DETROIT, Mich. --The Green Bay men's basketball team received a second half spark from Zae Blake but fell 76-59 to the Detroit Mercy Titans on the road Thursday night in their return to Horizon League play.
 
The Phoenix (2-12, 1-2 HL) were led by Blake, who tallied fourteen points, five rebounds, and five assists. Clarence Cummings III tacked on 13 points from the bench while Cade Meyer added nine points, six rebounds, and two steals.
 
The Titans (6-8, 2-1 HL) were led bu 24 points from Antoine Davis, and Gerald Liddell finished with a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Green Bay struck first, with Blake finding Meyer in the paint 15 seconds after tip-off. The first six Phoenix baskets were scored by different players, with Cummings, Nate Jenkins, Randy Tucker, Garren Davis, and Brock Heffner getting in on the action. After falling behind 28-16 with 5:42 to play in the first half, GB went on a 7-0 run to close the gap to five. Tucker scored five during the run, and Meyer hit a layup right after checking into the game. Despite that effort, UDM opened up an eleven-point lead at halftime, 37-26.
 

BIIGGG corner three from @rantuck11! He's got 5? straight!

GB 21, UDM 28 | 4:36 1H pic.twitter.com/IqFhDMpHIq

— Green Bay Basketball (@gbphoenixmbb) December 30, 2022

 
The Titans continued to open extend their lead after halftime, tacking another five points on in the first two minutes of the second half. Blake contributed eight of GB's first 10 points in the half, helping the Phoenix mount a rally that saw the gap close to a mere eight points. With 11:50 to play, GB found itself down 48-40. However, Detroit slowly built the lead back up, going up 15 with 9:54 to play and then 20 with 4:00 to play. The Phoenix scored the last five points of the game, with Zane Short and Ryan Wade providing late baskets. By that time, Detroit had built an advantage they wouldn't relinquish, taking the game by a final score of 76-59.
 
GAME NOTES
» Heffner tallied two blocks, best of all GB players.
» Seven different Phoenix players grabbed an offensive rebound.
» Blake was efficient from two, shooting 5-of-7 inside the arc.
» The Phoenix made the most of their free throws, shooting 10-of-12 (83 percent) from the line.
» 28 of Green Bay's 59 points came inside the paint.
» Meyer and Wade led GB with two steals each.
» The Titans outrebounded the Phoenix 43-28.
» Detroit finished with 12 turnovers to GB's 13, but the Titans turned those 13 turnovers into 25 points while the Phoenix could only get 11.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix will play their second straight Michigan game on Saturday, taking on Oakland in Rochester at noon. From there, they will travel to Purdue Fort Wayne on Jan. 5 and at Cleveland State on Jan. 7 to cap off a month-long road trip.
 
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