Northern Kentucky, on fifth tip attempt, stuns Detroit Mercy at buzzer

There's been very little that's been dull about Detroit Mercy's basketball season, with all the starts and stops, with all the early losses and all the late wins. And nothing changed on that thrill-meter front Tuesday night, but the excitement is over. The season is over.

Northern Kentucky missed four layup attempts in the final seconds before David Bohm tipped in the fifth try as time expired to stun Detroit Mercy, 70-69, in a Horizon League tournament semifinal at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky.

"We played well enough to win, but they did a great job of just being right there the whole time," Detroit Mercy coach Mike Davis said.

"We've just gotta build on this."

Detroit Mercy (12-10) led for nearly the last five minutes, by as much as five at multiple points, and seemed in position to advance to Monday's semifinal against Oakland in Indianapolis.

But with a one-point lead and 14.9 seconds left, Noah Waterman missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Northern Kentucky made the Titans pay. 

After officials confirmed Bohm's shot beat the final buzzer, Northern Kentucky's players and coaches celebrated, as Waterman sat with his head in his hands, being comforted by teammates.

If it wasn't for Waterman, Detroit Mercy wouldn't have been in that position. When Antoine Davis couldn't find a shot early, Waterman did and finished with 19 points on five 3-pointers. Bul Kuol led with 20, while Davis found a little groove in the second half and finished with 16 points and five assists.

Davis, who scored 46 in the opening win over Robert Morris, didn't have a point in Tuesday's game until there was 8:14 let in the first half — his latest tough game against Northern Kentucky's matchup zone.

BOX SCORE: Northern Kentucky 70, Detroit Mercy 69

"He just wasn't aggressive, and the opportunity for other guys was there," Mike Davis said. "We knew that would be available for us. The second half, he was a little more aggressive.

"I don't mind him not being aggressive in the first half."

Davis did make back-to-back 3's in the second half to kick things up a bit, and had a look to seal it in the final minute but missed. He wanted a foul, but didn't get it.

Marques Warrick led Northern Kentucky (14-10) with 20 points, and was big down the stretch. Bryson Langdon added 17 points.

Adrian Nelson scored nine for Northern Kentucky, none bigger than a driving layup with 21.8 seconds left to make it a one-point game. But the Norse had a problem — they had four fouls to give before the Titans could go to the line. They wasted 3 seconds committing the first, 3 more on the second, and then no time on the third, before fouling Waterman.

Waterman, a rare 6-foot-11 wingman, doesn't get to the line much, and his attempt was too strong.

Subscribers:Detroit Mercy's Mike Davis blasts Horizon League seeding formula

"I just told all the guys to remember this feeling, remember when you're working all season, preparing for next year, remember this," Mike Davis said. "Don't forget this, because if you forget this then you won't give the effort you need to give on days you don't feel like it."

The teams never met during the regular season, but came into this one seeded fifth (Detroit Mercy) and fourth (Northern Kentucky), and that seemed just about right. 

Northern Kentucky entered having won eight of 10 and Detroit Mercy 11 of 13. Then, in this game, there were seven ties and 21 lead changes, and no team led by more than five at any point.

Never a dull moment. For once, Detroit Mercy could've used one.

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Horizon League men's tournament

THURSDAY, FEB. 25

►No. 5 Detroit Mercy 83, No. 12 Robert Morris 73

►No. 6 Youngstown State 74, No. 11 UIC 58

►No. 8 Milwaukee 84, No. 9 IUPUI 72

►No. 10 Purdue Fort Wayne 89, at No. 7 Green Bay 84 (2OT)

TUESDAY

►No. 4 Northern Kentucky 70, No. 5 Detroit Mercy 69

►No. 3 Oakland 87, No. 6 Youngstown State 83 (OT)

►No. 1 Cleveland State 108, No. 10 Purdue Fort Wayne 104 (3OT)

►No. 8 Milwaukee 94, No. 2 Wright State 92 (OT)

MONDAY

At Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis

►No. 1 Cleveland State (17-7) vs. No. 8 Milwaukee (10-11), 6:30

►No. 3 Oakland (11-17) vs. No. 4 Northern Kentucky (14-10), 9:30 (ESPN2)

TUESDAY, MARCH 9

►Championship, 7 (ESPN or ESPN2)

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984