ORLANDO (12/17/14) – Senior forward Juwan Howard Jr. scored a game-high 25 points, but for a second-straight game that wasn't enough as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team fell, 75-70, Wednesday night to Central Florida at CFE Arena.
 
The Titans (6-5) trailed by 18 – their largest deficit of the season – 51-33 with 14:06 left in regulation, before trimming the lead to three, 68-65 with 29 seconds left. But the Knights made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
 
Howard finished with 25 points – 15 in the second half – three rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and a steal, while freshman Paris Bass added 11 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds. Sophomore guard Matthew Grant pitched in eight points while dishing out four assists. 
 
UCF (6-4) opened the game with an 11-2 run after connecting on its first three 3-pointers, before the Titans responded with a 17-3 run capped off with a 3-pointer from Howard to take a 19-14 lead with 9:40 left in the first half. But the Knights closed the half with a 21-8 run to take a 35-27 lead into the locker room. Howard led Detroit with 10 points in the first half, while Bass had seven.
 
The Knights then extended their run to 37-14 in the second half to build their largest lead of the game 51-33 with 14:06 left. The Titans were able to trim the lead to 10 following eight quick points from Howard, Grant and Patrick Ackerman, who was fouled during a dunk to make the score 51-41 with 12:05 remaining. But the Knights were able to push the lead back to 13 with 4:27 left, before Detroit used a late 9-1 run to make the score 68-65 with 29 seconds left.
 
Detroit finished the game shooting 46.6 percent overall, including 8-of-18 from 3-point territory, while UCF finished shooting 50 percent overall and 9-of-20 from downtown. The Knights also made 22 free throws – including seven down the stretch – while Detroit made just eight. Both teams finished tied with 28 rebounds and 15 assists.
 
Detroit will continue its eight-day road trip covering more than 7,000 miles as the Titans visit Rhode Island on Saturday, Dec. 20. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. ET at the Ryan Center and can be listened to on 97.1 The Ticket with the voice of the Titans Dan Leach.