ATHENS, Ohio (11/30/2019) -- Sophomore Antoine Davis poured in a game-high 33 points and the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team cut a 25-point first-half deficit down to just one in the second half, but couldn't pull off the comeback as the Titans fell, 91-81, at Ohio on Saturday afternoon. 

Detroit Mercy (1-5) trailed Ohio (5-3) by 25 on a couple of occasions, the latest at 48-23 with 4:31 left in the first when the Titans started chipping away. They scored the last seven points in the first half and then worked the deficit to under double digits and to eventually one, 77-76, with 4:10 remaining when Davis drilled a 3-pointer.

Along with his game-high 33 points - his 11th career 30-point game - Davis also tied his career-high with eight assists and recorded four rebounds. Sophomore Willy Isiani hit five 3-pointers and ended with 15 points and senior Justin Miller added 12 along with five boards.

The Titans shot 47.4 percent overall, including 51.7 percent in the second half, and also sank 12 from behind the arc and 15-of-20 at the line.

Sophomore Boe Nguidjol had seven points and five rebounds and graduate senior Brad Calipari had two 3-pointers for six total points. 

Detroit Mercy will be back in action on Tuesday as the red, white and blue stay in Ohio for a battle at Kent State in a 7 p.m. tip. 

First Period:

• Brandon scored off a nice pass from Miller to tie it at 2-2, but Ohio then went on a 9-0 run
• Calipari ended that with a 3-pointer, but the Bobcats scored 14 in a row to open a 25-5 advantage just five minutes in
• Nguidjol had a layup and a free throw and that was followed by a triple from Isiani off a great pass by Davis made it 38-21 at the 8:38 mark
• Back-to-back buckets by Davis and Miller had the deficit at 48-27 with 2:04 left
• The Titans then ended the half on a 7-0 spurt that started with a free throw from Miller, saw Isiani nail his third triple of the half and then Davis knocked in a jumper for a 50-34 score at the break

Second Period:

• Davis increased the end of the first-half run to 9-0 with a bucket to make the deficit 14 and it was later 14 again, 58-44, with 15:34 to go as Miller got inside for a basket
• After a score by Ohio made it 60-44, Davis set up Isiani for a three and a driving layup and foul for the old-fashioned three-point play had the team down by just 10, 60-50, with 12:51 left
• The Titans pushed it under 10 as Nguidjol sank a trifecta and sophomore Alonde LeGrand hit two free throws to make it 68-59, at the 9:54 mark
• A triple by Isiani would later cut it to eight, 72-64, with 8:53 remaining
• The Titan comeback would go on as a free throw by junior Dwayne Rose Jr., was followed by back-to-back triples by Davis and the red, white and blue were down by just two, 73-71, with 6:10 left
• Davis then got the Titans even closer by drilling a 3-pointer with 4:10 on the clock to get the squad within one, 77-76
• Ohio would then go on a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to end the comeback attempt

Game Notes:

• This was just the fifth career meeting between the two schools as Ohio leads the all-time match-up, 4-1
• The Titans are now 59-of-74 at the free-throw line in the last three games
• The 12 triples are the second-most on the season behind the 15 against UC Irvine 
• Davis now has now scored in double figures in all 36 career games - reaching at least 17 points in 35 of them - with 28, 20-point games and 11, 30-point contests
• Davis now has 935 career points as he continues to chase down the great Dave DeBusschere for the fastest Titan in school history to reach 1,000
• Davis also had eight assists in last year's conference tournament game at NKU
• Miller now has 44 career games in double figures and 932 career points
• Isiani's career-high in points is 20 at IUPUI last season, where he also sank a career-best six triples 
• It was the third game this season that Calipari has had at least two 3-pointers
• It was the sixth career game that Nguidjol has grabbed at least five rebounds