DETROIT (11/4/2017) -- Freshman
Jermaine Jackson Jr., led the way with 19 points and junior
Tariiq Jones added 13, but the story was the money raised tonight in the Second Annual City College Series.
Detroit Mercy fell to Wayne State, 79-77, but the charity exhibition game drew 3,089 fans, and that helped raise over $5,000 from ticket sales. With Michigan First Credit Union providing a matching donation, over $10,000 will be donated to Detroit Public Schools K-5.
Junior
Kameron Chatman posted 10 points, three rebounds and two assists and senior
Jaleel Hogan totaled nine points and three boards as both were limited due to foul trouble. Junior
Josh McFolley finished with nine points and sophomore
Corey Allen had eight points and eight rebounds.
The Titans led by as many as 11 in the second half and held a 77-76 lead off a dazzling bucket from Jackson Jr., but Wayne State was able to hit a shot with seven seconds remaining to jump ahead.
Detroit Mercy outrebounded the Warriors, 39-35, and forced 17 turnovers.
The Titans will open the 2017-18 season on Friday, Nov. 10, as the red, white and blue visit Virginia Tech. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be televised on the ACC Network Extra.
First Half
- The Titans had the lead early on as Chatman and Jackson Jr., both hit 3-pointers for a 9-3 lead.
- The Titans continued to stay in front as a layup by Black and then two free throws from Allen made it a 17-10 advantage with 10:14 remaining.
- Wayne State scored seven in a row to tie it up, but a layup from sophomore Malik Eichler and a free throw by Chatman once again had the Titans ahead, 20-17, with 6:59 left.
- Wayne State tied the score at 26-26 at the 3:38 mark, but an 11-5 run to end the half had the Titans ahead, 37-31, at the break. Hogan had four points in that span and Allen had a jumper just before time expired.
Second Half
- The lead was cut to two, 37-35, but back-to-back triples from McFolley extended the Titans' cushion to 43-35 with 18:31 left.
- After a Wayne State turnover, two free throws from Allen and the lead was double digits at 45-35.
- Later on, another three by McFolley and Detroit Mercy had its biggest lead of the game, 52-41, with 15:02 left.
- The Titans stayed ahead for the next six minutes until Wayne State knotted it at 59-59 with 9:02 on the clock.
- The Warriors took the lead, but back came the Titans as a pair of free throws from Allen gave the home team a 66-65 lead and Hogan made another free throw for a two-point contest.
- The game went back and forth after that with the Titans owning a 73-70 lead on a layup from Jackson Jr., at the 3:26 mark as well as 75-72 as Jones nailed both free throws with 2:30 left.
- Detroit Mercy then trailed 76-75 with 45 seconds remaining, but Jackson's acrobatic layup made it a 78-77 contest with just 32 ticks left.
- Wayne State was able to get the final basket of the contest with just under seven seconds and the Titans last shot was too strong off the glass.
Game Notes
- With the game benefiting DPS, the night featured a number of Motor City products including 10 total student-athletes from the city of Detroit and four coaches who all have early roots in the city.
- Four of the student-athletes from Detroit Mercy that grew up in the city or went to school in Detroit are juniors Gerald Blackshear Jr., (Detroit Western), Tariiq Jones (Detroit, Mich.), Josh McFolley (Detroit Western) and sophomore Ed Carter III (Edison), while head coach Bacari Alexander '99 (Southwestern) and assistant coach Jermaine Jackson '99 (Finney) also hail from Detroit.
- There is some crossover between the Titan and Warriors' coaching staff. WSU head coach David Greer spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Titans from 1995-2001, helping the red, white and blue to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and wins (St. John's in 1999 and UCLA in 1999) as well as a run to the NIT Final Four in 2001. Greer coached both Titan head coach Bacari Alexander and assistant coach Jermaine Jackson while on the staff of legendary head coach Perry Watson. WSU assistant coach E.J. Haralson played for Greer and coach Watson and was a teammate of coach Alexander and Jackson from 1996-98 at Detroit Mercy. He was named the team's top newcomer in 1997 and served as a team co-captain during the 1997-98 season.
- The game marks the third-straight time that these two programs met in the preseason. Wayne State won last year's game, 85-79, while the Titans earned a 73-65 victory on Nov. 19, 2002.
- During the regular season, the Titans own a 33-13 career record against their Motor City counterparts with the last official match-up on Nov. 20, 2000, a 98-73 win.
- The Titans had five new players earn minutes in the game.
