(MY SON'S BIRTHDAY-I LOVE YOU BERNARD-IO)
November 13, 2006
Box Score
Guard Brandon Cotton scored 24 points and center Ryvon Covile added his second career double-double as the Titans came from behind to defeat Maine, 57-50, in the first round of the CBE Classic in Milwaukee on Monday night.
"Tonight was a good, hard fought win," said Titans' head coach Perry Watson. "I thought it was a result of a couple of things, our veteran players came through in the second half and made veteran plays and decisions for us."
The win was the first in as many games for Detroit, while Maine fell to 0-2 on the young season.
Detroit trailed by nine points on three occasions in the second half - the last by a 39-30 count with 10:02 left to go - before mounting a decisive surge. The Titans scored 21 of the next 26 points to turn the deficit into a six-point advantage, 51-45, with 1:30 remaining in the contest. From there, UDM made four of six free throw tries and, also using a Cotton bucket, was able to salt the game away.
"Ryvon is a guy they have to factor in and how they are going to defend him - are they going to sag off of him or are they going to double him and how are they going to keep him off the boards," added Watson. "He gets guys like Brandon and Zach Everingham more looks."
Cotton led all scorers, topping the 20-point mark for the 34th time as a Titan. Playing his first regular-season game in two years after missing 2005-06 due to knee surgery, Covile joined Cotton in double figures. His 13 rebounds marked a career-high. Guard Brandon Bell, another comebacker who underwent Achilles tendon surgery a year ago, contributed nine points and an assist off the bench in his first action as a Titan.
Forward Phillipe Tchekane Bofia led Maine with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Detroit ended up shooting .426 from the field (20-for-47) for the game, but definitely stepped up its accuracy in the critical second half. The Titans shot at a .333 rate in the first 20 minutes, then .550 in the final stanza. Maine was held to just .321 (10-for-29) for the game.
"Our better shooting in the second half was a result of our better movement which led to better shots and got the zone moving and guys got better looks at the basket," added Watson.
The Black Bears outrebounded Detroit by two, 37-35, and committed three less turnovers (13) than the Titans.
Detroit will be back in action Tuesday night in the second round of the CBE Classic against Marquette, who defeated Idaho State in overtime, at 8:00 p.m
Posted By: B. Dwight Foster, B.A., MS-MANAGEMENT
Tuesday, November 14th 2006 at 4:06PM
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