OXFORD, Miss. (11/14/2023) -- Senior Jayden Stone scored a team-high 22 points and graduate senior Edoardo Del Cadia and sophomore Marcus Tankersley both netted career highs as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team was upended, 70-69, on Tuesday night at Ole Miss.

In a game that featured nine ties and 14 lead changes, Detroit Mercy (0-3) saw Ole Miss (3-0) storm out to a 10-0 lead to start the game but came back to take the lead on several occasions and had one final chance for the win. 

With 25 seconds left, the Titans got the ball back down by one and were looking to set up a game-winning play, but Tankersley's drive to the rim just went wide as time expired.

Tankersley finished with a career-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting with a team and career-high five assists and four rebounds. Del Cadia had a career-best 16 points - all in the second half - and added a team-high and career-tying 10 rebounds for his first career double-double to go with three assists, while junior Trenton Johnson scored eight points and had three boards and two assists.

Stone's 22 points - his seventh career 20-point game - came on 8-of-21 shooting with three triples. 

The Titans shot 48.1% from the field, outrebounded Ole Miss, 33-28, attempted and made more free throws (13-of-18 compared to 5-of-6) and had a 26-20 points in the paint advantage in the contest. 

Neither team had more than a five-point lead in the second half. Del Cadia gave the red, white and blue a 42-40 lead with a bucket five minutes into the stanza and later on, a three by Stone had the Titans up 47-44 with 14:34 remaining. 

Johnson would also put UDM in front, 49-47, with a basket at the 12:27 mark, but the Rebels would come back and take a five-point advantage twice, the latest at 64-59 with 5:39 to go. 

Detroit Mercy would score six in a row to surge ahead as Del Cadia had two-straight baskets and a layup from Stone had the squad up 65-64 with less than three minutes left. Johnson would again come up with another big basket, a three, for a 68-67 lead with two minutes on the clock and a free throw by Stone had Detroit Mercy leading again, 69-68, with 33 seconds remaining. 

Senior Kyle LeGreair ended with five rebounds and three assists and junior Mak Manciel and freshman Abdullah Olajuwon each added two points. 

The game started with the Rebels going on a 10-0 run in the first five minutes before Olajuwon ended that with a jumper and Tankersley had back-to-back baskets. 

Detroit Mercy inched closer to the lead with eight straight points as Tankersley had another pair of baskets and Stone hit two in a row to get within one, 15-14, with 8:30 remaining.  

Tankersley stayed hot as he connected on his first three of the season, followed by another basket, giving the Titans their first lead of the year, 21-20, at the 6:19 mark, and UDM also had a brief lead at 24-23 off a jumper by Stone. Johnson would end the scoring in the first half with his first career DI basket, a three, and it was a 34-31 margin at the break. 

The Titans will finish their four-game season-opening road trip at Ohio on Saturday, with game time set for 2:00 p.m. 

Game Notes:

• This was the first career meeting between the two schools
• Detroit Mercy is now just 2-14 all-time against current members of the SEC, with a 34-26 win at home against Kentucky in 1938 and an 86-62 triumph at home over Mississippi State in 1968
• The Titans made just 14 total free throws coming into the game before going 13-of-18 tonight
• Stone has now played in 16 career games with the Titans and has seven 20-point games
• Del Cadia's precious career high in points was 13 at Cincinnati last game and the 13 he had at Wyoming as a member of UNLV in 2021
• Del Cadia also had 10 rebounds at Southeastern Louisiana last year as a member of Nicholls State
• Tankersley's previous career-high in points was 14 at Youngstown State in last year's Horizon League Championship Quarterfinals 
• Both Johnson and Manciel recorded their first career DI points

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