YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (1/29/2021) -- Senior Matt Johnson connected on two free throws with under 11 seconds to play, graduate senior Bul Kuol nailed a late go-ahead 3-pointer and junior Antoine Davis led the offense with a game-high 25 points as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team defeated Youngstown State, 78-75, on the road on Friday night.

The Titans (5-8, 4-5 HL) led in the first half by as many as nine, but Youngstown State (8-9, 4-9 HL) came back to take as much as a five-point lead in the second half. 

With under a minute to go, Kuol - who struggled in the game with some early fouls and turnovers - knocked down a triple to put the Titans ahead 76-73. After YSU scored, Johnson was fouled and he stepped to the line with 10.8 seconds to go and sank both free throws to push the lead to three again and the defense did not allow the Penguins to get a good look to tie the game as time expired.

Davis was 10-of-23 from the field with five 3-pointers and also ran the offense with seven assists, while recording three steals. Davis also passed Willie Green '03 to move into fourth place in school history with 1,785 points.  Johnson finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers to go with three assists. Senior Dwayne Rose Jr. was in double digits in scoring for the third-straight game with 12 points, hitting 6-of-7 shots, and redshirt freshman Noah Waterman netted 10 points and grabbed four rebounds. 

The Titans scored the first six points of the game - all by Rose Jr. - and would eventually open a nine-point lead, 44-35, late in the first half. Davis scored 11 in the first 20 minutes and the Titans used seven Youngstown State turnovers to produce 15 points.

In the second half, the Titans led by five, but the Penguins came back and took a five-point lead themselves on a few occasions, the latest at 60-55 with 11:05 to go.

Detroit Mercy would knot it at 60-60 on a Davis jumper and Johnson 3-pointer with 9:22 on the clock and the two teams would trade leads for almost the next nine minutes when Kuol came up with a triple with 48 seconds remaining to give the red, white and blue that 76-73 lead. 

The Titans shot 55.2% for the game (32-of-58) and were 10-of-24 (41.7%) from three. 

Junior Chris Brandon came off the bench to tally a team-high five rebounds in just 10 minutes of action, while Kuol ended with nine points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal. 

The red, white and blue will look for the weekend sweep tomorrow as the two teams will tip it off again at 5:00 p.m. 

First Half:

• Rose Jr. scored the Titans' first six points, the last two off a steal by Davis
• Waterman nailed a couple of 3-pointers early on as the Titans led 14-13 with 12:17 to go
• Rose Jr.'s layup gave the team a 16-15 lead and then Johnson had back-to-back baskets to give the red, white and blue a 20-15 advantage halfway through the period
• The Penguins tied it up, but junior Willy Isiani ended that spurt with a layup off a great pass from Kuol with 8:36 to go
• The Titans stayed ahead but would open a seven-point lead, 39-31, with 4:42 left as Davis nailed a 3-pointer and Fraser got inside for a score and a foul, hitting the free throw for the three-point play
• The lead would extend to nine, 44-35, with 1:12 left as graduate senior Marquell Fraser and Davis had back-to-back baskets, the second off a YSU turnover 
• Youngstown State was able to hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to make it a 44-41 lead at the break
• The Titans turned seven YSU turnovers into 15 points at the half

Second Half:

• Waterman started the half with a layup, but YSU scored nine-straight to jump out ahead, 50-46, at the 15:30 mark
• Davis ended that spurt with a triple, but the Titans could get closer than three points in the next five minutes
• The Titans trailed 60-55 when Davis hit a jumper and the next time down the floor, Johnson knocked down a trifecta to tie it at 60-60 with 9:22 remaining
• The teams traded the leas and it was tied on a few occasions in the next eight minutes when Kuol gave the Titans the lead for good,76-73, with his first 3-pointer of the game with 48 seconds left
• After YSU earned a layup with 11 seconds left, the Titans called timeout and inbounded the ball to Johnson, who calmly stepped to the line to hit a pair from the charity stripe
• The Penguins had one last chance at a tie, but their last heave of a three was short

Game Notes:

• Detroit Mercy ended a three-game slide to Youngstown State and now leads the all-time series 39-12, including 16-7 all-time at the Beeghly Center
• The Titans connected on double-digit 3-pointers for the fifth-straight game and sixth time this season
• The four free throws and five attempts were both season-lows for the Titans, who came into the game ninth in the nation and tops in the Horizon League at 79.4%
• Detroit Mercy shot over 50.0% for the fourth time this season, all in the last six games
• The Titans turned it over just eight times, one-off their season-best seven at Notre Dame earlier in the year
• Davis reached at least 20 points for the fifth-straight game and the 51st time in his career (73 games)
• Davis also hit at least five triples for the fifth-straight game
• With his 25 points, Davis now has 1,785 points, passing for fourth place in school history and is now 200 points behind Dave DeBusschere for third place (1,985)
• He also moved into 30th place all-time in scoring in Horizon League history
• Rose Jr. was in double figures in scoring for the third-straight game and is averaging 14.3 points on 64.2% shooting from the field (18-of-28)
• Johnson was in double digits for the seventh time this season and the first time in four games