FORT WAYNE, Ind. (11/28/2017) -- Redshirt junior
Kameron Chatman scored a career-high 31 points and the Titans cut a 16-point deficit down to just one, but the rally wasn't enough as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team dropped a 91-82 game at Fort Wayne on Tuesday.
Senior
Jaleel Hogan posted 11 points and became the 41st player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.
It was Chatman's second double-double of the year as he grabbed a team-high 10 boards and tied his season high with three steals, while shooting 11-of-15 overall and 5-of-5 from behind the arc. Junior
Josh McFolley had 12 points and three steals and sophomore
Corey Allen and freshman
Jermaine Jackson Jr., finished with 11 apiece.
The Titans (4-3) trailed by as many as 16 in the second half and by 12, 72-60, with 7:22 remaining when Detroit Mercy went on a 13-2 run over the next two minutes to pull within one, 74-73, with 5:10 left.
Fort Wayne (4-3) was able to hold off the Titans after that going on a 12-3 charge over the next four minutes.
Detroit Mercy shot 44.3 percent from the field with eight 3-pointers and was 20-of-25 (80.0%) at the free throw line. The Titans also forced 15 Fort Wayne turnovers and registered 10 steals.
Detroit Mercy's road week continues as the red, white and blue fly out to the West Coast to face UCLA on Sunday.
First Half:
- There were six ties and six lead changes in the first half.
- Hogan achieved his milestone early scoring the first four points for Detroit Mercy and cracking the 1,000-point plateau at the 18:19 mark.
- A couple of triples by Chatman gave the Titans early leads at 9-8 and 11-10.
- Fort Wayne would jump out in front and extend its advantage to as many as seven, 18-11, with 13 minutes left when the Titans scored seven in a row to tie it on 3-pointers from senior DeShawndre Black, a layup from Jackson Jr., and another Chatman trifecta at 11:05 that knotted it all up.
- The Mastodons then led by three, 28-25, with 7:06 left when the Titans netted seven-straight points for their largest lead.
- Chatman started the charge with a three and then Allen stole the ball and laid it in.
- After another Fort Wayne missed shot, Chatman got inside for a basket and it was a 32-28 Titan lead.
- Detroit Mercy also led by four at 34-30 with 2:52 remaining when the home team ended the half on a 9-0 run.
Second Half:
- Fort Wayne began the second half with a three before a free throw from Hogan and a three-point play by Allen trimmed the deficit to four, 42-38.
- The Mastodons then ran their advantage to as many as 16, 65-49, with 12:36 left.
- The Titans got right back in it by scoring nine in a row.
- Allen started the run with four-straight points and after Jackson Jr., sank two free throws, the Titan defense forced a Fort Wayne miss and the ball ended up in Chatman's hands, and he buried a three to make it 65-58 midway through the half.
- Fort Wayne cooled that run and upped the deficit back to double digits at 72-60 with 7:22 on the clock when the red, white and blue made one final comeback attempt.
- It started as Jackson Jr., was fouled shooting a three and he made all three free throws.
- McFolley had a steal and a layup and after a Fort Wayne empty possession, McFolley nailed a three to make it a 72-68 game.
- The Mastodons hit two free throws to go back up by six, but Chatman's fifth 3-pointer of the game and another steal by McFolley that resulted in him making two free throws had the team trailing by just one, 74-73, at the 5:10 mark.
- That was as close as the Titans got with Fort Wayne eventually pulling away.
Game Notes:
- This was just the second career meeting between the two school, separated by just about 160 miles
- Detroit Mercy came into the game fifth in the nation in scoring offense at 95.7 points per game
- Hogan now has 1,008 career points, passing Jerry Swartzfager '69 at 1,000, Ralph Goldstein '56 at 1,001 and former teammate Anton Wilson '16 at 1,005 points and is now chasing Eli Holman '11, who is 37th with 1,024 points
- Chatman now has four 20+-point performances on the season
- Jackson Jr., was 5-for-5 at the free throw line and is now 24-of-25 (96.0%) at the charity stripe this season
- Allen has now been in double figures in all seven games
- McFolley - who topped the conference with 62 total steals - 2.0 steals per game – and was 35th in the NCAA last season - now has 112 career steals
