Complete game notes (.pdf)

HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
FIRST ROUND
Loyola (16-14, 7-11) at Detroit (16-15, 10-8)
Date:  Mar. 1, 2011 - 7:00 pm EST
Location: Detroit, Mich.
Arena:  Calihan Hall (8,295)
Live stats: detroittitans.com
Live video: horizonleague.tv
Series:  Loyola leads, 64-51
Last season: Detroit, 2-0
This season:  Detroit, 2-0
Series streak: Detroit- W4

ON TAP
Detroit will play host to a first round game of the Horizon League tournament for the first time since 2006.  The Titans are the No. 5 seed and will battle the eighth-seeded Loyola Ramblers.  The winner of Tuesday's opening-round action will advance to Milwaukee, Wis. to play the winer of the Valparaiso/Youngstown State matchup in the quarterfinals.

ABOUT LOYOLA
The Ramblers have the same 16 overall wins as Detroit, but were 7-11 in conference to finish eighth in the standings.  LU is led by recently-dubbed Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year Geoff McCammon, who pours-in 14.5 points per contest.  Loyola is the eighth seed in the postseason tournament for the fourth straight season.

LAST TIME OUT
Detroit used an 8-for-13 effort from the three-point line to grab a 77-67 win over host Wright State Friday night at the Ervin J. Nutter Center in the regular season finale.  
Uncharacteristic in the path to victory, UDM beat Wright State at its own game by outshooting the Raiders from the perimeter (62% to 27%), all without a single point from its leading scorer (Ray McCallum) until the final minute.  WSU came into the game as the league's top team defenders against the three-point shot (.320), but Chris Blake and crew used an efficient perimeter attack to earn the season sweep.
Blake hit 4-of-6 deep and had 15 first-half points to lead the Titans in the victory.  Eli Holman (19 pts, 11 rbs) and Nick Minnerath (13 pts, 11 rbs) each posted double-doubles.

TOURNEY TIDBITS
*Detroit is the No. 5 seed for the first time since 2006.  
*UDM is 4-0 at home in the Horizon League tournament since the new format was established in 2002-03.  
*The Titans are 28-29 all-time in the HL tournament.

AGAINST THE RAMBLERS
Detroit swept the regular season series and has now won four straight over Loyola.  In the first meeting on Jan. 6, Nick Minnerath's game-high 20 points and Eli Holman's 10-point, 14-rebound effort guided the Titans to an 81-71 victory in Chicago.  Nearly a month later, Chase Simon's season-best 28 points gave the Titans a nearly identical 83-71 victory at Calihan Hall on Feb. 5.  Detroit shot well from the floor in each game, combining to connect on 52 percent of its shots over the two games (58-111).

WHAT'S NEXT?
The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be played at the top seed (Milwaukee) on Friday and Saturday with the championship at the top remaining seed on Tues., Mar. 8.  

CHASE-ING 1000
Junior Chase Simon is creeping up on 1,000 career points (including a season at Central Michigan).  He remains just 19 points shy of the plateau heading into the postseason.  For his Titan career, Simon has 883 points in just 64 games for a 13.8 points per game average in a Detroit uniform

NEARING MILESTONES
With the regular season in the books, milestones are approaching.  Here's a look at a few in range by season's end.
Career
Chase Simon    981 pts (19 shy of 1,000)
Eli Holman    575 rbs (25 shy of 600)
Eli Holman    126 blks (30 shy of 2nd)

Season
LaMarcus Lowe    77 blks (T4th)
Ray McCallum    151 asst (8th)(18 shy of top 5)
Ray McCallum    52 stls    (2 shy of top 10)
Ray McCallum    130 FTs    (19 shy of top 10)

AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
Several Titans have their names appear among the NCAA Division I leaders in the Feb. 28 report.  As the time of the release, junior Eli Holman had 12 double-doubles, which ranked 29th.  He also was 29th in rebounds per game (9.6).  LaMarcus Lowe was 20th in the NCAA with his 2.5 blocks per game clip.  Ray McCallum's 4.9 assists per game is 57th while Nick Minnerath was 90th with his .829 free-throw percentage.

RAY OF LIGHT
Freshman Ray McCallum is among the top freshmen in the country, ranking third in NCAA D-I in total assists at the time of the last national stats report (Feb. 28).  McCallum's 4.9 per game average ranks third among all Horizon League players.  A look at the top 10 freshmen in total assists.

NCAA D-I Freshman Assist Leaders
1. Juwan Staten, Dayton        164
2.  Jason Brickman, Long Island    155
3. Ray McCallum, Detroit        151
4. Kendall Marshall, UNC        149
5. Brian Voelkel, Vermont        136
6. Aaron Craft, Ohio State        133
    Sean McGonagill, Brown        133
8. Luke Davis, Gardner-Webb        132
9. Tyreek Duren, LaSalle        126
10. Evan Roquemore, Santa Clara    125

HL ACCOLADES
Junior Eli Holman and freshman Ray McCallum  were each named to the All-Horizon League Second Team, according to a release by league officials Monday.  Holman was also named to the league's All-Defensive Team and McCallum grabbed the conference's top newcomer award.
Holman was also a Preseason Second Teamer while McCallum became the first true freshman in Titan history to be named to an all-league team.  He is the fifth UDM player to win the newcomer award since 1993.

All-time HL Newcomer of the Year Honors for Detroit
1993- Tony Tolbert
1997- Derrick Hayes
1998- Rashad Phillips
2005- Brandon Cotton
2011- Ray McCallum

THE LOWE DOWN
Junior LaMarcus Lowe blocked two shots at Wright State Friday, moving him into a tie for fourth place in the all-time season record books at UDM.  His 77 blocks equals the total put up by teammate Eli Holman last season.  Lowe's block total ranks second in the Horizon League and he now has 19 games with multiple rejections this season.  

Single-season block records at UDM
1. Terry Tyler, 1978 .....................      172
2. Terry Tyler, 1976 ......................     107
3. Terry Tyler, 1977 ......................       86
4. Eli Holman, 2010 ......................      77
    LaMarcus Lowe, 2011 ..............      77
    Greg Grant, 1992......................       65
7. Stacy Johnson, 1988 .................      63
     Brian Humes, 1986 ...................      63
9. Keith Jackson, 1979 ..................      61
10. Alan Renner-Thomas, 1994 ......      56
       Brian Alexander, 1998 ...............     56
(*block records not kept before 1976)

HOLMAN'S HEROES
Eli Holman leads the Horizon League in both offensive (3.4 rpg) and defensive (6.2 rpg) rebounds per game (9.6 total).  He is also second in field goal percentage, connecting on 60.8 percent of his shots (135-of-222) and is fourth in blocks (1.6 bpg).