The Titans committed four turnovers, including one on the final possession, and failed to get a shot off after building their 69-63 lead.
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Davis, the nation’s third-leading scorer with a 25.0 average, scored 24 points, but he had just five in the second half on 1 of 11 shooting and finished 9 of 24 overall.
“What a great job he did on Davis,” Wright State coach Scott Nagy said of Hall on his post-game radio show. “Like I told him, if (Davis) scores 30, make him take 30 shots. He scored 24, but we made him work.
“Jaylon was fantastic, carrying that entire load defensively and hitting that big shot. We didn’t play very well. Let’s face it. We were kind of stuck in mud.”
Loudon Love had 23 points, going 9 of 24 from the field and 5 of 9 on free throws, and had a career-high 20 rebounds, while Hall added 11 points.
The Raiders (14-3, 4-0) shot 36.2 percent against a zone defense applied by the Titans (3-13, 1-3).
Final Score from Detroit:
— Wright State MBB (@WSU_MBB) January 5, 2020
Wright State 70, Detroit Mercy 69
Jaylon Hall's three from the corner with 16 seconds left and a defensive stand at the end as the Raiders close the afternoon on a 7-0 run over the final 2:19 today.#RaiderUP | #GetRowdy pic.twitter.com/vpeprFEGRy
“We haven’t practiced against a zone hardly at all,” Nagy said. “We were trying to put stuff in yesterday, and our guys weren’t running any of it correctly. And I can’t blame them. It’s my fault.”
Leading by two with 31 seconds left, the Titans threw away the in-bounds pass under the Raiders’ basket. And Nagy went for the win.
“I tried to try to draw something up for Bill (Wampler) in the corner. We were going to go for it, but we didn’t run it well at all,” he said. “There was a breakdown. And that’s when Cole made a play. I can’t remember what happened, but I just remember watching Jaylon step into it, and it went in.”
The Titans couldn’t get a clean look at their end, and Tanner Holden stole a pass as time ran out.
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“We’ve been in some tussles. Sometimes we didn’t win them, and sometimes we have. But they don’t quit,” Nagy said of his players.
“They believe in each other. And that’s as good a locker room as I’ve seen in a while. They’re really happy.”
RARE MISS: Gentry had a streak of 26 consecutive free throws come to an end with a first-half miss. He made 46 in a row last season, one short of Jesse Deister's school record set from 2000-02.
The senior point guard went into the game shooting 96.3 percent (26 of 27) after hitting 90.2 last season.
Friday’s game
Wright State at IUPUI, 7 p.m., ESPN3, 106.5
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