KENT, Ohio (12/9/2021) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team saw Kent State go on a second-half run and could not recover as the Titans dropped a 69-52 road game to the Golden Flashes on Thursday evening. 

The contest was the last one of a season-opening nine-game road stand,  the second-longest streak away from the Motor City, as the Titans will now return home for seven in a row.

Senior Antoine Davis led the team with 19 points and seven assists to go with six rebounds. Senior Willy Isiani netted a season-best 11 points and junior Madut Akec tallied nine points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals.

Detroit Mercy (2-7) had an early 9-5 lead as Isiani connected on a pair from distance and Davis also added a 3-pointer. A triple from Davis would knot the score at 12-12, but Kent State (5-3) went on a 7-0 run to jump out in front for good.

A basket and then two free throws from Akec had the team within one late in the first half, 19-18, but the Golden Flashes took a 28-22 lead at the break. In the second half, Kent State started with a 6-0 run and would later go on an 18-4 spurt to open as much as a 20-point advantage.

Graduate senior DJ Harvey scored a season-high eight points with five rebounds and senior Matt Johnson added five points off the bench. 

Detroit Mercy will be back in action on Saturday as the red, white and blue open a seven-game homestand with in-state rival Western Michigan. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. inside historic Calihan Hall. 

First Half:

• Isiani started the game with a three and then hit another for a 6-2 lead
• Davis connected on a triple for a 9-5 lead at the 16:50 mark
• Davis nailed another 3-pointer to knot it at 12-12 with 13:15 left 
• Kent State scored seven in a row for a 19-12 advantage with 9:30 remaining
• The Titans ended a five-minute scoring drought as Davis made two free throws
• Madut got inside for a score to make it 19-16 and then connected on two free throws for a 19-18 game with 6:44 remaining
• Harvey hit a jumper to get the team within three, 23-20, with 1:49 left
• Two free throws from Davis had the score at 28-22 at the break

Second Half:

• Kent State was on a 6-0 run until a three by Akec cut it to 34-27 with 15:55 left
• Isiani followed with a layup inside for a 34-29 score
• Harvey drained a triple to get the deficit into single digits again at 39-32 and the next possession, he got inside for a bucket and a free throw and his three-point play had the team trailing by just seven, 42-35, with 11:32 to go
• After an 8-0 Kent State run, Akec was able to get loose inside for a layup to make it 50-37 with under eight minutes remaining
• A jumper from Johnson had the Titans down 53-39 with 6:23 on the clock
• Davis was able to find Isiani cutting to a basket for an easy layup and a 62-44 score with 3:38 left

Game Notes:

• Kent State leads the all-time series, 6-2, and is 3-0 at home in the match-up
• The game was the last leg of a season-opening nine-game road stand,  the second-longest streak away from the Motor City since the end of the 2000-01 campaign when the Titans played 10-straight with two road games to end the season, three neutral site games in the conference tournament, and then five games in the NIT as they made a run to the semifinals
• The Titans came into the game 41st in the nation in free throw percentage at 76.7% and were 10-of-12 in the game
• Davis was in double figures for the 91st consecutive game and is now tied with former Arizona State standout Ike Diogu (2002-05) for the seventh-longest in NCAA history and just six behind Oregon State's Tres Trinkle (2016-20) for sixth
• Davis came into the contest third in DI in free throw percentage at 96.6% (28-of-29) and was 6-for-6 in the contest  28-of-29.
• Davis now has 2,239 career points and is now just 80 in back of Rashad Phillips for the all-time school mark
• The 11 points by Isiani was the most since he scored 15 against Kent State last season 
• Isiani has connected on the three ball on 74 of his 1095 career field goals
• Akec had scored in double figures in the first eight games of the season