hundredths. However, Klotz got her revenge in the 100 free, banking the Lions 20 points with her time of 50.70 that beat out runner-up Handwork (50.92).

Seaholm's Isaksen was just the winner of the consolation final in the 100 backstroke last fall as a sophomore, but showed off her improvement and came second this year by finishing with in 56.83. Her teammate, freshman Payton Garn, shared the spoils with Groves' Livvy Kamp as both split first-place honors in the 100 breaststroke with their finals times of 1:02.76.

Additionally, Rochester Adams junior Morgan Rea scored 431.75 points to handily win the diving competition.

Berkley senior Tessa Moleski was the victor in both the 50 and 100-yard paralympic freestyle.

Division 3 at Holland Aquatic Center

Bloomfield Hills Marian finished runner-up for the second year in a row, ending Saturday's finals with 228 points compared to the 373 scored by winner East Grand Rapids.

Cranbrook-Kingswood, who took second in 2023, finished sixth place this year with 134 points, and Country Day was seventh with 116. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep ended 24th place with 16 points, and Bishop Foley came 30th with six points -- five of those earned by sophomore Avery Wood in the 100 breaststroke.

EGR won all three relays. The Pioneers set a new D3 record of 1:44.65 in the 200 medley, which saw the Yellowjackets (Quinn Norlander, Jill Heller, Allie Schwartz, Lauren Clark) end just behind them in a time of 1:48.55. Marian (Cece Grace, Lila Soloman, Peyton Rehbine, Catherine Howe) was runner-up to EGR in the 200 free relay. The Mustangs finished that one ahead of Country Day (1:39.33) with a mark of 1:37.43.

Country Day's Norlander, a third-place finisher in two individual events as a sophomore last season, ended only behind Wayland's Laney Wolf as she came second in the 100 freestyle in a time of 51.32. Additionally, Norlander shaved almost three seconds off her finals time from 2024 in the 100 backstroke. Her second-place mark of 54.77 was only second-best to Camryn Siegers, who set a new D3 record (53.37).

In the 500 free, Marian junior Stella Glorio (5:10.58) only trailed repeat winner Ella Dziobak of Divine Child as no one came close to her finish of 4:56.20. The Mustangs also scored 16 points with Soloman's third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.06).

All of the Irish's points derived from freshman Anna Caudill's third-place finish in diving (369 points).

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Connor Brown had a goal and an assist each and the New Jersey Devils beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Monday night in a matchup of two of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference.

Alex DeBrincat, James van Riemsdyk and Dylan Larkin scored for Detroit.

New Jersey scored three goals in the first period on just eight shots for a 3-1 lead after one, snapped a three-game losing streak, and got its first win in regulation since beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Nov. 1.

The Devils’ previous four wins occurred in either overtime or the shootout.

New Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom made 32 saves, 13 in the third period.

Hischier scored his fourth goal in five games and added an assist on Meier’s first-period goal for the 102nd multipoint game of his Devils’ career.

Cody Glass snapped a 1-1 tie for New Jersey in his first game back after missing the previous four games with an upper-body injury. He replaced Juho Lammikko on the Devils third line.

Van Riemsdyk, who grew up in New Jersey, scored a power-play goal in his 1,100th game that got the Red Wings to within 3-2 in the second period.

Moritz Seider added two assists for Detroit, who lost for just the second time in its last seven games.

Brown moved the Devils’ lead to 4-2 from Dalton Mercer later in the second period before Larkin scored his 13th goal in the third period.

Cam Talbot had 15 saves for Detroit.

Up next

Devils: Host St. Louis on Wednesday night.

Red Wings: Host Nashville on Wednesday night.

— By EVERETT MERRILL, Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 24 points and 11 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons won their 13th straight game to tie the franchise record, holding off the Indiana Pacers 122-117 on Monday night.

The Pistons matched winning streaks by their 1989-90 and 2003-04 championship teams, two seasons after losing 28 in a row to break the NBA season record and tie the overall mark. Eastern Conference-leading Detroit is 15-2.

Down 18 early in the fourth quarter, the Pistons pulled as close as two points. Bennedict Mathurin missed a 3-pointer with a chance to tie it with 11 seconds

Caris LeVert added 19 points for Detroit, and Jalen Duren had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Jaden Ivey scored 12 points in his second game back after breaking his left fibula in January.

Pascal Siakam had 24 points for injury-ravaged Indiana. Jarace Walker added 21. The Pacers have lost 10 of 11 to fall to 2-15.

Indiana has been lost without Tyrese Haliburton, the star guard who tore his right Achilles in the Pacers’ Game 7 loss to Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals.

Detroit outscored Indiana 36-23 in the second quarter for a 71-55 lead, The Pistons shot 58.5% from the field in the half, hitting seven of 14 3-pointers.

The Pistons led 101-88 after three quarters.

Up next

Pistons: At Boston on Wednesday night in an NBA Cup game.

Pacers: At Toronto on Wednesday night in an NBA Cup game.

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DETROIT — The Detroit Lions trailed by 10. The opposing third-string quarterback had just scored a 33-yard receiving touchdown. It felt like the season — let alone the game — was on the verge of spiraling out of control.

And then Jahmyr Gibbs happened.

With 11:01 left in the fourth quarter Sunday, Gibbs took a handoff from quarterback Jared Goff, hurdled over some feet near the line of scrimmage, and broke three tackles before winning a race to the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown run that kept the game — and maybe the season — from spiraling out of control.

After the Lions got a stop near their own goal line to get the ball back down 27-24 with 2:54 remaining, he made a handful of big receptions to move the chains, keeping the Lions afloat just long enough for Jake Bates to deliver a 59-yard field goal that tied the game, 27-27, with 28 seconds remaining.

In overtime, Gibbs took the opening handoff for a 69-yard touchdown, helping the Lions seal a 34-27 comeback victory over the New York Giants at Ford Field after the defense shut the door with a fourth-down sack on Jameis Winston on the ensuing possession.

For the second time in three weeks, Gibbs set a career high in rushing yards (219) on just 15 carries (14.6 yards per attempt), and scored three total touchdowns with 45 receiving yards. Gibbs’ 264 yards from scrimmage are the most for a running back in Lions history.

Gibbs also pulled the Lions out of a funk in the first half, too. His first big carry also went for 49 yards, with the Lions trailing 17-7 in the late stages of the second quarter. After getting Detroit to the 3-yard line, Gibbs caught a pass in the flat for his first score of the afternoon.

While he can’t solve all of the Lions’ offensive problems, he sure does appear to be Mr. Fix-It right now. The offensive line’s woes haven’t seemed to matter when he’s had the ball in his hands in recent weeks.

And on Sunday afternoon at Ford Field, it saved the Lions from being in a mighty uncomfortable spot heading into Thursday’s pivotal NFC North showdown with the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving.

The Giants ambushed Detroit on their opening drive. After Aidan Hutchinson was flagged for being offside on a failed third-and-7, the Giants hit a double pass to Wan’Dale Robinson for a 39-yard touchdown. The defense bit on an outside toss play, leaving Robinson running free through the Lions’ secondary as Winston got the ball back and chucked it deep.

Winston kept the Lions on their heels all game. While he only completed 50% of his passes, it seemed like every one of his completions was an explosive one, and rarely did he miss in a gotta-have-it situation. He finished 18-for-36 for 366 yards with two passing touchdowns and one receiving.

The Giants, which finished with 517 yards of offense, added to their lead on the final play of the first quarter, reaching the red zone after a trio of completions to Robinson (12 yards, 40, 15), the last of which was aided by a personal foul call on Brian Branch that set New York up with first-and-goal at the 8. The Lions’ defense stood tall to limit the Giants to a field goal and a 10-0 lead.

Detroit finally got on the board with 11:41 left in the second quarter. After dropping a critical pass on the previous drive, Amon-Ra St. Brown ripped off a gain of 18 yards and then drew a defensive pass interference call — the first on a Lions’ opponent all season — in the end zone to get it to first-and-goal at the 1.

After an intentional grounding penalty on Jared Goff made it third-and-goal from the 11, St. Brown overcame some poor blocking on a wide receiver screen to barrel his way into the end zone, cutting the deficit to 10-7.

St. Brown had two big drops, including one that was collected by a defender for an interception, but got off the mat following a quiet night in Philadelphia by hauling in nine catches for 149 yards and a touchdown. Goff was 28-for-42 passing for 279 yards and a touchdown.

But after his touchdown, the Giants wasted no time in extending the lead to 10 once again. Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. broke out for a 42-yard gain on the opening play of New York’s ensuing possession, and with the Lions hoping to get off the field on third-and-8 later in the series, Winston fired a touchdown pass to Isaiah Hodgins in the back of the end zone for a 17-7 lead.

Photo gallery from the Lions’ overtime win over the Giants

After both offenses had a failed drive, the Lions took over with 4:10 left in the second quarter, down 10. And then the Gibbs Show arrived.

He ripped off a 49-yard run to get Detroit to the 3-yard line of New York, then caught a pass in the flat for his first touchdown of the afternoon, cutting the Giants’ lead to 17-14.

The Giants used another explosive catch by Robinson to reach Lions territory and add a 44-yard field goal by Younghoe Koo with 38 seconds left in the half.

But a pair of big-time plays by veteran receiver Kalif Raymond helped the Lions erase the points added. He returned the kickoff 44 yards, his longest kick return of the season, and then caught a 30-yard pass, leading to a 37-yard field goal from Bates to make it 20-17.

Takeaways as the Detroit Lions avoid upset, defeat New York Giants in overtime

The Lions’ offense finally got rolling toward the end of the third quarter after a quiet start to the half. A couple of big catches by St. Brown got Detroit into the red zone, but a third-down throw from Goff bounced off St. Brown’s hands and was intercepted by Giants safety Jevón Holland, erasing the opportunity for a game-tying field goal on fourth down.

The Giants used the momentum to add insult to injury. After marching right back downfield, the Giants scored on a 33-yard reverse pass from wide receiver Gunner Olszewski to Winston, taking a 27-17 lead.

Gibbs motored the Lions back into the contest, breaking free on a 49-yard rushing touchdown in which he broke three tackles to bring the Lions within a field goal, 27-24, with 10:50 to go in the game.

The Detroit Lions kicked off a three-game stretch in the next 11 days with a home matchup against the New York Giants.

Even though the Giants were dealing with their own issues, Dan Campbell’s squad was seeking to get back on track, following a tough loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, especially on offense.

“Listen, this is step number one in getting back in the win column,” Campbell said in a pregame interview with Dan Miller. “We’ve got them at home, our crowd, our place. Just take it one game at a time, and take each play one at a time. Give it your full attention, and let’s get back to playing winning football.”

While many expected the game to be a blowout, it remained competitive all throughout the four quarters of action.

The Giants had a chance to ice the game late, but a failed fourth-down try in the red zone gave the Lions an opportunity to march down the field to tie the game.

After 60 minutes, the game was tied, 27-27, when Jake Bates drilled a 59-yard field goal, sending the game to overtime.

Here are several takeaways from the Lions’ 34-27 victory, which improved their record to 7-4.

 

Giants give Lions taste of their own medicine

The Lions and their aggressive head coach have become synonymous with trick plays over the years.

After winning the opening coin toss and deferring, Kelvin Sheppard’s defensive unit took the field first. The Giants, with really nothing to lose in the Week 12 contest, were willing to try a trick play of their own.

After an explosive 23-yard reception by wideout Darius Slayton and a couple of rushing attempts, the Giants caught the Lions’ defense and successfully ran a trick play of their own at Ford Field.

Running back Devin Singleton tossed the football back to quarterback Jameis Winston, who was then able to find Wan’Dale Robinson wide open for a 39-yard touchdown reception.

The Giants quickly took an early 7-0 lead on a four-play drive that spanned 70 yards.

Again in the fourth quarter, the Giants dialed up a trick play that extended their lead to 27-17. Wideout Gunner Olszewski tossed the football to Winston for a 33-yard highlight score.

Defense allows too many explosives

Making his second start of the season, Winston looked far too comfortable at times against a Lions’ defense that has had success pressuring passers throughout the year. In addition to his touchdown to Robinson on the first drive, Winston had multiple other explosive passes throughout the first half.

Winston and Robinson connected for a 40-yard gain on the Giants’ third possession, then again for 15 yards that would turn into an even bigger gain thanks to a helmet-to-helmet hit by Brian Branch. The Lions’ safety could face a fine for this for a second straight week.

After the Lions cut New York’s lead to 10-7, Winston rolled out and hit a wide open Tyrone Tracy for a 42-yard catch and run. On the play, cornerback Amik Robertson ran with the vertical route and the flat was completely vacated, leading to Tracy having plenty of running room.

Winston would throw his second touchdown pass of the game to Isaiah Hodgins in the second quarter. He finished the first half completing 9-of-14 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns.

Safety Thomas Harper was able to intercept Winston in the fourth-quarter, but Detroit’s offense was not able to take advantage, as the Giants defense clamped down and forced a Jack Fox punt.

Lions’ offense picks up pace in second quarter

After falling behind 10-0, the Lions’ offense was able to get on the scoreboard early in the second quarter.

To start the game, Detroit’s offense punted on their first two possessions. On Detroit’s second possession, Amon-Ra St. Brown had another drop and causing supporters at Ford Field to get quite restless.

Detroit’s offensive line had some early struggles with the Giants defensive line.

Tight end Brock Wright, who is now tasked with leading the unit after Sam Laporta injured his back, kicked off the team’s third drive with a 20-yard reception.

St. Brown was also able to draw a rare defensive pass interference call on Detroit’s first scoring drive.

The former fourth-round pick capped off the seven-play, 65-yard drive with an 11-yard reception, cutting the Giants lead to 10-7.

Jahmyr Gibbs breaks free, rescues Lions in overtime win vs. Giants

After drop, Amon-Ra St. Brown gives offense needed boost

Following an uncharacteristic drop in the fist half, the talented wideout found his groove, especially in second half.

St. Brown was able to recover from the mishap to be the key playmaker on offense, along with Gibbs.

Trailing 20-17 midway through the third-quarter, St. Brown gave the offensive a boost with a 30-yard reception that took the Lions from their own 10-yard Lions to the 40-yard line.

On the brink of taking a lead or at least tying the game, Goff’s pass to St. Brown went off his hands and into the arms of safety Jevon Holland, halting the offensive momentum Detroit had gained in the third-quarter.

Goff, who was pressured all afternoon, led his team on a 13-play, 53-yard drive late in the game, leading to Bates most crucial kick of the season.

Photo gallery from the Lions’ overtime win over the Giants

Gibbs takes advantage of poor Giants rush defense

Trailing early in the fourth-quarter by 10, Detroit again struck quickly. It only took three plays for the Lions to trim the lead to 27-24.

Gibbs exploded for a 49-yard touchdown rush that gave Detroit’s offense momentum.

Campbell continues to lean on the speedy running back, as he continued to earn more carries than David Montgomery.

Jahmyr Gibbs again sparked the offense, as a 49-yard scamper was integral in a three-play drive that cut the Giants lead to 17-4. Gibbs caught a short three-yard toss to cap off the quick scoring drive late in the second-quarter.

In overtime, the former first-round pick took a Goff handoff and scampered 69-yards to give Detroit the lead in the extra period.

The former Alabama Crimson Tide running back secured 219 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 15 carries. He also added 11 receptions for 45 yards and a receiving touchdown.

This article was produced by the staff at Detroit Lions On SI. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions

The Lions needed overtime — and a career day from Jahmyr Gibbs — to get past the cellar-dwelling New York Giants, 34-27, on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025.

Here are the sights from Ford Field:

Jahmyr Gibbs breaks free, rescues Lions in overtime win vs. Giants

Takeaways as the Detroit Lions avoid upset, defeat New York Giants in overtime

EAST LANSING (AP) — Kennedy Blair scored 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting and No. 22 Michigan State coasted to a 102-41 win over Oakland on Sunday.

Grace VanSlooten added 14 points and Theryn Hallock scored 10 for the Spartans (6-0), who forced 33 turnovers and turned those into 43 points. Rashunda Jones had nine points, eight assists and five steals.

Layla Gold had 13 points for the Golden Grizzlies (2-4), Oakland shot 28% (15 for 53).

Michigan State shot 54% (39 of 72) with 11 3-pointers.

Blair had 19 points in the first half on 8-of-9 shooting as the Spartans turned 22 turnovers into 27 points.

Emma Shumate hit a 3-pointer and Blair scored eight quick points to close the first quarter with an 11-0 run for a 22-8 lead.

Blair started and ended another 11-0 run starting midway in the second quarter that turned into a 27-4 burst to take a 53-22 halftime lead.

The Spartans continued to roll in the third quarter with 9-0 and 19-0 runs, pushing their lead to 49 at 83-35 when Blair drilled a 3 at the buzzer.

For good measure MSU had a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to close its season-opening homestand.

Up next

Oakland plays St. Thomas of Nebraska on Tuesday.

Michigan State heads to the Bahamas to play Temple in Baha Mar Hoops on Friday.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Te’Yala Delfosse came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points and No. 6 Michigan rolled past Syracuse 81-55 on Sunday in the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Olivia Olson finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Michigan (5-1), which had 20 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Orange 46-32.

Delfosse scored five consecutive points as Michigan had the final 11 points in the first quarter. Syracuse pulled within 12 after a basket by Shy Hawkins. Syla Swords answered with a 3-pointer and assisted on a Delfosse basket to give the Wolverines a 38-21 lead at halftime.

Olson scored to give Michigan its first 20-point lead with 8:12 remaining in the third quarter. Mila Holloway followed with a 3-pointer. Syracuse had 13 offensive rebounds in the second half but couldn’t keep Michigan from pulling away and improving to 6-0 against Syracuse.

Syracuse’s Laila Phelia, who led the Orange with 13 points, played her first three seasons at Michigan. She was the leading scorer for the Wolverines during the 2023-24 season and averaged 14.1 points in 88 career games at Michigan.

Uche Izoje had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Dominique Darius added 10 points for Syracuse (5-1).

Syracuse was ranked in the top 10 in offensive rebounds per game coming into the game, but Michigan held a 14-3 advantage in the first half.

Michigan, which on Friday played with the highest ranking in program history, threw a scare into top-ranked UConn before falling 72-69 despite 29 points and eight 3-pointers from Swords.

Up next

Syracuse hosts Howard on Sunday.

Michigan plays Detroit Mercy on Wednesday.

— By JIM FULLER, Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The special teams play that handed Michigan State its loss to Iowa wasn’t the field goal that senior Drew Stevens nailed from 44 yards out to walk the Spartans off at Kinnick Stadium. It was the 40-yard punt return from Kaden Wetjen that set up the game-tying touchdown to begin with.

Michigan State intended to kick the ball out of bounds so as not to let Iowa’s explosive return man from getting a crack at a big return. But punter Ryan Eckley didn’t get the ball out of bounds. Wetjen fielded the punt and returned it 40 yards to key up Jacob Gill’s game-tying touchdown on a 13-yard reception.

“Kaden Wetjen single-handedly kept us in this game today in a lot of ways just with his returns,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a player like that, that electric, that much juice.”

Wetjen proved every bit the nation’s leading return man — one who holds two Iowa and Big Ten return records — in Michigan State’s 20-17 loss at Iowa on Saturday. The graduate senior who started his career at Iowa Western Community College returned three punts for a combined 147 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

“We went into it knowing their returner is a good player,” MSU coach Jonathan Smith said. “We decided to challenge him to start the game. After that we made some adjustments to get away from that.”

Wetjen’s 147 return yards matched quarterback Mark Gronowski’s passing yards for Iowa, and only seven short of the rushing total of 154. It was those hidden yards that put Michigan State’s defense in short-field situations late in the game, and also influenced the decision-making behind a handful of game-changing decisions.

Early on, Wetjen showed Michigan State (3-8, 0-8 Big Ten) any sort of “challenge” it could throw at him wouldn’t be much of a hurdle. A 45-yard punt return in the first quarter could’ve been a touchdown if only Eckley hadn’t tackled him through a blocker. The very next punt, after a stalled drive deep in Michigan State’s territory, Wetjen returned that for his 62-yard touchdown.

“We got chances to get him on the ground,” Smith said. “It wasn’t like we didn’t.”

That’s part of the reason quarterback Alessio Milivojevic punted three times in the game. Smith had repped his quarterbacks through punts every Thursday since fall camp. All those reps proved useful to Milivojevic. Keeping a quarterback on the field kept Wetjen off the field, and the redshirt freshman from Illinois showed a competent leg, for a non-punter, in his reps. None of those looks were meant to test the Iowa (7-4, 5-3) defense, Milivojevic and Smith both said after the game.

“It kind of angered me when they started doing the QB quick kick,” Wetjen said.

In the fourth quarter, though, Eckley took the field. And despite having a leg that has attracted NFL attention since last year, the redshirt junior who’s likely destined for the NFL Draft instead made a series of gaffes.

Eckley started off strong, kicking a 42-yard punt with 10 minutes to play that had plenty of hang time, his punt coverage forcing Wetjen to wave for a fair catch. The next time Eckley took the field, he shanked it wide right for just 11 yards before it went out of bounds.

On his final punt, Eckley was supposed to punt the ball out of bounds, but it stayed well inside the white lines and fell to Wetjen’s hands well before the coverage team got to him. With a juke, Wetjen beat long snapper Jack Wills. Then he jaunted up the right side for his big return before edge rusher David Santiago and a pursuing Wills wrestled him down.

“The last two punts (by Eckley) did not get executed how we wanted,” Smith said. “And that gets turned into a three-point loss.”

Eckley punted six times for 257 yards and a long of 58, including a 44-yard punt downed at the Iowa 1-yard line by gunner Keshawn Williams.

Meanwhile, earlier decisions to keep Eckley — and Wetjen — off the field proved costly late. At the end of the first half facing fourth-and-3 from the 49-yard line, Michigan State kept the offense on the field. On a rub-route to running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver, Milivojevic threw a pick into double coverage that nearly spotted Iowa a field goal — Stevens hit a 53-yard try on an iced attempt, then missed the next one that counted for real.

So, after advancing to his own 45 in a tied game with 41 seconds to play, Milivojevic took the field on fourth-and-2. But instead of calling an aggressive shot to try and win the game, he booted it 34 yards, down to Iowa’s 21-yard line, to avoid a return and hope to force overtime.

“I was just trying to get it off fast,” Milivojevic said. “I didn’t want any opportunity for them to come and block it and make things worse.”

Gronowski found two big passes for 19 yards to DJ Vonnahme and 29 yards to Reece Vander Zee to set up Stevens’ walk-off field goal. Wetjen took the field one more time for a sweep to line up the kick. And Stevens handed Michigan State its eighth straight loss.

“Thank God he’s on our team today,” Ferentz said, “because we would have been in trouble, for sure.”

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Michigan likes to talk about the waves of defensive linemen the Wolverines can throw at teams, but not to be overlooked on offense are the waves of running backs the team has been able to rely on this season.

First, Justice Haynes took over as lead back and was among the nation’s best until he was sidelined with a foot injury. Then Jordan Marshall took on the workload with great success and became the team’s leading rusher. He suffered a shoulder injury against Northwestern last week and was on the sideline in uniform for Saturday’s game at Maryland, but he was able to rest while former walk-on Bryson Kuzdzal, who entered the Northwestern game after Marshall was hurt and had 53 yards on 15 carries, took over.

“Jordan could have (played against Maryland) if we needed him,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said.

But the Wolverines didn’t need him and allowed him to rest before next week’s important game against Ohio State. In Michigan’s 45-20 victory over the Terps, Kuzdzal rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns. In the six games he had played before Maryland, Kuzdzal had 106 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown.

Haynes, Marshall and Kuzdzal each have three-touchdown games this season. Kuzdzal’s 100-yard performance was Michigan’s 12th this season – Haynes had six, Marshall, four, and freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, one. The last time U-M had four different players each with at least one 100-plus-yard rushing game was in 1998.

Kuzdzal said he had an idea this week he would get the bulk of carries.

“Because with next week’s game (against Ohio State) and everything else going on, you don’t know if you want to put them in the game,” Kuzdzal said, referring to Marshall. “But either way, I just want to prepare the same way as I can and do the best I can.”

Moore said he was pleased with the way Kuzdzal stepped up in the start.

“Doesn’t matter who’s in the game, there’s a standard of being a running back at Michigan,” Moore said. “There’s a standard being a Michigan football player that you’ve got to play with, and (Kuzdzal) played to that standard today. Ran hard, ran physical, ran tough. And that a true credit to him, to his family, being a walk on. The trust level, the trust factor we have with him is so big, and he just played a really high level for us.”

Kuzdzal said Haynes and Marshall have been in his “corner” and advised him simply to trust himself. He said he learned more about taking practice and applying it to a game.

“It’s just a lot of experience learning to settle myself down and do what I’ve been coached to do,” Kuzdzal said. “I was able to do that today.”

Injury updates

Marshall is nursing a right shoulder injury but could have played if needed against Maryland, Moore said.

“I said, I guess you’re not gonna play next week (against Ohio State),” Moore said to Marshall, who played for Cincinnati Moeller. “And he just laughed at me. He said, is that really a question?”

Two-time captain Max Bredeson, a fullback/tight end, was injured in the game but returned in the second half to the sideline with his right foot in a boot and on crutches.

“We will get further evaluation when we get home and see what happens,” Moore said.

Linebacker Ernest Hausmann, the team’s leading tackler, and receiver Semaj Morgan did not make the trip to Maryland.

“They’re just working to some things, not long-term things. Yeah, we’ll see as we go through the week.”

Marsh has solid game

Freshman receiver Andrew Marsh finished with 147 all-purpose yards — 76 receiving, including a 12-yard touchdown, 48 kickoff and 23 punt return yards.

“Andrew Marsh just kind of doing what Andrew Marsh does, making plays as a punt returner, as a kick returner,” Moore said. “He just continues to make plays so just keep putting him in different places to do it.”

Williams gets his first sack

Defensive tackle Tre Williams had one of Michigan’s three sacks of Malik Washington.

“Getting this was real special,” Williams said. “I talked to my dad this morning, and he was telling me, ‘Don’t do too much. Just be you and do your job, and the play’s gonna come to you,’ so that’s kind of what happened. Shout out my dad.”

Washington had taken three sacks all season.

“We knew that he only had got sacked three times, but I don’t think they had saw a complete defensive line that has waves like us,” Williams said. “We send waves at people. It’s not just a couple guys. We send waves and waves and waves and waves at people, and that gets really overwhelming at times for teams. I’m not surprised that we sacked him three times today. Wish we could have had more.”

With just one week left in the regular season, the Mid-American Conference championship chase is absolutely bananas.

Five of the conference’s 13 teams remain in the hunt to play for the MAC title at Ford Field on Dec. 6, with Western Michigan in the driver’s seat and four others, Central Michigan included, still with a chance.

The Broncos are 6-1 in the MAC and can get into the MAC championship game for the first time since 2016 with a win over state rival Eastern Michigan on Tuesday. Central Michigan, Toledo, Miami and Ohio all are 5-2 in the MAC, which pending next week’s outcomes might just have to reach deep into its bag of tiebreaker scenarios. By the end of the regular season, there could be as many as four teams that have to go to the tiebreakers.

The only team that doesn’t have to worry about tiebreakers for now is WMU; win at EMU, and the Broncos are in.

“We have built a foundation and mentality of going 1-0. I’ve been saying this since training camp … our players are probably tired of me saying it,” said Lance Taylor, WMU’s third-year head coach, who has the Broncos bowl-eligible for the second straight year. “You’ve gotta fight human nature, whether it’s complacency, whether it’s blocking the noise and distractions, looking at all the what-ifs. None of that stuff matters.

“The only scenario that matters is how we prepare this week, and goi

ng 1-0.”

Western Michigan, of course, still could get into the MAC championship game, even with a loss to EMU, depending how other games shake themselves out, thanks to the one-game lead entering the final week of the regular season.

Western Michigan has won three straight games, including thrilling comebacks over rival Central Michigan and Ohio, and this past week’s 35-19 win over Northern Illinois. In that game, the Broncos trailed, 13-0.

There remains the possibility that WMU could play CMU in the MAC championship game for the first time ever. It wasn’t possible from 1997-2023, when the winners of each division played for the title. The MAC did away with divisions in 2024.

Central Michigan has won two straight games since the loss at Western Michigan to stay in the mix, including this week’s 28-16 victory at Kent State.

The Chippewas host Toledo next Saturday, meaning one of those teams will fall out of title contention with a loss. It’s the only MAC game in the final week of the regular season between two teams still in the championship mix. CMU needs a win, and some help to get to Ford Field. If WMU wins, CMU needs a win and Ball State to beat Miami. If WMU loses, CMU needs a win and Buffalo to beat Ohio, or Ohio to beat Buffalo and Ball State to beat Miami. Got all that?

Either way, it’s been quite a resurgent season for CMU under first-year head coach Matt Drinkall. It’s the Chippewas’ first winning season and first time being bowl-eligible since 2021. They last played for a MAC championship in 2019.

“To be in the position we’re in I think is just a testament to the kids’ buy-in,” Drinkall said. “We have a very good plan and these guys attack it every single day, every week. They have bought all the way in. … We might not have the flashiest, most talented roster, but it’s talented enough, and we’ve got elite leadership and elite heart.”

Here’s the MAC schedule for contenders in the final week of the regular season:

• Western Michigan (7-4, 6-1) at Eastern Michigan (4-7, 3-4), 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN2)

• Ohio (7-4, 5-2) at Buffalo (5-6, 4-3), noon Friday (ESPNU)

• Toledo (7-4, 5-2) at Central Michigan (7-4, 5-2), noon Saturday (ESPN+)

• Ball State (4-7, 3-4) at Miami (6-5, 5-2), noon Saturday (CBSSN)

There are up to seven MAC tiebreakers to determine the two participants in the championship game, starting with head-to-head if there are two teams tied, and starting with head-to-head winning percentage among the tied teams, if there are more than two. But that tiebreaker might not work with a multi-team tie because the MAC now plays an unbalanced schedule. The second tiebreaker for multi-teams is if one tied team defeated the other tied team(s). The third tiebreaker is winning percentage among all common opponents. Things should finally be settled by then, well before the seventh tiebreaker ― which is actually a random draw by commissioner Jon Steinbrecher.

In other words, it’s good to be Western Michigan right now, even though it is a rivalry game, and Eastern Michigan, despite being out of bowl eligibility, has won its last two games.

“When you take care of the opportunity that you’re given,” said Taylor, “you’re given more.”

Tickets to this year’s game start at $18.80, and they are available at detroitlions.com.

In last year’s MAC championship game, Ohio beat Miami, 38-3.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 29 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as the Detroit Pistons capitalized on sizzling shooting to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 129-116 on Saturday night for their 12th straight victory.

Detroit’s Jaden Ivey played 15 minutes and scored 10 points in his first game since breaking his left fibula on Jan. 1. Tobias Harris scored 18 points while playing for the first time since Nov. 1 after dealing with a sprained right ankle.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a second straight game due to an adductor strain.

The Pistons are one victory away from matching the longest winning streak in franchise history. Detroit won 13 straight games in 1989-90 and 2003-04, and the Pistons went on to win the NBA title both seasons.

Detroit also ended a 13-game skid in this series by beating the Bucks for the first time since a 115-106 triumph at Milwaukee on Jan. 3, 2022. That had been tied for the second-longest active win streak by any one team against another.

The longest such active streak is owned by the Los Angeles Clippers, who beat the Charlotte Hornets for a 15th straight time Saturday as James Harden scored 55 points in a 131-116 game.

Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said during his pregame availability that Cunningham had brought up the Pistons’ lack of success against the Bucks to the rest of the team earlier in the day.

Jalen Duren had 19 points and Duncan Robinson 15 for Detroit, which shot 53.3% (16 of 30) from 3-point range and 62.8% (49 of 78) overall. Ryan Rollins had 24 and Bobby Portis added 18 for Milwaukee.

The Bucks have lost four straight to drop below .500 for the first time this season.

Detroit pulled ahead for good in the second quarter and led by as many as 29.

Up next

Pistons: Visit the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

Bucks: Host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

— By STEVE MEGARGEE, Associated Press

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Azzi Fudd scored 31 points and Sarah Strong added 16 points and 20 rebounds to lead No. 1 UConn to a 72-69 victory over sixth-ranked Michigan on Friday night in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase.

Huskies coach Geno Auriemma had said earlier in the week that Michigan might be the best team that his team would play this early in the season. He wasn’t wrong.

UConn (5-0) looked like it would run away with it early, building a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter before the Wolverines (4-1) rallied. They used a 13-0 run to pull to 49-45 heading into the fourth.

Fudd ended a nearly 8-minute scoring drought for the Huskies hitting a 3-pointer to start her own personal 9-0 run and restore a double-digit advantage for UConn.

Michigan wasn’t done, rallying to 68-66 in the final minute on a 3-pointer by Syla Swords with 22.2 seconds left. The Wolverines fouled Fudd 5 seconds later and the guard calmly hit two free throws to restore the two-possession lead.

Swords once again answered hitting a deep 3-pointer with about 12 seconds left, making it 70-69.

Fudd then hit two more free throws with just under 8 seconds left and Michigan couldn’t get a final shot off to tie it.

Swords finished with 29 points and Olivia Olson added 18 for the Wolverines.

UConn jumped all over Michigan with Strong leading the way on both ends of the court. She had six points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the first 10 minutes as the Huskies led 22-5 after one quarter. Fudd took over in the second quarter, scoring 13 points as the Huskies led 45-27 at the half.

This was the third time in the past two seasons that Michigan has faced a No. 1 team in the poll. The Wolverines lost to South Carolina to open the season last year and then were beaten by Big Ten foe UCLA. Prior to those meetings, Michigan had only faced a No. 1 team once before — a loss to Iowa in 1988.

Up next

UConn will play Utah and Michigan will face Syracuse on Sunday in the second set of games in this tournament.

— By DOUG FEINBERG, Associated Press

Mohammad Habhab had 24 points in Eastern Michigan’s 97-91 win against Oakland on Friday.

Habhab had 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Eagles (3-2). Carlos Hart added 22 points while going 7 of 10 and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line, and added seven rebounds and five assists. Mehki Ellison finished 5 of 8 from the field to finish with 13 points.

“Sometimes the other team just plays better and we honestly did not play bad tonight,” Oakland head coach Greg Kampe said. “Offensively, we played pretty well. We took a few bad shot, panicked a bit…within the last few minutes we got it back to three [points], and we had chances and weren’t tough enough with the ball. We need to learn how to finish late in the game.”

The Golden Grizzlies (1-5) were led in scoring by Brody Robinson, who finished with 22 points and six assists. Michael Houge added 17 points for Oakland. Isaac Garrett had 15 points and six rebounds.

Habhab put up 12 points in the first half for Eastern Michigan, who led 46-41 at halftime. Eastern Michigan turned a one-point second-half lead into an eight-point advantage with a 7-0 run to make it a 75-67 lead with 8:09 left in the half.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.