STARKVILLE, Ms. (11/17/2021) --The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team had four players reach double figures, but a late Bulldogs run was too much to overcome as the Titans dropped a 77-64 decision at Mississippi State on Wednesday night. 

Mississippi State (3-0) came into the game receiving votes in the top 25.

Senior Antoine Davis tallied a team-high 16 points, while senior Prince Oduro posted 14 points and seven rebounds, hitting all seven shots from the field. Graduate senior Kevin McAdoo had 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and handed out a team-high four assists and junior Madut Akec scored 10 points with five boards. 

Detroit Mercy (0-3) was within striking distance early as Davis and Oduro had baskets and the Titans found themselves down by just three, 23-20, midway through the first. Mississippi State would go on an 11-2 run to open a double-digit lead at 34-22, but the Titans answered with an 11-1 run the rest of the first half and early in the second to trim that down to just five, 39-35, in the second. 

The Bulldogs pushed the lead back to 12, 48-36, in the second, but back came the Titans, getting within five on a few occasions and even cutting it down to four, 52-48, with 11:29 left off a basket by Oduro. Later, McAdoo would get all the way to the hoop for a score and the Titans trailed by just five, 58-53, with 8:50 left, but MSU took control with a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to open a 15-point margin. 

Graduate senior DJ Harvey finished with six points and five rebounds and senior Matt Johnson had five points and a team-high four assists. 

The Titans shot 43.6% in the game and were 9-of-22 (40.9%) from three. Detroit Mercy was just outrebounded, 28-27, but forced 12 turnovers and had a 15-7 edge on second-chance points. 

The red, white and blue will visit Louisville on Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. tip. 


First Half:

• Oduro got inside for the first Titan score
• Davis hit a jumper and a minute later nailed a three to get the team within four, 12-8, with 15:43 left
• Oduro got inside for a pair of scores to make it 14-10 and 16-12 at the 13:27 mark
• Off a steal by senior Willy Isiani, Akec buried a triple and it was 18-15 with 12 minutes left
• A pair of 3-pointers also had the team down by just three as Davis made it 20-17 at 10:54 and Johnson's trey had the team down 23-20 at the 9:19 mark
• Mississippi State would go on an 11-2 run to open a 34-22 lead with 5:34 remaining and increased it to 15, 38-23, with 3:42 on the clock
• The Titans then went on an 8-0 run as McAdoo had a bucket and was fouled, hitting the free throw, Harvey hit a three and Davis connected on a jumper to trim the deficit to seven, 38-31, and Detroit Mercy trailed at the break by eight, 39-31

Second Half:

• The Titans' run continued as Davis fired a triple and the team was down by just five, 39-35, a minute in
• MSU then went back up by double digits, 48-36, with 15:45 on the clock when Akec hit a triple and back-to-back baskets by McAdoo got the red, white and blue within five, 48-43, with 13:36 left
• A 3-pointer by Harvey had the Titans down by just five, 51-46, at the 12:43 mark and the Titans got even closer as Oduro got inside for a basket to make it 52-48, with 11:29 remaining
• McAdoo went to the rim for a layup and the Titans were down by just five, 58-53, with 8:50 on the clock, but the Bulldogs went on a 12-2 run to push the deficit to 15, 70-55, with 4:10 left

Game Notes:

• Mississippi State now leads the all-time series, 3-1
• Detroit Mercy is now 2-13 all-time against current members of the SEC, with wins over Kentucky (34-26 in 1938) and Mississippi State (86-62 in 1968)
• Davis currently has 2,083 career points, the most by any active player all at the DI level and just 247 shy of the school record
• Davis has now connected on a 3-pointer in 81 of his 85 collegiate games and also has 45 career games with four or more triples, 15 with six or more, eight games with seven or more, and has thrice connected on 10
• Oduro's career highs are 19 points against Niagara and 12 rebounds against Manhattan when he was at Siena in the 2017-18 season
• McAdoo was in double figures for the 24th time in his career