Detroit Mercy is now 1-6 on the young season. The Titans dropped both contests this weekend to Horizon preseason champions Wright State.
In the first game, the Titans kept up until late in the first half when Mike Davis was called for a technical foul and then Wright State went on to outscore Detroit Mercy 63-40 the rest of the game. Wright State went into the half on a 17-9 run and came out of the half swinging and but enough distance between them and the Titans that they were able to rest Love for the last eight mins of the game.
Trey Calvin and Tanner Holden each had 19 points, Grant Basile added 18 and Loudon Love had 14. For the Titans, Marquell Fraser lead the Titans with 19, Antoine Davis added 15 but an anemic 1-7 from behind the arc. Bul Kuol had 12 points and Matt Johnson added 10 points. Titan fans who watched the entire broadcast got to see Jamail Pink make his first appearance as a Titan, as well as a few mins for Joey Liedel.
The second game went better for Detroit Mercy. The Titans kept up with Wright State for most of the game before a series of missed opportunities down the stretch for Detroit doomed them and a pair of Titan technical fouls made the final box score look like Wright State won handily when in fact it was a great game for most of the second half.
Love had 26 points and 13 rebounds repeatedly punishing the Titans in the paint. Basile had 21 points, Holden and Jaylon Hall each had 15 points. For Detroit, Kuol led the team with 21 points (4-8) from behind the arc. Johnson had 20 points, and Davis and Fraser each had 10 points for Detroit.
The big story for Detroit was Davis continuing to shoot poorly from three-point land, only making one three-pointer all weekend. The supporting cast has found ways to score, but if the Titans are going to compete, Davis needs to be more effective. In the second half of Sunday’s contest, he used his ability to drive and kick the ball out to teammates and it was effective in opening space for a handful of Titan scorers.
Buay Koka made his Titan debut and looked better than advertised. He can run the floor and be an effective defender for Detroit. He scored nine points in extended minutes Saturday.
Noah Waterman, recently becoming eligible due to the NCAA’s decision to grant transfer waivers, was not able to play this weekend due to COVID return to play protocols.
Despite the 1-6 start, this team has shown on more than one occasion they can compete at a high level. They also play for each other Kuol and Fraser were vocal to their teammates down the stretch on Sunday cheering them on from the bench.
The Titans will not play IUPUI this weekend as the Jaguars are in a COVID shutdown. When and if Detroit Mercy schedules games I will be right on top of it. Despite the 1-6 record, I am still able to find silver linings. Hopefully, the Titans get on a winning streak soon.