DETROIT (12/29/2016) -- Junior
Jaleel Hogan tallied a career-high 22 points and posted a career-best eight blocks, but it was not enough as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team fell, 81-70, to Northern Kentucky in the Horizon League opener for both schools on Thursday night.
Hogan was 10-of-15 from the field – a career high for field goals – and also grabbed eight boards in 35 minutes of action.
Senior
Chris Jenkins tallied a season-high 20 points with six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sophomore
Josh McFolley recorded 15 points with three assists and two steals and senior
Matthew Grant added eight points and five caroms.
The Titans (2-11, 0-1 HL) got off to a quick start as Jenkins nailed a three and Hogan got inside for a basket. Northern Kentucky (10-4, 1-0 HL) then got its offense going and opened a nine-point lead, 25-16, with 8:23 left in the half.
Detroit Mercy would score eight in a row to get back in the game as Jenkins started the spurt with two buckets, the last one a three-point play, and McFolley finished it with a triple to get the Titans within one, 25-24, at the 6:42 mark.
The Titans later tied the game at 27-27 as Hogan had the old-fashioned three-point play off a foul, and freshman
Corey Allen put the red, white and blue in front by one, 31-30, with a free throw with 3:59 left in the period. Detroit Mercy then ended the first half with six-straight points for a 39-34 lead at the break.
Detroit Mercy shot 51.9-percent (14-of-27) from the field and forced seven turnovers while holding NKU to 40.0-percent shooting (12-of-30).
The Titans continued to lead early in the second half, but Northern Kentucky caught fire from the outside going on a 25-9 run with the help of 7-of-8 shooting from behind the arc to take a 68-54 lead with 8:49 remaining. Detroit Mercy cut that lead to single digits, 68-59, off a Jenkins' 3-pointer and Hogan basket, but the Norse would pull away after that.
The red, white and blue finished the game shooting 45.0-percent (27-of-60) and limiting NKU to 42.6-percent (26-of-61), but the Norse were 14-of-30 (46.7%) from three-point range.
The Titans will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 31, in another basketball doubleheader. The women will face UIC at 1 p.m., with the men hosting Wright State at 3:30.
Tickets to all home games start at just $10, $6 for children and seniors. To purchase tickets online, visit
detroittitans.com/tix. To purchase over the phone or for more information on game tickets, contact Director of Ticket Operations & Sales
Justin Hairston at 313-993-1700 ext. 7301 or at
hairstjj1@udmercy.edu.
Game Notes:
This is the 38th year of the Horizon League (1979-80) and the 37th with Detroit Mercy as a member of the conference as the Titans are the eldest program in the league… Tickets to the 2017 Motor City Madness went on sale today at motorcitymadness.horizonleague.org… NKU now leads the all-time series, 2-1, and has won both of its games on the road… The Titans are 15-22 all-time in Horizon League openers and 20-17 all-time in HL home openers… Detroit Mercy's 10 blocks are the most since recording 10 at Green Bay in 2001… Blackshear Jr. did not play due to an undisclosed injury and is day-to-day… It was verified earlier in the day that the 33 points Allen scored against Fort Wayne last week was a Titan true freshmen record… Grant's career high in rebounds is eight at Oregon in 2014… Hogan's eight blocks were the most since Mike Harmon against Green Bay in 2001… Hogan's previous high for points was 20 last year against Oakland… Jenkins now has eight career 20-point games…
