The men’s basketball team has lost its fair share of close basketball games at home over the last three years.
Most of these games have come in non-conference play. A bad call vs. Bowling Green last year is the freshest in the minds of Titan fans.
Close losses to Toledo and a triple overtime thriller against Stony Brook also come up when non-conference play is mentioned.
But on Sunday playing Northeastern (6-1), the Titans righted the ship.
Northeastern came into Detroit after a win over Miami in Coral Gables on Thanksgiving.
The Huskies were led by the sharpshooting David Walker. The six-foot-six senior was averaging 23 points per game and was ranked 68th on NBA draft express.com.
Walker started the game 6-6 from the three-point mark and finished the game with 29 points.
Zack Stahl had 17 points for the Huskies.
It was Detroit who forced 24 turnovers and made Northeastern play outside its comfort zone.
The Titians were led by Josh McFolley, who had 20 points.
The freshman was a smooth operator leading the offense with deep threes.
But it was another freshman, Gerald Blackshear, McFolley’s high school teammate, who stole the show with 14 points and five rebounds.
It was how the freshman forward did things that stood out.
Blackshear scored at will in the paint using different post moves to will his way past defenders.
The Titans came into the game after their worst loss in the 108 years of Detroit basketball. They had been beaten down 102-52 by Vanderbilt.
When asked about the defeat, Blackshear said, “The loss really hurt us. (But) that loss is not us. It is not the team we are.”
The Titans are now on a seven-game home win streak.
