YPSILANTI, Mich. (11/24/2018) -- The Titan starting backcourt combined for 44 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists and one last run by red, white and blue was enough to get the job done as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team downed Eastern Michigan on the road, 78-74, on Saturday.
 
Freshman Antoine Davis tallied 24 points and a season-high seven rebounds and seven assists, while senior Josh McFolley posted a season-best 20 points with six boards and six helpers. Both also made six 3-pointers in the contest. 
 
Junior Cole Long added a season-high 13 points off the bench, including a late jumper as the buzzer expired to give the Titans a five-point advantage with 30 seconds to go.
 
Detroit Mercy (3-3) won its third-straight game as the Titans connected on 15-of-30 from three, while holding Eastern Michigan (4-3) to 6-of-27 from behind the arc.
 
The Titans trailed by 10 early on, but used a run to get back in the game and had a 34-33 halftime lead as Davis beat the buzzer going into the break. Detroit Mercy trailed, 62-61, with six minutes left when it when on a 10-0 spurt over the next four minutes to take the lead for good.
 
Graduate senior Derrien King had four points, five rebounds and three assists. Graduate senior Jacob Holland added six points and freshman Chris Brandon registered five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
 
Detroit Mercy finished the game shooting 41.9 percent with a season-high 19 assists. The Titans also protected the ball committing a season-low seven turnovers
 
The red, white and blue will be back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 28, as they host Kent State at Calihan Hall at 7:00 p.m. 
 
First Half:

• McFolley started the game with a 3-pointer
• EMU surged ahead and took an 18-10 lead at the 11:16 mark
• McFolley and Davis got the Titans back going with back-to-back triples
• After an EMU basket, Davis hit a jumper and McFolley drained a three to knot it at 21-21 with 7:01 left
• Eastern Michigan had a 33-28 lead with 21:12 left when they held the Eagles scoreless the rest of the way 
• Free throws by Holland and Brandon pulled the Titans within two, 33-31, and then great defense by Detroit Mercy at the end of the half led to a fast-break opportunity and Davis connected on a 3-pointer as time expired to give the red, white and blue a 34-33 lead

 
Second Half:

• The Titans were red-hot out of halftime, with Davis and McFolley each draining a triple in the first minute of the half to push the lead to seven, 40-33
• A three-point play by EMU cut Detroit Mercy's lead to two points, 42-40, with 17:10 to go, but McFolley answered seconds later with another 3-pointer
• Two minutes later, Long, who finished with 11 second-half points, hit back-to-back jumpers as the Titans' lead grew to 51-45
• Consecutive triples by Davis kept EMU at bay as the midpoint of the second half approached, but the Eagles were able to take their first lead of the second half, 60-59, with 8:03 left to play
• The teams traded baskets for several minutes, but a layup by senior Gerald Blackshear Jr. with just over five minutes remaining gave the Titans a lead they would never relinquish
• A McFolley 3-pointer with just over two minutes left gave Detroit Mercy its biggest lead of the half at nine points, and a pair of free throws by Davis all but sealed the victory

Game Notes:

• Detroit Mercy leads the all-time series, 59-18, including 29-14 on the road
• The 59 wins against Eastern Michigan is the most in Titan history over any opponent
• The 77 meetings between the two schools marks the fourth most against any foe in Titan history trailing only Loyola Chicago (121), Xavier (94) and Marquette (88)
• EMU head coach Rob Murphy was an assistant coach at Syracuse for seven years, three of which saw Eric Devendorf star for the Orange
• The game marked the third on the year and the seventh on the schedule for the Titans against the Mid-American Conference, four of which are against the MAC East Division
• The Titans have now hit 47, 3-pointers in the last three games
• Detroit Mercy won three-games just one in the last two years, last season with wins over Houston Baptist, at Saint Louis and against Siena Heights
• Detroit Mercy hit over 7-.0 percent at the free throw line for the second-straight game
• It was McFolley's 12th career 20-point game
• McFolley is now 28th in school history with 1,145 points, passing Michael Jackson for that spot
• McFolley now has 12 career games with five or more assists and nine career contests with five or more rebounds
• Davis has now scored 20 points or more in six-straight games, the longest streak since Paris Bass did it in six straight in 2015-16.
• Long's career high is 16 points at Cleveland State last season

Davis with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Mcfolley tallied 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and 13 big points by Long in this Titan VICTORY over rival Eastern Michigan. 3 in a row for Detroit Mercy #DetroitsCollegeTeam #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/baxfWcQFNx

— Detroit Mercy MBB (@DetroitMBB) November 24, 2018

 

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