Home Teams Hang On to Move to .500 in League Play

Horizon League Men’s Basketball Scoreboard (Jan. 25)
Detroit 67, Loyola 52
Wright State 69, UIC 63

Both racing out to big leads, home teams had to hold off visitors on Wednesday, as Detroit and Wright State each improved to .500 in Horizon League play with victories over Loyola and UIC, respectively.

Detroit 67, Loyola 52
Detroit battled through multiple scoring droughts, but used its size down low to hold off Loyola, 67-52, at Calihan Hall.

Detroit (11-11, 5-5 Horizon) had not been at the .500 mark overall since November, before an injury to Nick Minnerath and absence by several players held the Titans back. The victory was the fourth in the last six games for Detroit.

The Titans outrebounded Loyola (5-15, 0-10 Horizon), 36-24, with Eli Holman and LaMarcus Lowe leading the way; Holman snared 12 boards, adding 15 points to post his second double-double of the season. Lowe put forth a 14-point, 7-rebound effort; combined with Holman, the duo was 12-for-16 from the field.

Holman and Lowe were vital as Detroit raced out to a 21-5 lead in the first 6:43 of play, but Loyola would close the first half on an 11-4 run to come within 40-31 at the intermission. Down 10 for most of the second half, the  Ramblers would threaten late, with a tip from Jordan Hicks and John Benkoske layup drawing Loyola within 55-50 with 6:40 to play.

While Loyola was able to hold Detroit without a field goal for the final 6:09, the Titans were able to get to the free throw line to hold the Ramblers at bay. Meanwhile, the Detroit defense was busy holding Loyola without a field goal for the final 6:40.

Ray McCallum was just 2-of-10 from the field, but went 9-for-12 from the free throw line to record 13 points. Jason Calliste was the fourth Titan in double figures with 12.

Joe Crisman posted a career-best 16 points to lead all scorers, while Hicks and Ben Averkamp each finished with 13 points.

Wright State 69, UIC 63
Julius Mays enjoyed his return back from injury, posting the single-highest scoring total in the Horizon League this year as Wright State skated past a resilient UIC squad, 69-63.

Mays tallied a career-best 33 points for Wright State (10-12, 5-5 Horizon), going 5-for-9 from the floor and 19-for-20 at the charity stripe. The junior had precedent for his performance, returning from injury on Dec. 17 to record 28 points in an overtime win over Idaho. Mays helped ice the game at the free throw line after UIC (6-14, 2-8 Horizon) nearly came all the way back from an 18-point deficit.

Trailing at the half, 42-28, UIC dug in defensively, holding Wright State to just three field goals in the second half. The Raiders countered by going 18-for-20 from the free throw line over the final 20 minutes.

UIC first drew under a 10-point deficit with 15:30 to play on a jumper from Darrin Williams brought the Flames within 44-36. A three-point play by the big man closed the gap to 44-41, but UIC was never able to get beyond the one-possession deficit.

With 3:00 left, UIC finally had a chance at taking the lead after a missed Wright State jumper, butDaniel Barnes’ three from the corner was long, and Reggie Arceneaux came away with the rebound. The teams would trade jumpers and free throws, and after two Paris Carter freebies, the Flames trailed, 59-57, with 1:43 remaining.

Mays picked an opportune time for his only field goal of the second half, a three from the left wing that extended the Raider lead to 62-57 with 85 ticks left. Marc Brown countered with a jumper to bring UIC back within a possession, but Mays, Arceneaux and Armond Battle combined to go 7-of-8 at the line in the final minute to seal the result.

Johann Mpondo and Arceneaux supplemented Mays’ effort with 10 points apiece. Brown’s 17 points for UIC were a season high, while Gary Talton added 14 points and Williams 11.