MILWAUKEE (1/25/2024) -- Graduate senior
Emmanuel Kuac drained seven 3-pointers - including a half-court heave at the buzzer to end the first half - en route to a career-high 27 points, but the shorthanded Titans ran out of gas in the second half as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team dropped an 87-71 contest at Milwaukee on Thursday night.
Kuac was 9-of-19 overall and 7-of-13 from behind the arc to go with a season-high eight rebounds, three steals and a block. Senior
Jayden Stone recorded his second double-double of the year with 15 points and a career-high 10 assists, along with six boards and two steals, and sophomore
Marcus Tankersley had eight points, six rebounds and two steals.
The Titans (0-21, 0-10 HL) trailed Milwaukee (10-10, 5-4 HL) by 14, 45-31, with under a minute to go in the first half, when UDM went on a 15-0 charge to take the lead. It started with a steal by freshman
Michael Oaks that led to a layup from Stone and after another Panthers' turnover, Kuac got the ball with the clock about to hit zero and threw in a shot from halfcourt that banked it as the Titans were behind 45-36 at the break.
Kuac began the second half with another triple to trim it to six and Tankersley got inside for a bucket and it was 45-41. A steal from Kuac set up a trey from junior
Mak Manciel and another steal from Tankersley followed that, leading to Oaks cleaning the glass for an offensive rebound and putback and the Titans jumped ahead 46-45 at the 18:11 mark. After a Milwaukee basket, Kuac buried another three and it was a 49-47 lead with 17:31 to go.
The Panthers would regain the lead, but two free throws from Tankersley had the squad down 53-51 with 15:02 remaining. Milwaukee would stay in front with the Titans cutting the deficit to one possession on a few occasions, the latest at 60-57 with 12:12 on the clock, but then the home team went on a 20-5 run over the next seven minutes to take control of the contest.
Junior
Jamail Pink posted seven points and Manciel added six. Redshirt freshman
Abdullah Olajuwon registered four points, three rebounds and two steals and Oaks netted four points with two caroms and a steal.
The Titans shot 38.6% (27-of-70) with 10, 3-pointers and hit all seven of their free throws, while forcing 16 turnovers and coming away with a season-tying 12 steals.
It was a slow start as Milwaukee scored the first six points and took a 14-5 lead less than four minutes into the game. Oaks and Stone had early buckets and 3-pointers by Kuac and Manciel got the Titans within three, 18-15, at the 12:54 mark.
Detroit Mercy would cut the margin to two, 23-21, a couple of minutes later off back-to-back baskets from Olajuwon. Milwaukee got the lead back to eight, but Kuac hit two free throws and nailed another from distance to make it a 29-26 contest with 8:05 left. The Panthers went on a 16-5 spurt to open a 14-point advantage, 45-31, when the red, white and blue surged in front.
The Titans will be back in action on Saturday as they visit Green Bay in a game that will tip at 1:00 p.m. (EST).
Game Notes:
- The Titans now trail the all-time series, 33-29 and 18-12 on the road
- The Titans ended a streak of 21-straight games without hitting double-digit 3-pointers that dated back to last season
- Detroit Mercy is averaging 77.5 points in its last four games after tallying just 60.1 in its first 17 games
- Detroit Mercy has forced double-digit turnovers in 12 of its' 21 games on the season and has also garnered at least 10 steals in five games on the year
- UDM also had 12 steals against Ball State
- The Titans' defense forced Robert Morris into 20 and Youngstown State into 13 in their last game. UDM also had 33 turnovers the week before as Green Bay had 15 and Milwaukee committed 18. They also recorded 11 steals against the Panthers.
- Earlier this year, they had 10 steals and forced Loyola Marymount into 17 turnovers and forced Ball State into a season-high 21 turnovers with a season-best 12 steals.
- Detroit Mercy also posted 11 steals and six blocks against Oakland.
- The Titans are sixth in the HL in steals at 6.7 per game.
- The last Titan to make seven 3-pointers in a game was Antoine Davis last year at Oakland, while the last Titan to have 10 assists was Davis at IUPUI in 2021
- The last Titan to record a triple-double was Terry Tyler back on Dec. 27, 1977, when he had 20 points, 23 rebounds and 12 blocks against Eastern Michigan in a 109-71 win
- Kuac had scored just 14 total points and was 3-of-22 from three entering the game
- Kuac's career best was 11 points against Norfolk State as a member of New Mexico in 2021
- Kuac tied a career-high in steals with the three he had against Wyoming in 2021
- Stone's career high in assists was six against Oakland earlier this season
- Stone's other double-double was his 36-point, 10-rebound night at Robert Morris
- Stone has played in 28 career games with the Titans and has netted 20 or more 12 times, been in double figures 21 times, and has grabbed five or more rebounds on 19 occasions, including 12 of the 15 games he has seen action in this year, and has recorded three double-doubles
- Pink had eight points against Youngstown State last game and his career-high is 11 at Central Michigan earlier in the year
- Oaks had not scored since netting a basket at NC State
- Senior Kyle LeGreair has a steal in eight straight games and 14 on the season
