LOS ANGELES, Calif. (12/18/2023) -- Sophomore Marcus Tankersley scored a team-high 17 points and freshman Ryan Hurst added 13 in his collegiate debut, but Loyola Marymount was too strong as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team dropped a 76-56 decision on the road on Monday night.

Tankersley was 7-of-18 from the field with five rebounds and a steal. 

Hurst made four field goals, three from long range, to go with four boards and a steal. His 13 points in his collegiate debut was the most points by a Titan freshman in his first game since Antoine Davis '22 had 32 at Western Michigan in 2018. 

Loyola Marymount (7-5) scored the first five points of the game and led 16-6 five minutes into the contest when Hurst hit a three for his first collegiate points. A few minutes later, freshman Michael Oaks nailed his first collegiate shot, a three, and the Titans (0-11) trailed by just six, 20-14, midway through the period.

The Lions ran their advantage up to 14, 32-18, at the 4:45 mark, when the Titans scored eight in a row. The defense got the run going as Tankersley had a steal and a basket that was followed by sophomore Tyree Davis' steal and slam. Hurst then recorded a steal and went to the rim for a score, and Tankersley made it a 32-26 game with 2:11 left, hitting another floater. Tankersley would conclude the half with a bucket as the red, white, and blue went into the break trailing 39-30.

The Titans, though, saw LMU open the second half with five-straight points when Tankersley pulled down a rebound and went all the way to the rim for a layup and the foul, hitting the free throw to cut the deficit to 12, 45-33. 

Detroit Mercy found itself down by 16 when it scored six in a row as graduate senior Edoardo Del Cadia had back-to-back baskets and two free throws by junior Jamail Pink made it a 10-point game at 51-41 with 9:58 remaining. UDM was within 10 again at 58-48 as Hurst buried another three with under seven minutes to play, but the Lions ended the game on an 18-8 spurt.

Del Cadia posted five points and a team-high six rebounds in just 14 minutes due to foul trouble. Pink had a season-high six points, hitting all six from the charity stripe, with two steals and Oaks had five points and two blocks in his first collegiate game.

Detroit Mercy connected on a season-best 17-of-22 at the free throw line and came away with 10 steals, forcing 17 LMU turnovers. 

The Titans will head back to the Great Lakes State as they travel to Central Michigan on Thursday, with game time set for 7:00 p.m.

Game Notes:

• It was just the seventh trip to California in school history, and the first since the Titans visited Cal in 2018, but that game was canceled due to Air Quality Index (AQI) in the area
• It was the first-ever match-up between Detroit Mercy and Loyola Marymount
• The game marked a meeting between two of the 27 Jesuit Universities in the United States as the Titans and Lions are also two of the 20 Jesuit programs that are Division I, with the red, white and blue now 208-241 all-time against its fellow Jesuit brothers
• The Titans are now 7-4 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference
• Detroit Mercy's 17 field goals were the fewest since making 17 at Kent State in 2021
• Detroit Mercy registered double-digit steals for the third time this season as it had a season-high 12 against Ball State and 11 versus Oakland
• It was the fifth game this season that the opposition had double-digit turnovers
• It was the seventh time this year that the Titans connected on double-digit free throws as the 17 at the line were the most since hitting 21 at home against IUPUI last season
• Dating back to last season, Tankersley has now scored in double figures in 10 of the last 13 games
• Del Cadia has now grabbed at least five rebounds in nine of the 11 games this season
• Pink had just five career free throws coming into the game, while his career high in points is seven at NKU last season
• The last Titan freshman to record double-digit points in his debut was Bryon Ottrix Jr., who netted 11 against Michigan-Dearborn in 2022

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