GAMEDAY CENTRAL

DETROIT (1/1/15) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will tip-off its 35th season of Horizon League play on Friday (Jan. 2) when the Titans visit Wright State. The game scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET at the Nutter Center and will be televised nationally on ESPN3 and WatchESPN.com.
 
TITANS OF THE LEAGUE
Detroit joined the then Midwestern City Conference (MCC) in 1980 and is now serving as the longest tenured team in the Horizon League. The Titans have won 232 regular season games over their 34 seasons as a conference member and have 33 wins in the postseason, to go along with three tournament titles.
 
DETROIT IN LEAGUE OPENERS
Detroit will look to grab its third-straight League opening win and second-straight over Wright State on Friday. The Titans beat the Raiders last year, 58-53, at Calihan Hall and topped Milwaukee, 74-59, in 2013 on Dick Vitale Court.

Overall, the Titans are 13-21 in conference openers, but have a 4-2 mark under head coach Ray McCallum.

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. poured in 22 points and sophomore Chris Jenkins scored a career-high 13 points, but it wasn't enough as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team dropped an overtime thriller, 77-73, to Oral Roberts Tuesday night at Calihan Hall.
 
After trailing by as much as 10 late in the second half and five, 63-58, with 20 seconds left, Detroit used back-to-back 3-pointers from Howard and Jenkins to force overtime at 64-64. Jenkins' 3-pointer tied the game with 4.7 seconds remaining.
 
Both teams swapped baskets to start overtime as the score remained tied 68-68 with 2:14 left, before Korey Billbury drained a 3-pointer to put Oral Roberts (6-7) up 71-68 with 1:16 remaining. Billbury then made a pair of free throws on the Golden Eagles next possession to extend their lead to 73-68 with 33 seconds remaining, before Howard buried a 3-pointer from near mid-court to make the score 73-71 with 28 ticks left.
 
The Titans almost forced a five second call on ORU's next possession, but the Golden Eagles were granted a timeout, before Obi Emegano made two free throws. Howard then made another jumper with 14 seconds left to make the score 75-73. But Billbury was able to seal ORU's first road win of the season with two more from the charity stripe to make the final 77-73.
 
Howard finished with 22 points – 20 in the second half and overtime – with six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Jenkins scored a career-high 13 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Sophomore guard Jarod Williams also scored in double figures with 12 points, while Anton Wilson added seven.
 
Detroit finished the game shooting 41.7 percent (30-of-72) overall and 40 percent (8-of-20) from downtown, while ORU finished shooting 41.3 percent (19-of-46) overall and 40 percent (6-of-15) from deep. But the difference in the game came from the foul line where the Golden Eagles made 33-of-40, compared to 5-of-12 from Detroit.

ABOUT WRIGHT STATE
No. 21 Ohio State scored the first 10 points of the game and led throughout in a 100-55 decision over Wright State (8-6) in men's basketball action in Columbus Saturday night.
 
The Buckeyes shot 59 percent in the first half, including four of seven 3-pointers, in building a 47-18 halftime advantage.  OSU continued its hot shooting in the final 20 minutes, hitting for 63 percent during the period to finish at 61 percent overall compared to 30 percent for the Raiders.
 
Grant Benzinger led WSU with 12 points on four 3-pointers and had six rebounds while Joe Thomasson added 10 points along with seven rebounds.

SERIES WITH THE RAIDERS
This will be the 49th meeting between Detroit and Wright State, with the Titans leading the all-time series 25-23. The teams split both of their meetings last year by a combined nine points with Detroit taking the first game, 58-53, at Calihan Hall, before the Raiders took the second contest, 65-61, at the Nutter Center.
 
UDM NIGHT AT THE PALACE
For the second-straight year, the Detroit Pistons will host a special University of Detroit Mercy Night when the Sacramento Kings visit the Palace of Auburn Hills on Sunday, Jan. 4.
 
The Titans host Milwaukee in Horizon League action that same day at 1 p.m. at historic Calihan Hall, before the Pistons tip-off against the Kings at 6 p.m. There will be a special game ball presentation with Detroit Titans head coach Ray McCallum before tip-off at the Palace.

HOWARD IS 32 AND CLIMBING
Detroit senior forward Juwan Howard Jr. recently became the 39th Titan to join the 1,000-point club and currently ranks 32nd all-time with 1,096 points. Former teammate Jason Calliste ranks 31st all-time with 1,107, while Lou Hyatt '66 is 30th (1,110) and Desmond Ferguson '00 is 29th with 1,113. Juwan Howard, Sr. scored 1,526 points at the University of Michigan from 1992-94 as part of the Fab Five.
 
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.
   
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
Detroit will continue league play when the Titans host Milwaukee the reigning Horizon League Tournament Champions on Sunday, Jan. 4. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at historic Calihan Hall and will be televised nationally on the American Sports Network. The game can also be heard on 97.1 The Ticket with the voice of the Titans Dan Leach.