Box Score
Post-game Press Conference On HLN Detroit

DETROIT (1/31/14) – Juwan Howard Jr. recorded his second 20 point performance in three days and 10th of the season but it wasn't enough as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team fell to Cleveland State, 86-78, Friday night on ESPNU at historic Calihan Hall.

Howard finished with 20 points, while senior co-captain Evan Bruinsma poured in 21 on 7-of-8 shooting. Sophomore guard Carlton Brundidge added 15 points and senior center Ugochukwu Njoku grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, his second-straight double digit night on the boards, while the freshman backcourt of Matthew Grant and Jarod Williams combined to score 12 points with five rebounds.

Cleveland State (15-9, 6-3 HL) led by as much as 19, 58-39 with 13:21 left in regulation before the Titans put together a 13-4 run to trim the lead to 62-52 with 8:54 left. Detroit then had back-to-back stops on defense with the opportunity to cut the lead to under-10, but turned the ball over twice allowing the Vikings to regain control and extend their lead back to 16 after a pair of three-pointers from Bryn Forbes. The Titans then closed the game with a 26-18 run but it was to late as CSU secured its sixth win in Horizon League play to stay in second place.

Detroit (10-14, 3-6 HL) opened the game with a 9-4 run, capped off by a Howard three-pointer, before the Vikings responded with a 19-4 run to build a 23-13 led with 8:02 left.  The Titans trimmed the CSU lead down to eight on a few occasions before Charlie Lee ended the half with back-to-back three pointers to give the Vikings a 39-28 lead at intermission.

Cleveland State scored the first six points of the second stanza and nine of the first 11, including another three pointer from Forbes to build a 48-30 lead with 17:28 left. The Titans cut the lead to 13 with 16:11 left off a layup from Brundidge and a dunk from Njoku, before the Vikings built their largest lead of the game 58-39 off a pair of trifectas from Lee and Jon Harris with 13:21 left.

Detroit shot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) overall and 31.3 percent (5-16) from downtown, while outrebounding the Vikes 34-24 and outscoring them 50-30 in the paint. But Cleveland State finished shooting 59.6 percent (28-of-47) overall, including 64.3 percent (9-14) from beyond the arc.

Forbes led CSU with a game-high 27 points and seven rebounds, while Sebastian Douglas added 14 points and Lee pitched in 13.

Detroit will continue its string of four-straight Friday night games on ESPNU when the Titans visit Valparaiso on Friday, Feb. 7 at the ARC. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m.