The BasicsFinal Score: No. 6 Detroit 92, No. 7 Youngstown State 79
Records: Detroit 16-14, Youngstown State 11-21
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Joe Louis Arena)
DETROIT (3/5/2016) -- Four Titans scored in double figures Saturday night as the sixth-seeded University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team earned a 92-79 victory over No. 7 seed Youngstown State in the first round of the 2016 Horizon League Championship at Joe Louis Arena.
Seniors
Carlton Brundidge and
Anton Wilson led the way in scoring with 28 points and 23 points, respectively. It was a career-high total from Brundidge. Sophomore
Jaleel Hogan added 15 points and freshman
Josh McFolley had 13 points for Detroit (16-14).
Wilson became the 40th Titan to reach the 1,000-point plateau, as his free throws with just seconds remaining pushed him past the mark. The victory for head coach
Ray McCallum is the 300th in his coaching career, spanning 19 seasons.
Brundidge's 28 points is the most for a Titan in a tournament game since Brandon Cotton scored 33 points in 2007.
Detroit had two, 9-0 runs during the first half which helped propel them to a 47-36 halftime lead. Wilson and Brundidge each had 13 points during the opening 20 minutes. The Titans shot 48.6 percent in the first half and sank 7-of-8 free throw attempts.
Detroit led the entire second half. The Titans scored 15 points in the first four minutes of the second half, opening a 16-point advantage over YSU, 62-46. The Penguins scored the next eight points, but Brundidge ended the run with a 3-pointer to put Detroit back up 11. Detroit maintained the double-digit advantage until YSU's Francisco Santiago tallied a bucket just under the 10-minute mark to cut the Titans' lead to eight, 70-62.
Paris Bass followed with a triple from the wing off a feed from
Chris Jenkins. YSU pulled to within six points, 77-71, with 5:38 left in the contest, but Detroit scored re-gained its double digit advantage, scoring five-straight points. Wilson opened the run with a 3-pointer, his fourth of the contest, and Hogan followed with a lay-up to put the Titans up 82-71.
Morse pulled YSU to within eight points two more times, but Detroit pulled away with its effective free throw shooting. Bass tipped in his own miss with 1:28 left and Wilson went 4-for-4 on free throws in the final minute to seal the triumph. The Titans were 12-of-13 on free throws in the second half.
The Titans finished 19-of-21 from the free throw line for the contest. Brundidge shot 12-of-22 from the field and tied for the team lead with nine rebounds. Classmate Wilson added eight rebounds and had a team-high four assists for the Titans.
Paris Bass tallied seven points and eight caroms for Detroit.
Detroit dominated on the boards, earning a 42-27 advantage. The Titans had 17 offensive boards, five by Brundidge. UDM shot 33-of-69 (47.8 percent) from the field for the game and 7-for-20 from beyond the arc.
It's the second-straight season that Detroit has topped Youngstown State in the Horizon League Championship.
Cameron Morse led Youngstown State (11-21) with 26 points.
Up NextDetroit plays in the Motor City Madness quarterfinals at 3:30 p.m. Sunday against No. 3 seed Wright State from Joe Louis Arena.
Game Notes:Detroit leads the all-time series, 33-9, and has won 10 of the last 11… The Titans beat Youngstown State three times this season, scoring 90 or more in all three… Detroit beat YSU last year in the first round of the tournament, held at Calihan Hall... The Titans scored 90 points in a game for the ninth time this year, the most since posting 90 or more 13 times in 1977-78… Titans shot 90.5% from the free throw line (19-21), the second most on the year behind the 90.9 (10-of-11) against Northeastern… Brundidge's 28 points is the most by a Titan in the Horizon League Championship since Brandon Cotton netted 33 in 2007 in a loss to Youngstown State… Brundidge has now scored 20 points or more four times in his career… Wilson became the 40th Titan in school history to reach 1,000 career points… He is also fourth in school history now in career 3-pointers (205) and single-season 3-pointers (86)… This was Wilson's 51st time in his career he has scored in double figures as well as Hogan's 22nd time and McFolley's 13th… This 16th win on the season guarantees the Titans a winning record for the fifth time out of the eight year under coach McCallum.
