DETROIT (1/15/2017) -- Off a big road win at Oakland, the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will look to make it two in a row as the Titans entertain Youngstown State in a basketball doubleheader on Monday.
 
The day will begin with the women facing Northern Kentucky at 4:30 p.m., followed by the men's contest against YSU at 7 p.m.
 
Fans can catch all the action locally on WADL-38 and on ESPN3 with Dan Dickerson on the call alongside former Titan standout Earl Cureton as well as on the radio on 910 AM Superstation with Cliff Russell providing the action. Live stats will also be provided.
 
The game will feature two of the higher-powered offenses in the Horizon League. In the last few games, the Titan defense has been very active causing turnovers and coming away with steals.
 
Tickets to all Titan home games start at just $10, $6 for children and seniors. To purchase tickets online, visit detroittitans.com/tix. To purchase over the phone or for more information on game tickets, contact Director of Ticket Operations & Sales Justin Hairston at 313-993-1700 ext. 7301 or at hairstjj1@udmercy.edu.
 
VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Detroit Mercy has dominated the all-time series to the tune of a 33-9 advantage, which includes winning seven in a row and 11 of the last 12.
 
Detroit Mercy is also 19-3 all-time at home against YSU and has won five in a row at Calihan Hall.
 
ABOUT THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State has dropped four of the last five and enters the game at 8-11 overall, 2-4 in the Horizon League.
 
Flint native Cameron Morse leads the team and is second in the Horizon League in scoring at 22.8 points per game. Francisco Santiago leads the team and is tied for the HL lead with 4.9 assists per game to go with 12.4 points and 5.5 rebounds.
 
YSU is fourth in the league in scoring at 77.1 points per game, but is ninth in points allowed (84.7).
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Detroit Mercy will be on the road for the next two conference games starting with a trip to Wright State on Friday before traveling to Northern Kentucky on Sunday.
 
CHANGING FIVE
Due to injuries and eligibility, the Titans have used seven different starting line-ups in their first 17 games.
 
Only senior Chris Jenkins has started all 17 contests on the year.
 
TITANS LAND ON SPORTSCENTER
Junior Jaleel Hogan was tabbed Kevin Connors "Star of the Day" on SportsCenter on Jan. 13.
 
Hogan led the Titans in their #MetroSeries victory over first-place Oakland as he tallied a career-high 39 points and 11 rebounds in the 93-88 win.
 
Back in late December, senior Chris Jenkins posted his second double-double of the season and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds against Fort Wayne, but it was his massive dunk that the nation saw as he made SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day for Dec. 22.
 
Off a steal by freshman Cole Long, the ball ended up in sophomore Josh McFolley's hands and he fed Jenkins, who slammed it in with authority over a UIC player.
 
TAKE IT AWAY
The Titans unleashed a new pressure defense three games ago and the results have been extremely positive for Detroit Mercy.
 
In their last game, the Titans forced Oakland into 25 turnovers on its own court - including 14 in the second half. The Titans also tied their season high with 12 steals.
 
The two games before saw Detroit Mercy force UIC into 23 turnovers - with 10 steals - and then record 20 turnovers with 12 steals at Valparaiso.
 
The 25 turnovers by Oakland were the most since forcing Milwaukee into 25 in 2012, while the 12 steals are the most since accumulating 13 at Northeastern in 2015.
 
Detroit Mercy has now posted 55 steals in the last six games (9.1) and has the thief of the league in sophomore Josh McFolley, who tops the conference with 1.9 steals per game.
 
BEAST MODE
Not to many words can describe what junior Jaleel Hogan did at Oakland on Jan. 13 in Detroit Mercy's 93-88 victory.
 
Hogan posted a career-high 39 points and 11 rebounds - good for his third career double-double.
 
He was also 17-of-24 from the field and 5-of-6 at the free throw line.
 
The 39 points is tied for the second most among HL players on the season, just one shy of the league mark this year.
 
The 39 points are the most by a Titan since Willie Green netted 41 against Wright State in 2003. It was also the most points by a Titan on the road since Green had 43 at UIC in 2003.
 
The 17 field goals were the most since Green connected on 18 in that game against the Flames.
 
UNSTOPPABLE
Junior Jaleel Hogan has once again been an offensive force down low for the Titans as he is second in the Horizon League and 20th in the nation in field-goal percentage at 60.6 percent.
 
He is currently second in school history in career field-goal percentage at 59.4 percent trailing only Eli Holman '12 (60.5%).
 
RETURN TO SENDER
Detroit Mercy showed some toughness in the paint against Northern Kentucky swatting away a season-high 10 blocks, the most since getting 10 at Green Bay in 2001.
 
Junior Jaleel Hogan was the rim protector for the most part blocking a career-best eight shots, the most by a Titan since Mike Harmon had eight against Green Bay in 2001.
 
The eight blocks are also tied for the most this season by a HL player.
 
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS
The Titans have shown some improvements on defense since the season has started.
After allowing teams to shoot over 50.0 percent in the first five games, the Titans have held eight of their last 12 opponents to under that mark.
 
At Oakland its last time out, Detroit Mercy had 12 steals and held the Golden Grizzlies to 40.0 percent shooting in the second half and just 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from three in the game.
 
GETTING THE FREE ONES
After struggling at the free throw line for much of the season, the Titans have connected on 74-of-100 (74.0%) in the last six games.
 
In that span
Chris Jenkins is 15-of-17 (88.2%)
Josh McFolley is 16-of-19 (84.2%)
Jaleel Hogan is 17-of-23 (73.9%)
Corey Allen is 10-of-14 (71.4%)
 
The Titans just sank a season-high 22 free throws at Oakland (22-of-27).
 
Detroit Mercy is currently 10th in the league in free throw percentage at 65.4 percent, but have increased that to 73.5 percent in HL play, fourth in the conference.
 
JALETHAL
Junior Jaleel Hogan scorched Oakland for a career-high 39 points and has now been in double figures in 14 games this season.
 
He has also led the team in scoring six times.
 
To start conference play, he posted a then career-high 22 points on 10-of-15 from the field against NKU and came back with 16 points hitting 6-of-9 field goals against Wright State, 17 points at UIC and eight points and eight rebounds at Valparaiso.
He also had eight rebounds and a career-high eight blocks against the Norse
 
Some of his other big scoring games on the year are: 19 points vs. Western Kentucky and Manhattan, 18 points at New Hampshire and 16 points at Bowling Green and Murray State.
 
Hogan has also just missed a double-double a couple of times corralling back-to-back nine-rebound outings against Manhattan and EMU and eight boards against WKU.
 
In his last eight games, he is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 62.2 percent (46-of-74) from the field.
 
Hogan is now leading the team and is sixth in the HL in scoring at 15.4 ppg., while standing second on the squad and 17th in the HL in rebounding at 5.2 per night.
 
In five HL games, he is tallying 20.4 points on 61.1 percent shooting.
 
HIGH SCORING MCFOLLEY
Sophomore Josh McFolley is currently second on the team and 13th in the Horizon League in scoring at 13.3 points per game.
 
He is also seventh in the HL in three-point field goals per game (2.2) and 10th in free throw percentage (77.2%).
 
McFolley is coming off an 11-point, three-assist, three-steal game at rival Oakland, where he iced the win hitting 4-of-4 free throws down the stretch.
 
He started the HL season with 15 points against NKU and had 13 points at UIC and 10 at Valparaiso.
 
He also had 18 points against Fort Wayne - where he had four 3-pointers - and 24 points - sinking six triples - in the win over WKU.
 
It was his second 20-point effort of the year after netting 25 points earlier in the season at ETSU, where he was 7-of-9 from three.
 
LONG DISTANCE OFFENSE
The Titans nailed 15-of-30 from three-point range against Fort Wayne, the most since setting a school record with 18 against Milwaukee on Feb. 26, 2000. The 15 triples are also the most in the HL this season.
 
In the win over WKU, the Titans were 12-of-20 (54.0%). They were also 12-of-27 on the road at Valparaiso.
 
Detroit Mercy has reached double digit 3-pointers in five games on the year.
 
The Titans are currently fifth in the HL in three-point field goal percentage (35.1%) and tied for fifth with Youngstown State in three-point field goals per game (7.3).
 
HIGHEST SCORING FRESHMAN IN THE HL
Freshman Corey Allen is the highest scoring freshmen in the Horizon League at 12.6 points per game - tied for 14th in the HL.
 
He also leads the league in three-point field-goal percentage (47.4%) - hitting 36-of-76 on the season - and is tied for fifth in three-point field goals per game (2.25).
 
COREY GETTING IN A ZONE
Freshman Corey Allen has notched double figures in scoring nine times this season, including a Titan true freshman record of 33 points against Fort Wayne - where he scored 27 points in the second half.
 
He is coming off a game where he scored 17 points hitting 7-of-12 from the field and 2-of-4 from three with a season-tying five rebounds against in-state rival Oakland.
 
In the HL, he also had 23 against Wright State and 12 at UIC.
 
Some of his other big games have included 16 points against WKU, 16 points at Murray State and 20 points versus EMU.
 
In his last 11 games, he is averaging 14.8 points on 56-of-110 shooting (50.9%) and 30-of-59 (50.8%) from three.
 
In his first five games, Allen averaged 8.2 points on 36.6 percent shooting (15-of-41) and 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from long range.
 
JENKINS IN TOP 10 FOR 3'S
Senior Chris Jenkins got off to a slow start from behind the arc hitting 7-of-34 in the first eight games, but has found his outside game recently nailing 10 of his last 24 three attempts in the last seven games, which includes 3-of-4 vs. WKU and a season-high 4-of-7 at Valpo.
 
He is currently eighth in school history in career three-point field goal percentage at 40.2 percent (91-of-226).
 
CJ DOES IT ALL
Senior Chris Jenkins is well known for his all-around play and is among the Titan leaders in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.
 
He is fourth on the team in scoring (11.8 ppg.) - 19th in the HL - while topping the squad on the boards (7.1 rpg.) - fourth in the HL. He is also third on the squad with 1.7 assists per game and 12 steals.
 
He garnered his seventh career double-double - and third of the season - with 18 points and 10 rebounds at Valparaiso.
 
He tallied a season-high 20 points against NKU - his eighth 20-point effort of his career - and that was after posting a double-double with 11 points and a career-best 16 rebounds against Fort Wayne.
 
With his 10 points at Oakland, Jenkins has now scored in double figures in 12 games on the season and his three double-doubles on the year makes him one of seven HL players with at least three double-doubles in 2016-17.
 
Jenkins tallied his first double-double with 15 points and a then career-best 14 rebounds at Toledo.
 
Earlier this year, he netted a team-high 18 points at Florida State.
 
He has also just missed recording a couple of other double-doubles with 13 points and nine boards at Illinois and nine points with eight rebounds against Eastern Michigan.
 
Jenkins has handed out an assist in 14 games with a season-high five at ETSU.
 
DID YOY SAY 33?
Freshman Corey Allen was on fire against Fort Wayne on Dec. 22 after posting 33 points on an 11-of-17 effort from the field and 9-of-13 from three, while also handing out a career-high five assists.
 
The nine triples are the most by a player in the HL this season and the most by a conference player since Oakland's Max Hooper had nine at Green Bay last year.
 
The 33 points are tied for the sixth-most in the HL this season and is the most ever by a "true" freshmen in school history - breaking the 31 Titan Hall-Of-Famer John Long had against Bradley in 1975.
 
Meanwhile, his nine 3-pointers were the most since Desmond Ferguson had 10 against Milwaukee in 2000.
 
With his 23 points against Wright State on Dec. 31, he now has three 20+-point games on the season.
 
YOU LITTLE THIEF
Sophomore Josh McFolley has recorded a steal in 14 games this season, including 12 multi-steal contests and six with at least three takeaways.
 
In fact, he has recorded all six of the three-plus steal games in the last nine contests.
 
He tied his career high with four steals at Toledo and has 23 steals in the last eight games with three against Oakland, UIC, WKU, Valparaiso and Fort Wayne and two at Bowling Green and vs. NKU.
 
McFolley is tied for the Horizon League lead with 1.9 steals per game (Lexus Williams, Valpo), but is registering 2.6 per game in HL-only contests.
 
DRE DAY
Junior DeShawndre Black has had at least three assists in 10 of the 17 games he has seen action in.
 
He is coming off a great game at Oakland where he registered a season-high eight assists along with scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds.
 
He ran the offense dishing out seven assists against Manhattan and five assists at Murray State in the non-conference campaign.
 
Black also has a team-high 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season (48 assists, 20 turnovers).
 
He tied his season high with 14 points at Valparaiso, going 5-of-12 from the field with a season-high four 3-pointers. He also had four assists and a season-best four steals against the Crusaders.
 
Earlier this season, he scored 14 points at New Hampshire. 
 
HE CAN SHOOT THE 3?
Freshman seven-footer Malik Eichler is 6-for-8 behind the arc this season.
 
Eichler has seen his playing time fluctuate during the year, but he had a season-high nine points at Valparaiso, where he was 4-of-7 from the field with two rebounds in just eight minutes of action.
 
He tallied seven points against Eastern Michigan earlier in the season, where he was 2-of-3 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 at the free throw line.
 
2017 LITTLE CAESARS MOTOR CITY MADNESS UPDATE
The 2017 Little Caesars Horizon League Men's and Women's Basketball Championship will run concurrently from March 3-7, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
Tickets to the 2017 Motor City Madness went on sale on Dec. 29 at motorcitymadness.horizonleague.org.
 
The championship games will be held on Tuesday, March 7, with an automatic bid into the NCAA Men's and Women's Tournaments.
 
2017 marks the final year the Little Caesars Horizon League Men's and Women's Basketball Championships will be contested at Joe Louis Arena before moving to the state-of-the-art Little Caesars Arena, currently under construction in downtown Detroit.
 
Over 20,900 fans attended the four-day tournament last year, the first neutral-site HL men's basketball championship since 2003.