CLEVELAND (2/13/2021) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team cut a 14-point second-half deficit down to just three, but could not get any closer as the Titans dropped a 71-64 decision at Cleveland State on Saturday night. 

The loss ended Detroit Mercy's six-game winning streak, the longest by the Titans since 2004. 

Junior Antoine Davis led the way with a game-high 23 points and also collected four rebounds, four assists and two steals. The game marked the 10th-straight with 20 points or more for Davis, the first Titan to accomplish that feat since Willie Green '03 in 2003.

Graduate senior Bul Kuol had 14 points, five rebounds and two assists and junior Chris Brandon tallied a season-high 12 points to go with seven boards.

Detroit Mercy (9-9, 8-6 HL) again came out red hot opening a 15-1 lead just a little more than five minutes into the game, but Cleveland State (15-6, 15-3 HL) was able to withstand and take a lead towards the end of the half. Davis was able to send the Titans into the break with a 33-31 lead as he knocked down one of his three 3-pointers with under 30 seconds left.

In the second half, CSU was able to raise the lead to as many as 14, 62-48, with under seven minutes to go when the red, white and blue went on a 16-5 spurt to cut it down to three. 

Davis had a couple of baskets and sophomore Noah Waterman buried a couple of 3-pointers in that run and an offensive rebound and putback by Brandon had the team down by just three, 67-64, with 1:20 left.

The Titans could not come up with the offense and stops they needed in the final minute, however, to get any closer. 

Waterman tallied seven points and seven rebounds, while senior Matt Johnson recorded six points and five boards.

The Titans shot 38.3% in the game and were just 7-of-27 from 3-point range, but did connect on 11-of-14 at the free throw line. 

The Titans will come home to end the regular season as Detroit Mercy welcomes Horizon League-newcomer Robert Morris next week, Feb. 19-20, with Friday's game tipping at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday at 5:00 p.m. from Calihan Hall.

First Half:

• Davis started the game with five-straight points on a jumper and a 3-pointer
• Johnson then hit two free throws for a 7-0 lead just three minutes and the Titans would take a 10-0 advantage as Davis drilled another triple at the 16:44 mark
• The lead extended to 15-1 as Brandon had a layup and a free throw with 14:51 on the clock
• CSU started to chip away but Kuol nailed a 3-pointer for a 21-8 lead midway through the period
• The Vikings answered with a 7-0 run, which Brandon snapping that run with a basket inside off a pass from Davis
• The Titans saw the lead slip two just two, but Davis hit a basket at the 4:15 mark and Kuol went inside for a layup at 3:29 for a 29-25 lead
• Cleveland State grabbed the lead late for a few moments, but Davis knocked down another triple for a 33-31 lead with 30 seconds remaining and that's how the half ended

Second Half:

• The teams were scoreless through the first two minutes of action in the second stanza
• The Vikings jumped ahead by two, but Kuol found Brandon for a dunk to knot it at 39-all with 15:35 left
• CSU then ran off seven-straight points for a 46-39 lead and ran that to 10 points, 53-43, with 11:21 left
• The Titans were down by 11, 56-45, when Johnson hit a jumper with 8:47 on the clock
• Detroit Mercy then found itself down by 14, 62-48, with 6:41 left, but would go on a 16-5 run to make it a one-possession game
• Kuol and junior Dwayne Rose Jr. connected on a pair of free throws and a three by Waterman had the team down by just seven, 52-55, with 4:48 on the clock
• After a CSU bucket, Davis had back-to-back baskets to close it to 63-59 with 3:26 remaining
• The deficit went to eight points, but a 3-pointer from Waterman and then a layup off an offensive rebound from Brandon had the team down by just three, 67-64, with 1:21 left, but the Titans couldn't get the game equalizer down the stretch

Game Notes:

• The Titans still lead the overall series, 45-27, and are now 14-20 on the road
• Davis has now scored 23 or more points in 10-straight games with four 30-point performances in that time
• The last Titan to score 20 or more in 10-straught games was Willie Green in 2003
• Davis now has 56 career 20-point games, 19 career 30-point outings and three 40-point contests in just 78 collegiate games and has also scored in double figures in all 78 games - reaching at least 17 points in 63 of them
• Davis now has 1,923 career points and is 62 shy of Dave DeBusschere '62 for third place in school history, while his 1,900 points is also 19th in Horizon League history
• Kuol has now posted double digits in scoring 15 times with four 20-point outings
• Brandon is averaging 8.5 points in his last four games after tallying 2.6 in his first nine
• It was the 10th time in Brandon's career that he was in double-digit scoring and was also the first time he cracked double digits in 21 games dating back to last season when he recorded 12 at Wright State