DETROIT (11/28/2018) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team rallied out of a 9-0 hole to start the contest and a 12-point deficit in the first half, but Kent State used a 14-2 run in the game's final 1:22 to edge the Titans, 76-72, Wednesday night at historic Calihan Hall. 

Detroit Mercy, trailing for nearly all of the first half and most of the second half, rallied behind freshman Antoine Davis' team-high 30 points, as the Titans (3-4) took a 68-60 lead with 3:18 remaining in the contest.

But the Golden Flashes (6-1) hung around and scored the game's final 11 points to hand the Titans a crushing defeat. Senior Akiean Frederick scored a game-high 36 points to lead the visitors.

Three players finished in double figures in scoring for Detroit Mercy, as graduate student Derrien King (13 points) and freshman Chris Brandon (12 points) joined the sharp-shooting Davis.

Both Brandon and King finished with six rebounds, and King converted half of the Titans 3-pointers.

Senior Josh McFolley's four steals led a defense that totaled 11 on the night. The Titan defense also held Kent State to 28.1 percent shooting in the second half. 

Junior Lamar Hamrick grabbed a game and season-high nine rebounds for Detroit Mercy.

The Titans will look to get back in the win column Saturday as they hit the road to face Mid-American Conference foe Akron at 5 p.m. The game will be be broadcasted on ESPN 3 and can also be heard on 910 AM.

First Half:

• Kent State started the game on a 9-0 run until Davis ended that start with a 3-pointer
• The Titans trailed by 12 at one point, 14-2 and were behind by 10, 16-6, when senior Gerald Blackshear Jr., had an offensive rebound and putback and King hit two free throws
• Detroit Mercy would later pull within five, 20-15, with 10 minutes left as Brandon added a layup
• Kent State had a 26-20 lead at the 7:05 mark when Davis nailed a triple and a few minutes later, the Titans were down by three again, 28-25, after a tip-in by Brandon
• Brandon was on a personal 8-0 run that gave the Titans a 29-28 lead with 2:32 remaining and he would then tie the game at 31-31 on a jumper with 1:58 on the clock
• The Golden Flashes ended the half on a 8-1 spurt to take the lead

Second Half:

• Trailing 39-32 at halftime, the Titans used three consecutive baskets to tie it up, 39-39, just over two minutes into the half, on a pair of layups by Davis and Blackshear and a Davis triple
• Both teams traded baskets for the next several minutes, and Detroit Mercy was able to keep pace with Kent State thanks to a layup by graduate student Jacob Holland and 3-pointer by King
• The Titans' backcourt of Davis and McFolley powered a 7-0 run shortly after the midpoint of the half, with Davis sinking a jump shot and triple, while McFolley added a layup, cutting Kent State's lead to 56-55
• King drilled a contest shot from behind the arc with 6:14 left, giving Detroit Mercy its first lead of the second half at 60-58
• The triple by King kick-started an 11-2 run by the Titans, as their lead grew to 68-60 behind timely shooting and strong plays on the defensive end
• Despite watching its once-commanding advantage wash away, Kent State countered with an 14-2 run in the game's final 1:22 to retake the lead, 74-72
• King took a contested 3-pointer in the closing seconds that would have given the Titans the win, but it clanked off the rim and out of bound. After a lengthy review, the officials awarded the ball to Kent State, which made a pair of free throws following an intentional foul to seal the 76-72 victory

• Detroit Mercy and Kent State met just four times before today as the Golden Flashes lead the overall series, 3-2
• The game is the third of nine in a row against the Mid-American Conference
• The Titans came into the game ranked fourth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 45.9 percent
• Brandon had 15 points and nine rebounds at Temple
• Davis now has five 30-point games on the season and has scored in 20 or more in seven-straight games, the most since Willie Green scored 30 or more in five games and a streak of 20 or more in 10 straight in 2003
• King has now been in double figures in four games this season
• Hamrick's previous season high in rebounds was six against Loyola Maryland
• McFolley now has 162 career steals