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DETROIT (12/30/14) – Senior forward Juwan Howard Jr. poured in 22 points and sophomore Chris Jenkins scored a career-high 13 points but it wasn't enough as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team dropped an overtime thriller, 77-73, to Oral Roberts Tuesday night at Calihan Hall.
 
After trailing by as much as 10 late in the second half and five, 63-58, with 20 seconds left Detroit (6-8) used back-to-back 3-pointers from Howard and Jenkins to force overtime 64-64. Jenkins' 3-pointer tied the game with 4.7 seconds remaining.
 
Both teams swapped baskets to start overtime as the score remained tied 68-68 with 2:14 left, before Korey Billbury drained a 3-pointer to put Oral Roberts (6-7) up 71-68 with 1:16 remaining. Billbury then made a pair of free throws on the Golden Eagles next possession to extend their lead to 73-68 with 33 seconds remaining, before Howard buried a 3-pointer from near mid-court to make the score 73-71 with 28 ticks left.
 
The Titans almost forced a five second call on ORU's next possession, but the Golden Eagles were granted a timeout, before Obi Emegano made two free throws. Howard then made another jumper with 14 seconds left to make the score 75-73. But Billbury was able to seal ORU's first road win of the season with two more from the charity stripe to make the final 77-73.
 
Howard finished with 22 points – 20 in the second half and overtime – with six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Jenkins scored a career-high 13 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Sophomore guard Jarod Williams also scored in double figures with 12 points, while Anton Wilson added seven.
 
Oral Roberts opened the game with a 9-0 run, before the Titans responded with a 14-4 run capped off by a Wilson jumper to take a 14-13 lead with 10 minutes left in the first half. But ORU was able to bounce back with an 18-8 run over the next 9:57 of the stanza, before Williams drained a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to trim the Golden Eagles lead to 31-25 during intermission. Williams led Detroit with 10 points in the first half, while Jenkins had six.
 
Oral Roberts would then extend its lead to as much as 10 in the second half and led 50-40 with 6:57 left, before a late run powered by 11 points from Howard and five from Jenkins, including his 3-pointer in the closing seconds to force overtime. Detroit's defense actually held Oral Roberts without a basket for the final 7:57 of the game, but the Eagles made 14-of-16 free throws during that stretch and finished 33-of-40 for the game.
 
Oral Roberts was led by Emegano and Billbury who combined to score 53 points and finished 22-of-25 from the charity stripe.
 
Detroit finished the game shooting 41.7 percent (30-of-72) overall and 40 percent (8-of-20) from downtown, while ORU finished shooting 41.3 percent (19-of-46) overall and 40 percent (6-of-15) from deep. But the difference in the game came from the foul line where the Golden Eagles made 33-of-40, compared to 5-of-12 from Detroit.
 
Detroit will hit the road as the Titans tip-off Horizon League play at Wright State on Friday, Jan. 2. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Nutter Center and will be televised nationally on ESPN3.