Box Score
Despite outscoring UIC 16-6 down the stretch, the Detroit men's basketball team's furious second-half rally came up short as senior Tryl Hartfield (Wyoming, MI/Rogers) could not connect on a go-ahead three-pointer with eight seconds remaining as the Titans lost a 65-61 heartbreaker to the Flames on Thursday night.
Trailing by 13, 58-45, with 4:12 left in the game, Detroit (4-13, 0-8 HL) rallied with a 9-0 run to pull within four at 58-54 with 1:46 left on the clock. After four UIC (10-8, 3-5 HL) free throws, Hartfield hit a three followed by a jumper from Woody Payne (Inkster, MI/Ypsilanti) off an inbounds steal to get the Titans within three, 59-62. After a Robo Kreps free throw, Payne connected on another jumper to get UDM within two, 63-61, with just 31 seconds to go. Detroit's defense then forced a UIC offensive foul giving the ball back to the Titans with 23 ticks left.
After Hartfield's missed three from the corner, Payne grabbed the rebound before the ball was going out of bounds. He then turned and threw it back to mid-court where Kreps reached out, stole the ball and passed it Josh Mayo, who made a lay-up as time expired to seal the 65-61 victory.
"At the end of the game, we wanted to take a three," said head coach Ray McCallum. “He's [Hartfield] probably our best spot-up shooter and he got a good look.
"It was a good effort for us. We've had some tough, disappointing losses this year and this is just like the ones before,” added McCallum. “Mayo and Kreps took over the ball game in the second half. They made the big plays. We made some shots, some threes and we battled back, but their guard play made a difference down the stretch."
Payne and junior Thomas Kennedy (Detroit, MI/Southeastern) led Detroit with 13 points apiece, while senior Michael Harrington (Country Club Hills, IL/Rich Central) added 10 points and six rebounds coming off the bench.
Kreps paced UIC and led all scorers with 21 points, while Mayo chipped in with 15 markers.
The game opened at a sluggish pace for both teams as they combined for 11 turnovers and only eight made field goals over the first eight minutes of play, with UDM leading 13-8. UIC responded to tie the game at 17 outscoring Detroit 9-4 heading into the second media timeout.
Each team traded baskets over the next five minutes before a free throw from freshman Donavan Foster (Chicago, IL/Curie) knotted the game at 27 with 1:57 remaining in the half. After a jumper from Mayo, senior Chris Hayes (Chicago, IL/Mt. Carmel) got the ball down in the low post and hit a lay-up as time expired giving the Titans a one point lead, 30-29, heading into the locker room.
UIC came out of the gate in the second half on a 5-0 run, which sparked the Flames to outscore the Titans 10-6 to take a 39-36 lead with 15:34 remaining in the game. Detroit fought back, led by a pair of free throws and a jumper from Harrington to pull within one, 43-42. However, Kreps rattled off five consecutive points hitting a jumper and 3-pointer to put UIC up by five, 48-42 at the 9:15 mark. Kreps continued his hot shooting from behind the arc with back-to-back triples which spearheaded a 10-0 run that extended the Flames' lead to 58-45.
Homecoming Weekend hits Detroit as the Titans continue conference play at home against Loyola on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m., with the contest televised regionally on Fox Sports Detroit. The game is also the first leg of a doubleheader with the UDM women's basketball team who will take on Youngstown State at 5:00 p.m.
