DETROIT (11/21/2023) -- Senior Jayden Stone poured in a career-high 34 points and sophomore Marcus Tankersley tallied 17, but a late comeback attempt by the Titans fell short as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team dropped a 76-72 decision to Eastern Michigan on Tuesday.

It was the Titans' home opener, and before the game,  Detroit Council Member Angela Calloway presented the prestigious Spirit of Detroit Award to men's basketball assistant coach Jerica Williams, given by the Detroit City Council to a person, event, or organization deemed to have performed an outstanding achievement or service to the citizens of Detroit.

Eastern Michigan (3-2) led by as many as 17 in the first half and by double digits with four minutes to go before the Titans (0-5) got the deficit to within two.

Tankersley started it with a free throw and Stone followed with a jumper to make it 70-62 with 3:14 left. After senior Kyle LeGreair drew a charge, Stone drilled a three and the red, white and blue were down by just five, 70-65, with 2:22 remaining. EMU then missed a shot and Stone corralled the rebound and came down the court, eventually pulling the trigger on another three and the team trailed by just two, 70-68, with 1:49 left.

Stone then hit two free throws to up his point total to 34 and it was a 72-70 game with under a minute to go, but the Eagles scored a basket and a turnover ended the comeback bid.

Stone made 12 of his 15 shots and 4-of-7 from three to go with a season-high four assists, a team-high and career-tying three steals and a team-best six rebounds. Tankersley was 6-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 at the line with three assists, three rebounds and a steal.

Eastern Michigan raced out to a 10-2 lead in the first four minutes until back-to-back baskets by graduate senior Donovann Toatley and Tankersley. Later on, a triple by Stone had the team within four, 17-13, with 12:45 on the clock.

EMU went on a 13-0 run to lengthen the lead when Johnson ended that with a layup. Detroit Mercy countered with nine in a row to cut the deficit to eight, 34-26. Tankersley started it by getting inside for a layup and then Stone had a steal and a slam before hitting a jumper. The spurt continued as graduate senior Edoardo Del Cadia got inside for a score, and he was fouled, hitting the free throw for the three-point play, and it was 34-26 with over a minute to go before the red, white, and blue went into the break down 36-28. 

In the second half, the Titans made it a seven-point game at 41-34 at the 18:07 mark as Stone made 2-of-3 from the line. It was also a seven-point deficit at 43-36 as redshirt freshman Abdullah Olajuwon nailed a jumper and 45-38 as junior Trenton Johnson sank a shot with 16:01 remaining.

It was a seven-point game on three other occasions, the latest at 52-45 with 13:31 to go as Del Cadia got inside for a layup, but Eastern Michigan extended its lead again to 13, 64-51, with 8:40 on the clock, and led by 10 with under four to play.

Del Cadia ended with five points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Johnson had six points and sophomore Tyree Davis scored the first four points of his Division I career. 

The Titans shot 56.0% (28-of-50) and 12-of-14 at the line, while only turning it over a season-low nine times. 

Detroit Mercy will return to action on Saturday as the Titans head to Southern Illinois Edwardsville, with game time set for 2:00 p.m. 

Game Notes:

• The game was the 80th career meeting between the two schools, located just about 35 miles apart
• Detroit Mercy still leads the all-time series, 59-21, including 31-8 at home
• The 59 wins are the most ever over any opponent in school history, while the 80 total games are the fourth most against any foe, following Loyola - 125, Xavier - 95 and Marquette - 88
• Detroit Mercy is now 184-128 all-time against current members of the MAC
• The Titans are now 294-174 (.629) all-time against other schools from the state of Michigan, including 274-100 versus programs outside of the two Big Ten institutions
• It was the second time this season the Titans shot over 50.0% as they also did so at Toledo
• The last time the Titans shot at least 56.0% was last season when they went for 58.3% in the win at Oakland
• The 12 free throws were the second most on the season behind the 13-of-18 effort at Ole Miss
• The nine turnovers were the lowest since committing eight at home against Wright State last year
• Stone has posted 20 or more points three times this season and eight times in 18 career games with the Titans
• His previous career-high was 25 at Cincinnati
• The 12 field goals were the most since Antoine Davis was 14-of-27 from the field against Purdue Fort Wayne in last year's HL Championship opening round, which was also the last time a Titan netted 30 as Davis had 38
• Stone also had three steals against Benedictine as a freshman at Grand Canyon
• Tankersley has now scored in double figures in five of the last seven games dating back to last season
• Tankersley's career-high was 19 at Ole Miss 

Read Full Article