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By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer Updated 10:52 PM Saturday, December 4, 2010

DETROIT — On the game’s first possession, Detroit’s 6-foot-8 Nick Minnerath scored quickly on the inside.

Wright State turned the ball over on its possession, and Detroit’s Ray McCallum Jr. dunked on the other end.

The plays were part of an opening blitz for Detroit that put WSU on its heels and set the tone of Titans’ shot-making in what became a 78-69 Detroit victory on Saturday in front of 2,213 spectators at Calihan Hall in the Horizon League opener for both teams.

The eight-point Detroit lead by the first media timeout would hold mostly steady for the duration, giving this Titans group — optimistic because of 6-10 junior Eli Holman and Parade All-American freshman McCallum (son of coach Ray McCallum Sr.) — its first win against WSU in the past 11 tries.

“That’s a hard way to play,” said WSU senior Vaughn Duggins, who scored 23 points for the second time this season. “You exert more energy trying to catch a team that’s ahead.”

The Raiders (3-5) also carried the weight of three straight losses into the matchup with the league’s preseason second-place pick (WSU was picked sixth). In that span, Raiders coach Billy Donlon has been frustrated by how well opponents have shot against his team, which Detroit (5-4) continued by making 59 percent.

“Sixty-nine points is enough points to win in our league,” Donlon said.

But the deficit continued the entire game. Detroit made its first six shots of the game in taking a 12-4 lead with 16:16 left in the first half.

“We came out a little lackadaisical,” said Raiders senior guard N’Gai Evans.

WSU slowed down the offense and played nearly even for the rest of the half, entering the break with a 39-30 deficit.

WSU pulled within three points twice in the game’s final 6:31 (65-62 and 67-64), but Detroit got enough from Holman (17 points, 12 rebounds) and sophomore guard Justin Calliste (20 points) to never give up the lead.

“We played smart down the stretch,” McCallum Sr. said. “You have to execute against a veteran perimeter club, and we were able to.”

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