Milwaukee (2/24/2017) -- Sophomore
Josh McFolley led five Titans in double figures with a game-high 22 points as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team went on the road and picked up an 81-74 win over Milwaukee at the Klotsche Center on Friday night.
The win moved the Titans to 6-11 in the Horizon League as they clinched the No. 7 seed and will play the No. 10 seed next Friday, March 3, at 5:30 p.m., in the opening game of the Little Caesars Horizon League men's basketball championship at Joe Louis Arena. Tickets are on sale at
MotorCityMadness.HorizonLeague.com/tickets, the Joe Louis Arena Box Office, or the Joe Louis Arena Ticket Sales and Service Office at 313-471-7575.
McFolley was 4-of-9 shooting and a perfect 12-of-12 at the free-throw line to go with a game-high six assists and two steals.Â
Senior
Chris Jenkins tallied his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Junior
Jaleel Hogan added 13 points and six boards, senior
Patrick Robinson Jr. scored 11 points hitting 3-of-3 from behind the arc and freshman
Corey Allen netted 10 points with three rebounds and three assists.Â
Detroit Mercy (8-21, 6-11 HL) shot over 50.0 percent for the second-straight ending at 52.2 percent (24-of-46) with seven triples and also connected on 83.9 percent (26-of-31) at the free-throw line, a season best for made free throws.Â
The Titans trailed by as many as five in the first half and four early in the second, 39-35, when McFolley buried a three and Robinson Jr., went inside for a layup to jump out in front, 41-39. Milwaukee (8-22, 4-13 HL) tied it at 41-41 after that, and it was all squared away at 44-44 with 15:29 left when the Titans took the lead for good.
Hogan has a basket and McFolley tallied another from downtown for a five-point lead at the 14:45 mark. Milwaukee cut that to one on a couple of occasions, but Detroit Mercy always had the answer and would slowly extend its advantage up to as many as eight, 60-52, with 7:23 remaining in the contest.
The lead would then bloom to double digits, 73-63, with under two minutes to play before the Titans wrapped up the seven-point victory by hitting 4-of-4 at the line down the stretch.Â
The Titans outrebounded the Panthers, 33-25, and forced 13 turnovers coming away with eight steals. Detroit Mercy also held Milwaukee to 40.6 percent shooting in the second half, where the Panthers were just 5-of-19 from the outside.Â
The first half was a back and forth affair featuring seven ties and six lead changes with neither team leading by more than five points.
Milwaukee had its biggest lead of 12-7 nearly five minutes in, but senior
Jarod Williams then hit a three and off a steal from Jenkins, Williams was able to get to the rim and lay it in to knot it at 15-15.
A steal by Williams and a layup later gave the Titans a 17-15 lead with 10:26 left in the first half. The game was tied three times after that, including at 21-21 at the 7:34 mark when sophomore
Gerald Blackshear Jr., drove to the basket for a dunk and a basket by Jenkins had the red, white and blue on top, 25-21, with 5:45 remaining.
The Panthers would come back and regain a four-point lead before going into the break with a 33-31 advantage.Â
The final game of the regular season will have the Titans visiting the defending Horizon League tournament champion Green Bay Phoenix on Sunday, Feb. 26. Game time is set for 3 p.m. (EST) at the Resch Center.
The 2017 Little Caesars Horizon League Men's and Women's Basketball Championship at Joe Louis Arena is just a week away. While we know the men's team will be the seventh seed, the final on the women's side is still to be determined, but the women's basketball team will begin its quest for a title on Sunday, March 5, at either Noon or 2:30.
Starting at $45, all-session tickets will cover all 18 games of the tournament. Fans can purchase school fan section tickets until March 1 by clicking on the appropriate school link and use either UDM for single-session tickets or TITANS for full-session tickets.Â
The final bracket will be announced on Sunday evening, Feb. 26.
Game Notes:
Detroit Mercy trails the all-time series, 26-23… The 26 free throws were the most since the Titans connected on 28 against Wright State last season… It was the ninth career double-double by Jenkins and the fifth this season… McFolley recorded his seventh career 20-point game and sixth this year… McFolley now has 56 steals this year, one away from tying John Long (1976) and Ray McCallum (2012) for 10th in the Titan record book… McFolley's 12-of-12 effort at the line was the most consecutive free throws in a game since Juwan Howard Jr. was 14-of-14 against South Alabama in 2014… Allen now has 72 treys this season and McFolley 70 as they both trail Jason Calliste (2013) and Rashad Phillips (1989) for 10th in school history… Robinson Jr. was in double digits in scoring for the third time in his last five games…Â
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