CLEVELAND (1/9/2020) -- Three Titans scored in double figures and the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team made several charges at the lead, but just couldn't get in front, dropping a 64-59 contest at Cleveland State on Thursday night. 

Sophomore Antoine Davis had 15 points and four assists, while senior Justin Miller led the way with 14 points and seven rebounds, Graduate senior Brad Calipari netted 11 points and sophomore Chris Brandon had six points and a game-high 16 boards. 

Detroit Mercy (3-14, 1-3 HL) trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half, but cut it to four on two occasions and had a number of chances late to get closer. The defense held Cleveland State (7-10, 3-1 HL) without a field goal in the last six minutes and the Vikings also missed three front end of one-and-one free throws in the last two minutes. 

CSU led 45-30 with 13:52 left when the Titans started chipping away, going on a 10-1 run in the next two minutes. Detroit Mercy was attacking the rim and Calipari ended the spurt with a triple to make it 46-40.

Back-to-back baskets by Miller would get it to four, 48-44, with 8:53 remaining. CSU would then go back up by 11, 58-47, when the Titan defense did not allow a Vikings field goal the rest of the way. Detroit Mercy saw Davis score the team's next nine points and once again, the Titans were down by four, 62-58, with 23 seconds, but could not get the comeback.

Sophomore Marquis Moore ended with five points and six rebounds. Sophomore Willy Isiani nailed two 3-pointers for six points and sophomore Alonde LeGrand posted two points, five boards and two blocks and

Detroit Mercy won the battle of the boards, 42-39, and forced 10 turnovers. 

The Titans will be back in action on Saturday as the red, white and blue head to Youngstown State with game time set for 2 p.m.

First Period:

• Cleveland State scored the first four points and had a 10-4 lead at the 14:34 mark
• The Titans were down 13-7 when Isiani hit a three and after a couple of defensive stands, Isiani came up with a block and the ball made its way to Moore, who drilled a triple and was fouled, making the free throw for a 14-13 lead at 12:24
• Another Isiani three had the Titans up 17-15 and a minute later, Calipari drilled one from the outside to give the red, white and blue its largest lead of 20-16 with 10:30 left
• The Vikings would get the lead back on an 18-4 run to go up by 10, 34-24, and a three by Calipari made the deficit eight at the half, 35-27

Second Period:

• Cleveland State got off to another quick start and led 45-30 at the 13:52 mark
• The Titans fought back with a 10-1 run as Brandon started it with an offensive rebound and putback and after a CSU free throw, Calipari hit a jumper, Miller had a three-point play and Calipari hit a three to get it to 46-40 with 11:07 left
• Miller went inside for two-straight baskets to pull the team within four, 48-44, with 8:53 remaining
• CSU ran its lead back to 11, 58-47, with 6:03 left, but the defense buckled down to force the Vikings into missing their last six shots and they also missed the front end of three-straight free throws in the last six minutes
• Davis scored five in a row on a basket and a 3-pointer
• After two Vikings' free throws, Davis had four-straight points on a basket and two free throws and it was 62-56 with 33 seconds left
• Brandon had another offensive rebound and tip-in and it was 62-58 with 23 seconds on the clock, but that was as close as it would get

Game Notes:

• The Titans still lead the all-time series, 44-25, but are 13-19 at the Wolstein Center
• Detroit Mercy won the rebounding total for the sixth time this year
• Davis has now scored in double figures in all 46 career games
• Davis moved past Doug Chappell and into 28th all-time in scoring with 1,172 points
• Brandon now has four-double-digit rebounding games and two contests where he reached nine in his last eight games
• Brandon's career-high in rebounds was 18 at Oakland 
• Calipari was back in double figures for the fifth time this season as he was back in action after missing the last four games with an undisclosed illness
• Miller has now reached double figures in scoring in four-straight games and six of the last eight