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DETROIT (12/13/2014) -- Senior Juwan Howard Jr. scored a game-high 27 points to become the 39th Titan to join the 1,000-point club, but that wasn't enough as No. 11 Wichita State used a late run to sneak past the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team 77-68 on Saturday. The game was played in front of 4,110 people at historic Calihan Hall.
 
The Titans (6-4) trailed by as much as 11 points in the first half, but used a 23-9 run in the second stanza to build a 54-44 lead with 11:54 remaining. Howard led the charge with 13 points during that run. But the Shockers were able to bounce back to close the game on a 33-14 run including seven-straight free throws in the closing minute to secure their 42nd win over their last 44 games.
 
Howard finished with 27 points – 17 in the second half – three rebounds, two steals and two assists, while freshman Paris Bass added 12 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Matthew Grant also scored 12 points while grabbing seven boards and dishing out three assists. 
 
Wichita State (7-1) opened the game with a 16-5 run after connecting on its first four three-point attempts, before the Titans were able to respond with a 14-6 run – including five straight points from Bass - to trim the lead to 22-19 with 9:15 left. The Shockers then scored five-straight points to go back up by eight points, 27-19, before the Titans went on a 12-6 run, which included a three-pointer from Howard with 53 seconds left to make the score 33-31.

Detroit's defense made a key stop on the Shockers next possession, to give the Titans an opportunity to tie or take the lead, but a missed three-pointer from Howard with 22 seconds left gave Wichita State the last shot of the half, which was made by Daruis Carter to make the score 35-31 during intermission. Howard led all scorers with 10 points in the first half, while Bass had seven points for Detroit.
 
The Titans opened the second half with a 23-9 run to build their largest lead of the game, 54-44, but a late run from the Shockers was just enough to avoid dropping their second road game of the season.
 
Detroit finished the game shooting 44.8 percent overall, including 9-of-24 from three-point territory, while Wichita State finished shooting 41.3 percent overall and 9-of-28 from downtown.
 
The Titans will pack-up for an eight-day road trip covering more than 7,000 miles as Detroit visits Central Florida, Rhode Island and Arizona State. The first game against UCF is scheduled for Wednesday (Dec. 17) at CFE Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN3.