Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. (12/14/13) – A late second half rally came up short as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team fell to NC State, 82-79, Saturday night at Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack led by 18 with eight minutes left in regulation before the Titans closed the game with a 32-17 run. But a deep three-pointer from freshman guard Jarod Williams rattled in and out at the buzzer.

Detroit (5-6) was led by junior forward Juwan Howard Jr. who finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals, while senior co-captain Evan Bruinsma added 16 points and six rebounds. Senior center Ugochukwu Njoku scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, while the freshman backcourt of Williams and Matthew Grant scored 10 and nine points, respectively. Williams also dished out a team-high four assists in the game.

NC State (7-2) opened the game with an early 7-2 run, before Detroit responded with an 8-3 run to make the score 12-10 with just over 12 minutes left in the half. The Wolfpack then answered back with a 20-6 run to build a 16-point lead 32-16 with four minutes left, before the Titans closed the half with a 12-5 run to make the score 37-28 as both teams entered the locker room. Howard led Detroit with nine points in the first half, while Grant added six.

Both teams exchanged baskets for the first six minutes of the second half until NC State put together a 16-6 run, including three three-pointers from Ralston Turner, to build its largest lead of the game 65-47. Detroit started to chip away at the lead with layups from Grant and Williams, before a three-pointer from Howard with 4:46 left cut the lead in half 70-61 to spark the comeback. Another three-pointer from Howard made the score 74-69 with 1:57 left, before back-to-back three's from Bruinsma and Grant made it a two point game 81-79 with seven seconds remaining. Detroit was forced to foul and after T.J. Warren split the a pair from the charity stripe the Titans still had a shot to force overtime, but Williams three-pointer rimmed in and out as the buzzer sounded.

Detroit finished shooting 45.8 percent (27-of-59) overall, including 56.7 percent (17-of-30) in the second half, while NC State shot 50 percent (25-of-50) overall. The Titans only made 1-of-9 from deep in the first half, but responded by making 5-of-11 in the second half, while the Wolfpack finished 10-of-21 from beyond the arc. Detroit won the battle on the boards 36-31 and forced 15 turnovers.

Warren led NC State with a game-high 29 points, while Turner added 21. Turner finished the game 6-of-8 from downtown.

Detroit will stay on the road as it visits Akron on Wednesday, Dec. 18. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena and can be listened to live on 1270 AM with Dan Leach the new voice of Titan Basketball.

GAME NOTES: NC State leads the all-time series 2-0, with both wins coming at Reynolds Coliseum … Evan Bruinsma has scored in double digits for five-straight games and is averaging 19.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game over that stretch … Ugochukwu Njoku has recorded at least one block in eight-straight games … Juwan Howard, Jr. has scored 20 or more points four times this season … Six games this season have been decided by five points or less and the Titans have a 3-3 record in those contests.