Box Score

DETROIT (1/29/14) – Juwan Howard Jr. recorded his ninth 20 point performance of the season with a game-high 25 points as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team extinguished the UIC Flames, 74-68, Wednesday night at historic Calihan Hall. The win is the Titans third in Horizon League play this season and fourth-straight over UIC dating back to Dec. 29, 2011.

Detroit (10-13, 3-5 HL) broke open a 61-61 tie with back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore guard Anton Wilson to close the game with a 13-7 run.

Howard finished 10-of-18 from the field and 2-of-5 from the deep, while dishing out three assists, and two steals. Wilson scored 16, including nine of the Titans final 13 points, while senior co-captain Evan Bruinsma added 15 points to go along with nine rebounds. Senior center Ugochukwu Njoku grabbed a game and career-high 12 rebounds, while the freshman backcourt of Matthew Grant and Jarod Williams combined to score 12 points with five assists and three steals.

UIC (5-17, 0-8 HL) opened the game with an early 6-2 run, before the Titans responded with a 10-3 run including a three-pointer from Grant to take a 12-9 lead with 13:49 left. The Flames answered back with a 12-4 run to build their largest lead of the game 21-16, before Detroit closed the half with a 21-15 run, including another three-pointer from Grant, to take a 37-31 lead into intermission. Howard led all scorers with 12 points, while Bruinsma and Wilson added seven apiece.

Detroit was able to extend its lead to seven, 45-38, following a highlight dunk from Jermaine Lippert to start the second stanza, before the Flames answered back with a 14-5 run to take a 52-50 lead with 13:18 left in regulation. The Titans then pieced together an 11-2 run to build a 61-54 lead with 8:20 remaining. But the Flames were out as they bounced back a with a quick 7-0 run to tie the game for the ninth time, before back-to-back three-pointers from Wilson ignited the Detroit run to close the game.

Detroit shot 49 percent (28-of-57) overall and 40 percent (8-20) from downtown, while UIC finished shooting 42.4 percent (25-of-59) overall, including 28.6 percent (4-14) from beyond the arc. The Titans won the battle on the boards 35-33 and forced 11 turnovers with six steals, while dishing out 15 assists.

Marc Brown led UIC with 24 points, while Kelsey Barlow added 18 points and Jake Wiegand pitched in 13.

Detroit will continue its two-game home stand when the Titans welcome Cleveland State to Calihan Hall on Friday, Jan. 31. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Jim Barber and Malcolm Huckaby making the call.