Detroit's suffocating man-to-man defense, led by guard Woody Payne, set the tone, and 6-foot-9, 255-pound sophomore forward Eli Holman, a transfer from Indiana University, scored 20 points to go along with 14 rebounds to lift Detroit over University at Albany, 66-54, tonight in the second round of the 2K Sports Classic, benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer, at SEFCU Arena.

Detroit forced 20 Albany turnovers and scored 27 points off the Albany miscues. Xavier Keeling, another Indiana transfer, scored 21 points for the 3-1 Titans, who also connected on 25 of 32 shots from the line.

Albany, which got within six points early in the second half after falling behind by as many as 15 in the first half. Detroit used a 15-0 run to open up the game.

The Great Danes were led by Tim Ambrose with 12 points. Point guard Michael Johnson added nine points, three assists and two steals while playing 31 minutes against pressure defense. Head coach Will Brown kept his other point guards, freshmen Mike Black and Derrek Tartt, out of the game until late in the second half because they were late for team practice and he wanted to send them a message.

The Danes take on Robert Morris today at 5, while Alcorn State meets Detroit at 2:30.