DETROIT (2/21/2017) -- Senior
Chris Jenkins posted a game and season-high 25 points and senior
Jarod Williams nearly recorded a triple-double as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team raced past Cleveland State, 91-83, on Senior Day on Tuesday night.
Prior to the game, the Titans recognized their senior class in Jenkins, Williams,
Patrick Robinson Jr., and
Matthew Grant.Â
Jenkins was 6-of-12 from the field, 4-of-5 from three and 9-of-11 at the free line along with adding seven rebounds. Williams recorded 10 rebounds, eight points and a career-high eight assists.
Junior
Jaleel Hogan tallied 24 points, tied his career high with a game-best 12 rebounds, blocked three shots and handed out two assists, while sophomore
Josh McFolley netted 17 points and had a team-high three steals.Â
The Titans (7-21, 5-11 HL) got off to a slow start as Cleveland State (8-21, 4-13 HL) scored the game's first eight points. The Vikings then led by nine at 11-2 and 14-5 when Detroit Mercy saw its seniors get them back in the game.
Jenkins started a run with back-to-back triples to make it 14-11 at the 14:08 mark. After a CSU bucket, Jenkins hit another trey and off a turnover, he got inside for a layup and the game was tied at 16-all with 12:30 remaining in the half.Â
Detroit Mercy took its first lead at 17-16 as Hogan split a pair at the line and the game was eventually tied on two more occasions, the latest at 25-25 with 6:25 left in the half.
That is when the red, white and blue jumped out to a double-digit advantage. First, Detroit Mercy went on a 10-1 run to take a 35-26 lead. Hogan started that spurt with three-straight baskets, the last as Williams came up with two blocks on the defensive side. Hogan then scored again after a CSU free throw and sophomore
Gerald Blackshear Jr. brought the crowd to its feet soaring up high for a dunk and the 35-26 lead with 3:13 left in the half.Â
With less than a minute to go, McFolley buried a 3pointer and the Titans had their biggest lead, 42-30, before heading into the break up by 10, 42-32.Â
The Titans had a 12-point lead early in the second half, but CSU was able to trim that to six, 48-42. Detroit Mercy stopped any chance of a Vikings' comeback as McFolley had a layup and freshman
Corey Allen nailed a trip to extend the lead back to 11, 53-42, at the 15:22 mark.
CSU once again pulled within six, 55-49, but the red, white and blue exploded for a 13-2 run to put the game out of reach. Jenkins connected on his fourth try of the game to start the spurt and two free throws from Blackshear Jr., had the Titans up by 17, 68-51, midway through the second. A layup from Blackshear Jr., later gave the Titans their biggest lead, 71-53, with 8:25 left on the clock.
Detroit Mercy continued to lead by double digits until a quick run by the Vikings cut the score to just six, 77-71, with 3:15 left, but a couple of steals from McFolley and the Titans quickly put the CSU charge to rest.
The Titans shot a season-high 59.1-percent (29-of-49), including 65.0-percent (13-of-20) in the second half. Detroit Mercy was also 8-of-16 from deep and 25-of-33 (75.8%) at the free throw line.
The defense held the Vikings to 42.9-percent shooting and outrebounded Cleveland State, 40-28.Â
The Titans will now get on the road to end the regular season as Detroit Mercy visits Milwaukee on Friday and Green Bay on Sunday.Â
Detroit Mercy is still playing for seeding in the upcoming Little Caesars Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship, but the Titans do know that they will play on the opening day of #MotorCityMadness on March 3, either at 5:30 or 8 p.m.Â
Tickets to Motor City Madness are on sale at
motorcitymadness.horizonleague.org. Fans, use access code UDM for Single Session tickets and TITANS for All-Session tickets to sit in the Titan section.
Game Notes:
Detroit Mercy leads the overall series, 41-23, and is 26-4 all-time at home against the Vikings… The Titans reached 90 points for the fifth time this year… Detroit Mercy shot at least 50.0 percent for the fifth time this season and it was also the highest shooting game since the Titans posted 68.2-percent at Youngstown State in 2015… The 25 free throws were a season high and the most since hitting for 25 at NKU last season… It was the 10th 20-point game of Jenkins' career and third this season… Jenkins had just 11 total points in his last two games he played and his career high is 26 against UCG last season… Jenkins came into the game ninth in school history in three-point field goal percentage at 39.3-percent (94-of-239)… Jenkins saw his streak of 38-straight free throws come to an end today as he was perfect at the line in 2017 with his last miss coming on Dec. 31 against Wright State, where he missed his last free throw in a 5-of-6 performance… McFolley now has 54 steals on the season, just three away from moving into 10th place in the single-season record book… McFolley was in double digits for the 33rd time in his career… Hogan now has seven double-doubles in his career and five this season… Williams' career high in assists was six at Oakland in 2015 and his career high in boards is 11 against Milwaukee this year… The last Titan triple-double was by Terry Tyler, who had 20 points, 23 rebounds and 12 blocks against Eastern Michigan in 1977…Â
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