Michigan
2-0,0-0Big Ten
Wake Forest
2-1,0-0ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | 34 | 46 | 4 | 84 |
| Michigan | 47 | 33 | 5 | 85 |
Wolverines Hang on for Overtime Victory Against Wake Forest in Detroit
11/11/2025 11:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Patrick Ogrin
DETROIT, Mich. -- The sixth-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team outlasted Wake Forest for an 85-84 overtime win on Tuesday (Nov. 11) in the Deacon-Wolverine Challenge at Little Caesars Arena.
Leaders and Best
Aday Mara led the way for the Wolverines (2-0), scoring 18 points on eight field goals, while adding career highs with 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks. Tonight marked his second consecutive game with a double-double and the fourth of his career. Elliot Cadeau notching 17 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, one coming on the basket that tied the game late in the second half. Roddy Gayle Jr. racked up 13 points with three rebounds, one block, and two steals. Morez Johnson Jr. scored 10 points, had eight rebounds, and two steals.
The Turning Point
A pair of Mara free throws and a turnover at the other end, preceded Cadeau's 400th career assist, which set up Gayle in the right corner for a game-tying three-pointer, capping a 7-0 run over a span of 2:30 and forcing a Wake Forest timeout. A Demon Deacon three ended the run, carrying Wake to a two-point lead with 0:45 left. A Cadeau baseline drive for a layup and lockdown defense that caused a turnover, sealed the five extra minutes of free basketball.
Overtime
A Cadeau-to-Mara slam opened overtime after a Michigan-controlled tip. After scoring on their first two possessions of OT, U-M failed to score again until the 0:13 mark, off a free throw. The Wolverines carried a one-point lead with 6.6 seconds remaining into a Wake Forest timeout. The Demon Deacons (2-1) missed the potential game-winning layup, and Michigan escaped with a narrow victory.
Second Half
Johnson opened the Wolverines' second-half scoring with an alley-oop and a layup, following the two scores with an assist on a Yaxel Lendeborg slam. Wake Forest opened its half outscoring U-M 13-6 in the first five minutes, including a 7-0 run to cut the lead to just six with about 15 minutes to go. A McKinney layup ended the three-minute field-goal drought, when the lead, at its worst, dwindled to just three points.
The foes battled back and forth before the game was finally tied at 64 by a Demon Deacon dunk with just under nine minutes left, the first tie of the game since the 6:46 mark of the first half. The tie was broken by a Mara-to-Lendeborg alley-oop out of a Michigan timeout. Yet again, the Wolverines found themselves in the bonus with just under eight minutes left. With 4:14 remaining, U-M trailed by seven.
First Half
Michigan started strong, scoring on three of its first four possessions, with two buckets down low by Johnson and a three-pointer from the right corner by Lendeborg. After a brief scoring drought, the Wolverines brought it back to a 13-11 game with just under 15 minutes to go in the first half.
U-M came out of the under-12 timeout facing an 18-14 deficit, before a Trey McKenney layup coming out of the timeout, followed by a fast break slam dunk by Lendeborg, tied it up at 18. Michigan trailed for nearly seven minutes before a Nimari Burnett second-chance layup gave the Wolverines a 22-21 lead. U-M found itself in the bonus for the final eight minutes of the half.
Michigan scored eight of its next 10 points on free throws, a stretch with only one missed shot at the charity stripe, and built a six-point lead headed into the under-four timeout. Mara's second-chance tip-in dunk was the Wolverines' first field goal in over three minutes, assisting in creating what would be the largest lead of the first half at 11 points. Michigan ended the first half, making its final four field goals, building a 13-point lead, 47-34, headed into intermission, propelled by double figures by Cadeau and Mara.
What's Next
The Wolverines will fly to Fort Worth, Texas, to take on TCU on Friday (Nov. 14) at Schollmaier Arena, wrapping up a two-year home-and-home series. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
Notes
• Michigan moves to 4-0 at Little Caesars Arena since its opening in September 2017.
• Tonight's OT victory marks Michigan's first since its 80-76 win against Northwestern last season.
• Wake Forest's 29 fouls are a new program record for opponent fouls committed, breaking the previous record of 25 set by Texas A&M in the Sweet 16 of the 2018 NCAA Tournament (March 22; W, 91-79).
• Cadeau achieved two career milestones, reaching 200 career rebounds and 400 career assists. He also set a new career high in rebounds in a game with eight and free throws attempted with 11.
• Burnett made his 70th consecutive start in as many games played in his U-M career.
• Mara grabbed his 200th career rebound, one of 14 he had during the game to break his previous best of 12, set last Monday against Oakland (Nov. 3). Mara also set a new career high for assists in a game with six, and matched a career high in blocks with five.
• Mara is the fourth Division I player in the last 20 years to reach 18 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks in a game.
• L.J. Cason's six made free throws on eight attempts are career highs, breaking his previous performance of four free throws made on five attempts last season against Texas A&M.
