HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (3/2/2021) -- Graduate senior Bul Kuol led the way with 20 points and the Titans had the lead late Tuesday evening, but NKU was able to crash the glass and come up with a last-second buzzer-beater as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team fell, 70-69, on the road in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League men's basketball championship.

The Titans (12-10) trailed 64-63 with 5:31 left when they scored six-straight points to go up by four, 69-64, with 3:45 remaining. The Norse (14-10) started to chip away, but the Titans held a 69-68 lead with 20 seconds left. NKU had one final shot to take the lead and missed four shots, but the Norse were able to corral three offensive rebounds and then had a put-back as the buzzer went off for the win. 

Titan junior guard Antoine Davis tallied 16 points and a team-high five assists, while sophomore Noah Waterman posted 19 points and five rebounds. Kuol added three assists and two steals and junior Chris Brandon recorded six points and five boards. 

In a game that featured 21 lead changes and seven ties, the Titans got off to a 5-0 lead, but NKU came back to take a five-point lead of its own, 21-16, before heading into the break up by three, 40-37.

In the second half, a pair of 3-pointers by Waterman had the Titans up 43-40 early on, but back came the Norse to jump ahead, 47-45. NKU would take a 57-53 lead midway through the period, but the Titans answered with eight-straight points on triples by Kuol and Davis and a lay-up from Davis with 7:37 remaining to surge in front, 61-57.

NKU again regained the lead at 64-63 with 5:31 on the clock, but baskets by Waterman, senior Matt Johnson and Kuol had the red, white and blue ahead, 69-64, with 3:45 on the clock, but they did not score the rest of the way.

Johnson and graduate senior Matt Fraser each finished with four points apiece. 

The Titans shot 51.0% (25-of-49) from the field with 13 triples, but lost the battle of the boards, 35-22, including 14-3 on the offensive glass. 

The Titans end the year with a 12-10 record, their first winning season since 2015-16, while the 10 conference wins were the most since the 2012-13 campaign. 

First Half:

• Waterman started the game with a 3-pointer and Brandon added a dunk for a 5-0 lead
• Later on, a basket by Waterman had the Titans up 7-2
• NKU came back to knot it at 7-7, but a jumper by Kuol made it 12-9 at the 14:40 mark and a layup by Brandon had the team up 14-11 with 13:36 left
• NKU took the lead at 16-14, when Kuol's two free throws tied it up
• The Norse then went up by five, 21-16, with 10:58 remaining
• Davis put the Titans back on top, 24-22, with a 3-pointer at the 8:17 mark
• Triples by Kuol and Waterman also gave the Titans the lead back at 27-25 and 30-28 with 6:54 left
• Both teams then traded the lead for the next five minutes
• NKU led 38-34 when Kuol knocked down another trifecta with just over a minute to go, but the Titans trailed at the break, 40-37

Second Half:

• Both teams turned it over a few times to start the second half, but Waterman was able to connect on back-to-back 3-pointers for a 43-40 lead just a couple of minutes in
• NKU reclaimed the lead at 47-45, but Kuol knotted it with a jumper at 14:26
• NKU led 57-53 with 9:17 left when Kuol hit a three, Davis got inside for two and then drained a three for a 61-57 lead with 7:37 remaining
• A basket by Johnson had the team up 63-59 with 6:51 on the scoreboard, but the Norse would answer to take a 64-63 lead with 5:31 left
• A basket by Waterman and Johnson and then a NKU turnover led to a Kuol bucket and a 69-64 Titan lead with 3:45 on the clock
• The Titans missed their next four shots as NKU chipped away, but they were still up, 69-68, with 20 seconds remaining as the Titans killed some time in-bounding the ball
• Detroit Mercy then missed a free throw with 13 seconds left and NKU came down the court and had four chances at a score, missing all four shots, but coming away with four offensive rebounds until a put-back went in as the buzzer sounded

Game Notes:

• NKU leads the all-time series, 10-2, including 6-1 at BB&T Arena 
• NKU also ended the Titans season in 2018-19 getting a home win
• Detroit Mercy is now 5-11 all-time in tournament road games and has dropped three in a row when playing a conference tournament game on the road with the last win by the Titans in a road conference postseason game in 2012 when they beat Valparaiso to win the title
• The Titans tallied at least 50.0% shooting from the field in eight of the last 11 contests
• The Titans connected on double-digit 3-pointers in 11 of their last 14 games and 12 times this season and all 12 times have been in the last 16 games
• Davis ended the season hitting a school-record 51-straight free throws, the longest current streak in the country
• Davis had recorded 13-straight games with at least 23 points and has now scored in double figures in all 82 of his collegiate games
• Davis now has 346 career assists moving past Roy Simms into 10th in school history in that category
• Davis is now ninth all-time in scoring in Horizon League history at 2,040 career points as he passed Loyola's Keith Gailes (2,026) and Mark Acres of Oral Roberts (2,038) 
• Kuol has posted double digits in scoring 19 times with four 20-point outings on the season
• Waterman scored in double figures in eight of his 15 games on the year