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ROCHESTER, Mich. (2/14/2014) – Junior Juwan Howard Jr. powered his way to a game-high 33 points and this time Detroit used a second-half rally to get back in the game, but Oakland was able to hold off the Titans' comeback as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team dropped an 83-82 overtime decision in front of a record crowd at the O'rena on Friday night.

The Titans (12-15, 5-7 HL) scored the first five points in the extra period and had a five-point lead in overtime, 82-77, but Oakland (10-17, 5-7 HL) stole the win with a 6-0 spurt in the final 3:10 to end the game, including a 10-foot jumper from Duke Mondy with 8.8 seconds remaining.

Howard Jr. also had six rebounds and four assists and was 11-of-25 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. Freshman guard Matthew Grant ended with 10 points, while senior Evan Bruinsma tallied eight points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Oakland led by as many as nine in the second half, 53-44, and eight, 58-50, with 12:09 left in regulation when Detroit started to mount its rally with a 9-0 run. Howard was the offensive force like he was all game long scoring seven-straight points and junior Patrick Onwenu put the Titans up off a pass from Howard.

The two teams then traded the lead over the next couple of minutes, but back-to-back baskets by Grant as well as a free throw gave the red, white and blue a 68-63 advantage with 7:18 left.

Once again, Oakland and Detroit would trade leads and two free throws from Howard had UDM leading by one, 75-74, with just under a minute left and then two more from the charity stripe by freshman Jarod Williams gave the Titans a 77-74 lead with just 39 seconds remaining.

The game would then go into overtime as OU's Travis Bader nailed a three to tie it up with 25 seconds on the clock and Detroit just could not get a couple of attempts to fall as time expired.

Detroit opened the game with an early 12-4 run, including five straight points from Howard, before the Grizzlies responded with a 20-10 run to take a 24-22 lead with 9:13 left. The Titans then answered back with a 12-7 run to take a 34-31 lead with 2:46 left, before Oakland closed the half with a 7-2 run to take a 38-36 lead into the locker room. Howard led all scorers with 15 points in the opening stanza, while Bader added 14 for Oakland.

Detroit finished the game shooting 41 percent (30-73) overall, while Oakland shot 45 percent (27-60), including 57 percent (12-21) from downtown. The Titans forced 20 Oakland turnovers and recorded a season-high 16 steals, but lost the battle on the boards 41-37.

Detroit will visit UIC on Tuesday for an 8:00 p.m. (ET) tip-off at the UIC Pavilion. The game will air live on ESPN3 and WatchESPN.com along with CBS Sports Radio 1270 AM with Dan Leach the voice of Titans Basketball making the call.