SOUTH BEND, Ind. (12/6/2020) -- Graduate senior Bul Kuol scored a career-high 18 points, leading five Titans in double figures, but a late run by Notre Dame was the difference as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team dropped a 78-70 contest at Purcell Pavilion on Sunday night.

The game was scheduled just a few days ago off a tweet sent out by Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey.

Kuol was 7-of-17 from the field and 3-of-6 from behind the arc and also had six rebounds and a steal. Senior Matt Johnson posted 15 points and five boards, while graduate senior Marquell Fraser netted 12 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Junior guard Antoine Davis finished with 14 points and hit two 3-pointers to move into a tie for second place in school history with 235 career triples, while also accounting for three assists and a steal. Junior Willy Isiani had a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Titans (0-2) trailed by five, 62-57, with 7:53 left when they scored six-straight points to take the lead. The Titan defense forced Notre Dame (1-1) to miss seven-straight shots with a turnover as Davis and Johnson hit a pair of free throws and then a jumper by Davis with 5:53 left gave the Titans a 63-62 lead.

Notre Dame then went on as 12-0 run in the next five minutes to take control.

Detroit Mercy turned it over just seven times and was just edged on the boards, 42-39. 

The Titans will now head home to play their third game in five days when they welcome Kent State to Calihan Hall on Tuesday with the opening tip set for 7:00 p.m. 

First Half:

• Kuol started the scoring with a three and then netted a layup with a foul and his three-point play put the team ahead, 6-2
• Fraser gave the Titans an 8-6 lead with a jumper and the Titans also led 11-8 as Kuol hit a three at the 15:29 mark
• A layup and a foul with the free throw by Fraser knotted it at 21-21 with 7:57 mark and a bucket with a foul and making the free throw by Johnson put the Titans in front by one, 24-23, with just under seven minutes remaining
• An 11-2 run by Notre Dame had the red, white and blue down 34-26 until Johnson ended that run with a 3-pointer
• Off some strong defense, Dwayne Rose Jr. was able to corral the rebound and drive the floor for a layup and it was 37-31 at the break

Second Half:

• Off a defensive rebound, Johnson got inside for the first score in the second half
• The Titans then went on a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to 42-39 with 15:57 left 
• Isiani fought for an offensive rebound and the ball eventually found Davis, who buried a triple and the Titans were down just 51-46 with 13:13 remaining
• Notre Dame went ahead by eight points again, but a free throw by Fraser and a three by Johnson cut that in half, 56-52, with 10:31 on the clock
• A 3-pointer by Kuol and a jumper by Davis had the team chasing just one again, 58-57, with 9:01 to go
• Trailing 62-57, the Titans scored six-straight to jump ahead as Davis and Johnson made a pair of free throws and then a jumper by Davis with 5:53 left put them up by one, 63-62
• The Fighting Irish then went on a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to earn the win

Game Notes:

• This was the 55th career meeting between the two old Catholic rivals, which started in 1912, as Notre Dame now leads the all-time series, 43-12, including 21-4 at home
• The Titans last win in the series was an 83-59 tally at home in 1993
• Davis passed former teammate Josh McFolley and is now tied with Desmond Ferguson '00 for second in school history with 235 career triples
• Davis now has 1,551 career points, 13th in school history and 27 behind Bill Ebben '57 for 12th place on the scoring list
• Kuol's previous high in points was 17 against Missouri S&T in 2017 as a member of Cal Baptist
• Isiani's career-high in rebounds is 11 against Milwaukee last season
• Johnson has now scored 35 points in two games after scoring just 37 in 22 games at St. Bonaventure last year