The University of Detroit Titans' NCAA bid hopes came to an abrupt halt as they fell to the Wright St. Raiders 56-54 Saturday night in the semifinal round of the Horizon League Tournament.
Miles Dixon sealed Detroit's fate with a buzzer beating jump shot that sent the Raiders into the championship game.
The game featured a slow, grinding style of play that has been the Titans' weakness all season. Saturday night's outcome was no different. The pace favored Wright St. and subdued Detroit's main weapon, it's athleticism.
Detroit was led by Jason Calliste, who led all scorers with 17 points. Evan Bruinsma had 15 points and 4 boards. The big story for the Titans was the lack of production from their two biggest scorers, Ray McCallum and Nick Minnerath, who combined for 13 points on 3 for 16 shooting.
Along with the game winning shot, Dixon led the Raiders with 14 points while Jerran Young added 12. While it wasn't great offensive night for the Raiders, who also turned the ball over 17 times, it was all that their defense needed.
The Raiders absolutely shut down McCallum, who was just named Horizon League Player of the Year. With only five points and no assists, he offered little to the Titans' offense. Unfortunately for Detroit, their second offensive option in Minnerath didn't answer the call either.
The other semifinal game featured a buzzer beating shot by senior Ryan Broekhoff to win the game by #1 seeded Valparaiso over #4 seeded Wisconsin-Green Bay, 70-69.
The championship game will be played on Tuesday with the #3 Wright St. Raiders playing at the #1 seed Valparaiso Crusaders.
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