DETROIT (1/13/2024) -- Senior Jayden Stone posted 27 points and sophomore Marcus Tankersley just missed his career high with 22, but the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball dropped a hard-fought tussle to NKU, 81-76, on Saturday afternoon at Calihan Hall.

Stone was 8-of-19 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line with three assists, two rebounds and two steals. Tankersley was 6-of-12 shooting and 9-of-10 at the line, while junior Mak Manciel recorded a season-high 16 points on 5-of-8 attempts and grabbed four rebounds.

The game featured 10 ties and seven lead changes and was spirited with each team receiving technical fouls.

Detroit Mercy (0-18, 0-7 HL) trailed NKU (9-9, 4-3 HL) by 10, 49-39 with 14:52 left when the Titans started to make a comeback. 

Tankersley had a layup, and then Stone got to the basket and was fouled, hitting the free throw to cut the deficit in half quickly. After a Norse basket, graduate senior Edoardo Del Cadia and Stone had back-to-back baskets to pull the team within two, 51-49, with 12:01 left. 

Detroit Mercy took its first lead of the second half with 10:07 on the clock as Manciel knocked in a three for a 7-0 spurt and a 56-55 advantage. Manciel also gave the red, white and blue a 58-57 lead with two free throws with 9:22 remaining. 

The game was tied a few more times, with senior Emmanuel Kuac ringing in a trifecta for a 68-68 score with 6:06 left. Later on, Stone sank a triple from the corner and it was 76-76 at the 2:08 mark, but NKU scored the final five points of the contest. 

UDM shot 45.8% from the field with seven 3-pointers and was a season-best 25-of-26 (96.2%) at the free-throw line. The Titans also battled their way on the boards as they trialed at one point 17-5, but ended up making the margin just 30-26. 

Kuac had a team-high five rebounds and tied his career-best with three blocks and Del Cadia registered four points, four rebounds and a steal. 

The Titans were down 14-7 when they took the lead on the strength of a 15-6 run. Stone started it with a three. Manciel later added a basket to make it an 18-14 game. NKU led 20-14, but the Titans scored eight straight as Stone and Tankersley had baskets, and then Tankersley sank four free throws for the two-point advantage with 5:18 left. 

The game was then tied at 24-24 and 26-26, but the Norse ended the half on a 9-4 spurt and led 35-30 at the break.

The Titans will now hit the road for a mid-week battle at Robert Morris on Wednesday, Jan. 17, with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. 

Game Notes:

• NKU now leads the all-time series, 14-4, including a 6-2 mark in Calihan Hall
• Detroit Mercy has forced double-digit turnovers in nine of its' 18 games on the season
• The Titans have not hit double-digit 3-pointers this season, the longest streak since going 74 straight between the last five games of the 2009-10 season and the end of the 2011-12 campaign.
• The Titans have made double-digit free throws in nine of the last 10 games, going 141-of-186 (75.8%) in that span. 
• The 25 free throws were the most since hitting 28-of-31 at Milwaukee in a 90-84 victory in 2020, while the 26 free throw attempts tied a season-high with the 20-of-26 effort at Central Michigan.
• Stone has now scored at least 20 points in six of the 12 games he has played this year
• Stone has played in 25 career games with the Titans and has netted 20 or more 11 times, been in double figures 19 times, and has grabbed five or more rebounds on 16 occasions
• Tankersley's career-high is 23 points at Northwestern
• Kuac also had three blocks against Green Bay
• Manciel's season-high was five points in three games this year prior to today
• Manciel came into the game with just three triples on the season
• Graduate senior Oton Jankovic played for the first time since at SIU Edwardsville on Nov. 25

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