GAMEDAY CENTRAL

DETROIT (12/22/14) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will conclude its eight day road trip covering more than 7,000 miles when the Titans visit Arizona State on Tuesday, Dec. 23. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. ET at Wells Fargo Arena and will be televised live on the PAC-12 Networks with Daron Sutton and Don MacClean making the call.

The game can also be heard on AM 1270 with the voice of the Titans Dan Leach.

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Fans can follow every Detroit game this season through the men's basketball GAMEDAY CENTRAL page located on the Titans Athletic Website that will keep fans one click away from all the action. This page will feature links for live stats (audio and video when applicable) as well as links for all the latest info while also making it easy to find the Titans on social media and to purchase photos and game tickets. The Game Day Central page also carries all the information on each opponent from who is leading the all-time series to who won the last game.
 
LAST OUTING
Senior forward Juwan Howard Jr. scored a team-high 17 points, but it wasn't enough as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team dropped it third-straight game 69-55 against Rhode Island on Saturday at the Ryan Center.
 
The Titans (6-6) led at halftime 36-34, but a second half surge from Rhode Island (7-3) served to be to much to overcome as Detroit dropped it second game of its eight day road trip covering more than 7,000 miles.

Howard finished with 17 points – 13 in the first half – seven rebounds and three steals, while freshman Paris Bass added nine points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. Junior guard Carlton Brundidge pitched in eight points, while sophomore Chris Jenkins scored a season-high seven. 
 
Rhode Island only made eight baskets in the second half, but connected on 17-of-21 free throw attempts. For the game the Rams finished 26-of-34 from the charity stripe.
 
Detroit, which shot 50 percent (13-of-26) in the first half, finished the game shooting 35.2 percent (19-of-54) overall, while holding Rhode Island to 37.3 percent (19-of-51) overall, just 30 percent (8-of-26) in the second half. Detroit also won the battle of the boards 37-36 and forced 13 turnovers, including eight steals.
 
ABOUT ARIZONA STATE
Dropping its first home game of the season, the Arizona State men's basketball team fell to Lehigh, 84-81, in triple overtime Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena. In his second game as a Sun Devil, junior Savon Goodman led ASU with a career-high 24 points and 12 rebounds, recording his first career double-double and going 9-of-11 for the night. 

Also making an impact off the bench, sophomore Chance Murray was second in scoring for the Sun Devils with a career-high 17 points and four assists.

ASU had 58 points off the bench, compared to Lehigh's 17, and had 15 assists on 30 field goals. 
 
SERIES WITH THE SUN DEVILS
This will be the fifth meeting between Detroit and Arizona State, with the Sun Devils leading the all-time series 3-1. ASU won the last meeting 83-68 at Wells Fargo Arena during the 2013 National Invitational Tournament (NIT). Anton Wilson finished that game with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting in 17 minutes of action.
 
Detroit's only win in the series was 71-66 at the 1995 ASU Tribune Classic.
 
KEARNEY IN THE DESERT … AGAIN
Detroit senior guard Brandan Kearney will be returning to a familiar court on Tuesday, when Detroit visits Arizona State. Last year Kearney played in 19 games with ASU averaging 6.5 minutes, 1.2 points and 0.7 rebounds per game, before transferring back home to Detroit.
 
With the Titans this year Kearney is averaging 20 minutes, 7.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
 
FIVE-GAME HOLIDAY TICKET PACKAGE
The University of Detroit Mercy Department of Athletics is helping kick off the holiday season by announcing a five-game Horizon League Holiday Pack for just $55. For that price, Detroit Titans fans will get men's basketball tickets to five Horizon League home games in 2015 at historic Calihan Hall.

In addition, the first 25 fans that purchase the Holiday Pack will also receive a free Titan coffee mug (one per pack).

The tickets are good for upper reserved seating and the ticket package opens with the highly-anticipated first men's basketball meeting of the season between Detroit and Oakland on Jan. 10 in what is also the first men's basketball Metro Series rivalry meeting.

The other four conference home games in the package are against league favorite Green Bay on Jan. 17, UIC on Feb. 8, Cleveland State on Feb. 13 and Valparaiso on Feb. 25 for the regular season finale. The games are locked in and not interchangeable for another home game.
  
BASS IS SOME FRESHMAN
University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball freshman guard/forward Paris Bass has already been named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week twice through the first four weeks of action. The only weeks that he hasn't received the award were weeks that the Titans only played one game.
 
Through the first 12 games of his career Bass is averaging 11.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.7 assists and 1.1  blocked shots per game in just 24 minutes of action. He leads all Horizon League freshmen in scoring, rebounding and steals, while ranking among the top-15 in the League in six different categories.

HOWARD IS 34 AND CLIMBING
Detroit senior forward Juwan Howard Jr. recently became the 39th Titan to join the 1,000-point club and currently ranks 34th all-time with 1,065 points. Carl Pickett '97 ranks 33rd all-time with 1,075, while Al Cech '64 is 32nd with 1,089. Juwan Howard, Sr. scored 1,526 points at the University of Michigan from 1992-94 as part of the Fab Five.
 
UDM SELECTED TO HOST NCAA TOURNAMENT
It was announced Monday (Nov. 17) that Detroit was selected as one of the eight host sites for first- and second-round games in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. University of Detroit Mercy will serve as the host institution with the games being played at the new Detroit arena March 16 & 18. Exact times and ticket availability for those contests will be released at a later date.

Downtown Detroit last hosted the NCAA tournament in 2009 and 2008, when the men's Final Four and Midwest Regional were played at Ford Field, respectively. The Palace of Auburn Hills welcomed early round games in 2013. In addition to the tournament, the area has welcomed other NCAA events, including the Men's Frozen Four (2010), the Division I Wrestling Championship (2007), and the Women's Bowling National Championship (2009, 2011, 2013).

RED, WHITE AND BLUE
Detroit is just one of 15 teams in the nation to have both an active player and coach with USA Basketball. Senior guard Brandan Kearney was a member of the 2010 USA Youth Olympic Games Team that finished in fourth place with a 5-2 record in Singapore. He also played on the 2009 USA U16 National Team that captured the gold medal with a perfect 5-0 slate at the 2009 FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Mendoza, Argentina.
 
Coach McCallum was an assistant coach for the 2000 USA World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team and helped coach the USA to a silver medal and a 4-1 slate. His son and former Titan Ray McCallum played on the 2011 USA World University Games Team that finished with a 7-1 record, but dropped its quarterfinal contest and returned home in fifth place.

UP NEXT
After a week off the Titans will return to Dick Vitale Court to host Oral Roberts on Tuesday, Dec. 30. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at historic Calihan Hall and will be televised locally on WADL and nationally on ESPN3.