Despite career-high efforts from juniors Woody Payne (Inkster, MI/Ypsilanti) and Thomas Kennedy (Detroit, MI/Southeastern), the Detroit Titans men’s basketball team suffered a 80-78 setback against visiting Youngstown State in Horizon League action on New Year’s Day at Calihan Hall.
Detroit (3-8, 0-3 HL) had three players in double figures led by Payne’s game-high 24 points along with 19 from Kennedy. Junior Nemanja Jokic (Sombor, Serbia/Mechanical) also chipped in with 10 points.
The Titans trailed by six with just under a minute to go in the game when Kennedy completed a three-point play to pull UDM within three, 76-73, with 31 seconds left. After two missed YSU (4-8, 1-2 HL) free-throws, Payne drove the lane to get Detroit even closer, but his lay up rimmed out with the Penguins controlling the rebound. YSU followed with a pair of free throws, but UDM still was in the contest as Kennedy came right down and connected on triple which pulled the Titans back within a basket, 78-76, with only nine seconds left. However, the Titans were unable to steal the inbounds pass and were forced to foul Sulskis who once again hit both free-throws to seal the game.
For the game, Detroit shot 56 percent (28-for-50) from the floor, but was unable to hold its 14-point first half lead as YSU caught fire in the second half shooting a blistering 65 percent to overcome the deficit. The Titans ended the game on a 12-5 run, but it was not enough as the Penguins were able to hold on for the two-point win.
"We built a lead and then we got comfortable. I thought Youngstown State did a great job to battle back in the ball game and their ability to make shots was the difference,“ said Head Coach Ray McCallum. “Their players made some high-level shots and, when they missed, they got the rebounds. They forced us to play at their pace. They were aggressive."
Youngstown State was led by junior DeAndre Mays who tallied 19 points followed by 17 points from junior Kelvin Bright.
Detroit opened the game on a 10-2 run over the first six minutes of play. A 3-pointer and lay-up from Eulis Stephens (Detroit, MI/Southeastern) extended the Titans’ lead to 23-9 forcing a YSU timeout at the 8:21 mark.
Out of the timeout, the Youngstown offense awoke outscoring Detroit 23-14 over the next seven minutes capped off with a 9-0 run to cut the UDM lead to two, 37-35, with 1:11 remaining in the half. Back-to-back lay-ups from junior Jason Bennett (Jacksonville, FL/Arlington Country Day) and senior Tryl Hartfield (Wyoming, MI/Rogers) gave Detroit a 41-35 heading into halftime.
Youngstown State outscored Detroit 9-4 to begin the second half, cutting the Titans’ lead to one point, 45-44, with 16:55 remaining. Jack Liles followed with a jumper over Bennett to give the Penguins their first lead of the game at 46-45.
On UDM’s next possession, Payne hit a desperation trey as the shot clock expired to regain the lead, 48-46. However, YSU continued its hot shooting outscoring the Titans 13-6 to take a 59-53 lead heading into the second media timeout. Both teams exchanged baskets over the next six minutes with YSU maintaining a five-point lead, 68-63, with 4:50 remaining in the game.
The Titans return to Calihan Hall for a Horizon League match-up with Cleveland State on Saturday, Jan. 3. The game will be televised on SportsTime Ohio with the tip-off set for 4:07 p.m.
