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ANN ARBOR, Mich. (11/20/14) -- Senior Juwan Howard Jr. scored a game-high 24 points and the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team came back to tie the game with No. 24-ranked University of Michigan with 5:38 to play, but the Wolverines pulled away down the stretch for a 71-62 victory over the Titans in their second game of the Progressive Legends Classic at Crisler Center .

The Titans (1-2) led at the half, 28-27, after Anton Wilson converted on a putback at the buzzer. Michigan opened a 43-34 lead midway through the second half, but Detroit came back to tie the game, 52-52, on a three-point play by Howard with 5:38 remaining.

Howard was 3-of-8 from downtown and scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Senior guard Brandan Kearney added 14 points and five assists, while freshman guard Paris Bass tallied 12 points off the bench for the Titans.
 
The Titans jumped out to an early 4-2 lead on back-to-back baskets from junior center Patrick Ackerman – his first two baskets as a Titan – before Michigan answered back with a 5-0 run including a three-pointer from Derrick Walton, Jr. to take a 7-4 lead with 16:39 left in the first half. Howard would then tie the game with a three-pointer of his own, before sophomore guard Jarod Williams gave Detroit a 10-7 lead with a triple of his own. Michigan would then piece together a 6-0 run to build a 13-10 lead with 8:53 left, before a triple from Bass sparked a 6-0 for the Titans to help Detroit regain the lead 16-13 with 7:50 left. Michigan would tie the score at 16, before the Titans responded with an 10-5 run to build a 26-21 lead with 2:03 remaining. A pair of three-pointers from Zak Irvin would put Michigan back on top 27-26 in the final minute, before Wilson's layup at the buzzer gave the Titans the lead heading into the locker room. Howard led Detroit with eight points in the first half, while Bass and Wilson had five apiece.
 
Michigan (3-0) came out firing to start the second stanza and used a 13-0 run to build a 43-34 lead with 12:55 remaining in regulation. But the Titans kept their calm and were strong enough to answer back with an 18-9 run – including eight-straight points from Howard – to tie the score a 52-52 with 5:39 left. But Michigan used a late 16-1 run to secure the win.  
 
The Titans finished 9-of-19 from three-point range and made 7-of-8 free throws. Both teams shot an identical 43.4 percent (23-for-53) from the floor during the game. Michigan had the rebounding edge, 37-25. The difference in the game came from the charity stripe where Michigan finished 16-of-20, while Detroit was held to only eight attempts, but connected on seven.

Caris LeVert had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead the Wolverines, while Irvin added 18 points and Walton, Jr. pitched in 16.

Detroit will host South Alabama on Saturday, Nov. 22. The game is set to begin at 3 p.m. following the women's game versus St. Bonaventure at historic Calihan Hall. Both games will be televised live locally on Comcast 900 and nationally on ESPN3. The men's game can also be heard on 97.1 The Ticket with Dan Leach the voice of the Titans.