CLEVELAND (2/14/2018) -- Graduate senior Roschon Prince posted a season-high 22 points and sophomore Cole Long tallied a career-high 16 as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team fell on the road at Cleveland State, 75-72, on Wednesday night.

Prince was 8-of-12 from the field and 6-of-7 at the free throw line, while also grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. Long was 6-of-8 shooting with a couple of triples and had eight boards. 

Detroit Mercy (7-20, 3-11 HL) saw Cleveland State (8-20, 5-10 HL) start the game on a 16-2 run and the Vikings led by as many as 16 in the first half, 28-12, when the Titans started to claw their way back in the contest, eventually going on a 12-0 run. 

The Titans trailed by eight at the break, 40-32, but they got red hot to start the second half scoring 11-straight points to jump out in front, 43-40. 

The Vikings were able to stop that and open a seven-point lead, 64-57, with 7:17 remaining. Detroit Mercy made it a one-possession game a couple of times and trailed by just one, 64-63, with 4:44 remaining, but Cleveland State was able to hold off the comeback attempt.

Redshirt junior Kameron Chatman finished with 14 points, six rebounds and two assists. Freshman Jermaine Jackson Jr. registered 12 points, four rebounds and two assists and sophomore Corey Allen had a career-high six helpers. 

Detroit Mercy shot 43.8 percent from the floor with eight 3-pointers and had 15 assists against just nine turnovers, while the defense forced 14 turnovers on the night. 

The red, white and blue will return to action on Friday, Feb. 16, as the Titans visit Youngstown State. 

First Half:

• Cleveland State got off to a quick start with a 16-2 run right out of the gate, hitting four 3-pointers.
• Long ended that run with a layup and a triple, but the Vikings went on another spurt for a 28-12 lead at the 9:46 mark.
• Detroit responded with 12-straight points to cut the deficit to four, 28-24, with 5:19 on the scoreboard. 
• Prince started that charge with a layup and then he grabbed a defensive rebound and Jackson Jr. nailed one from the outside.
• Long and Prince had baskets and the final one in the spurt came from behind the arc as Chatman connected on a trey.
• The Titans inched even closer off another defensive stand as Prince slammed it down and it was a 29-26 game with 4:46 remaining.
• Detroit Mercy then trailed at the half, 40-32. 

Second Half:

• McFolley started the second half with a 3-pointer and then off a steal from Prince, Chatman got inside for a layup and the Titans were down by three, 40-37.
• Another steal, this time by McFolley, set up a dunk by Prince, who was fouled and his free throw tied the game at 40-40.
• After a steal by Long, McFolley found Jackson Jr. in the corner and he hit a three and the Titans led 43-40 with 17:28 left.
• Cleveland State got the lead back and led by as many as seven in the stanza, the latest at 64-57 with 7:14 remaining.
• Long then hit a trey and a free throw from Prince cut the deficit to three, 64-61, at the 6:08 mark.
• A little more than a minute and a half later, Prince was fouled and he hit two from the charity stripe and the Titans were down by just one, 64-63, with 4:44 left.
• The Vikings were able to hold off the Titans after that.

Game Notes:

• The Titans still lead the all-time series 41-24, but have dropped seven of their last eight at the Wolstein Center
• The nine turnovers were the fewest since Detroit mercy had a season-low seven against Toledo
• Prince's 20-point game made him the sixth Titan on the season to score 20 or more in a game
• It was just the third career 20-point game for Prince who had 21 at Cal State Fullerton and a career-high 25 at Cal Poly last season as a member of Long Beach State
• Prince is averaging 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and shooting 69.6 percent (16-of-23) against Cleveland State this season
• Allen had matched his career high with five assists against Cleveland State earlier this year
• Long's previous career high was 12 points against IUPUI
• Long posted at least five rebounds for the fourth-straight game and is averaging 7.0 per game during that span
• Jackson Jr. was in double figures for the 15th time this season and the first since netting 22 at IUPUI
• McFolley tallied two steals and now has 141 in his career, one shy of 10th place in school history currently occupied by assistant coach Jermaine Jackson '99

 

Prince and Long set new season highs as the Titans are edged here at Cleveland State #DetroitsCollegeTeam #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/DiEaAZdz1H

— Detroit Mercy MBB (@DetroitMBB) February 15, 2018