DETROIT (11/14/2024) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will look to stay hot at home as the Titans battle the Rockets of Toledo on Saturday.

Game time is set for 4:00 p.m., and it will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Watch ESPN App as Dan Hasty and Jeremy Otto have the call.

It will be the second game of a UDM doubleheader as the women face Bellarmine at 1:00 p.m. on Catholic Night. At halftime of the men's game, the Father Norbert Huetter, S.J., Award will be presented to former women's basketball player Sr. Rita Clare Yoches. 

Tickets to the game start at just $10 and can be purchased here.  

Detroit Mercy enters the game at 2-1 overall win home wins over Cleary and Niagara.

Senior Mak Manciel is coming off a career-high 30 points and eight rebounds and is averaging 19.3 points per game on the year, while rookie Nate Johnson was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week after posting 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in three games.

Toledo is 2-1 on the season with back-to-back wins at Marshall and at home against Wright State after starting the year with a loss at Troy.

After the game, the Titans will hit the road for five straight, not returning to Calihan Hall until Dec. 5.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

• The match-up between the Titans and Rockets is the 63rd in this rivalry that dates back to 1920, as Toledo leads the all-time series, 37-25.
• Detroit Mercy has dropped six in a row in the battle, with the last victory a 75-72 home triumph in 2015, and is 18-13 all-time in Calihan Hall. 

THE WORLD IN 1920

• Detroit Mercy and Toledo first met in 1920, as the Titans routed the Rockets, 30-8. Walter Voss led U-D with 12 points. 
• Here are some other events going on in 1920 when the teams first played.
• Frank McElweeled led the Titans in scoring at 8.9 ppg
• The League of Nations was established 
• Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee agrees to sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 in cash
• The first Thanksgiving parade takes place in Philadelphia 
• Charles Ponzi came up with a sales scheme

FAMILIAR FOES

• The 63 games between the two programs are the 10th most against any opponent in school history.
• It also only trails the 80 games against Eastern Michigan against an opponent who has never been a league rival. 

TWO COACHES WHO KNOW A LOT ABOUT EACH OTHER

• Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk knows Detroit Mercy well. He spent eight years as head coach at Horizon League member Green Bay from 2002-10 before taking the job at Toledo and has a 16-12 all-time record against the Titans. 
• Meanwhile, Mark Montgomery and coach Kowalczyk were conference rivals in the MAC when Monty was at NIU from 2011-2021 as Monty and the Huskies were 10-11 in the match-ups.  

TOUGH FOES IN THE NON-CONFERENCE

• The Titans will play a few home games in the non-conference campaign. Three of those will take place in November, marking the most home games in November since they had three in the 2018-19 season.
• Overall, the Titans' 10 DI opponents were 173-152 (.532) last season as Wisconsin made the NCAA Tournament, while Loyola and Wake Forest played in the NIT. 

DOMINATING THE GLASS

• Detroit Mercy has collected 142 rebounds in three games, an average of 47.3 per contest, which includes 52 offensive rebounds that have led to 54 second-chance points to start the year.
• UDM is coming off a monster game on the glass, outrebounding Niagara 49-28, the first time the Titans have had a margin of +20 or more since a 53-20 advantage at home over Youngstown State in 2016.  
• The Titans pulled down 53 rebounds in the season opener against Cleary, the most since the 53 they had against Youngstown State, and then edged Loyola, 40-39, which included 20 offensive caroms.

TITANS GETTING OFFENSIVE

• In three games, the Titans are averaging 80.0 points, shooting 43.3% overall, and have 43 assists to just 42 turnovers. 

HOW ABOUT THAT MAK-TION

• Senior Mak Manciel has had a strong start to the season and is coming off a career-high 30 points and eight rebounds against Niagara. He was a career-best 9-of-15 from the field and 6-of-7 from behind the arc, netting 18 of his points in the second half, six of which were in overtime.
• He has scored in double figures in all three games and 10 times in his last 18 dating back to last year. Manciel had 12 points and five rebounds versus Cleary and 16 points at Loyola, connecting on a career-high 7-of-8 at the line.
•  For the week, he averaged 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists, shooting 45.9% from the field, 42.1% from three (8-19) and 84.2% at the line (16-19).
• He got off to a slow start last season in his Titan debut, as he was coming off a knee injury, and ended the year tallying 5.1 points and 2.0 rebounds.
• He started the year 12-of-59 (20.3%) from the field, but shot 40.0% (40-of-98) in the last 15 games, where he averaged 8.4 points and had all seven of his double-digit performances. 
• As a sophomore at Arkansas State, Manciel missed the season due to a knee injury.
• Prior to that, he was a First Team NJCAA All-American at Henry Ford College after posting 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists, shooting 47.6%. 

NATE THE GREAT

• As the Titans fought to a 2-1 week, the Horizon League took notice as rookie Nate Johnson was named the league's Under Armour Freshman of the Week.
• The true freshman showed his all-around skills in his first three collegiate games, averaging 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists, hitting 10-of-23 (43.5%) from the field, with four triples.
• He started his collegiate career with nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists in the win over Cleary. He came back and added 13 points and three boards at Loyola, then tallied nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal in the come-from-behind win over Niagara. 
• The Detroit Free Press and Detroit News named him Honorable Mention All-State at Grand Rapids Christian, where he posted 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game as a senior. 

GEETER READY TO MAKE HIS OWN LEGEND

• After stops at Providence and Eastern Michigan, UDM junior Legend Geeter is ready to make himself at home in his hometown. 
• Geeter is coming off a career-high 14 points against Niagara, going 3-of-5 from the field and 8-of-8 at the free-throw line.
• In the season opener, he scored eight points in just nine minutes of action against Cleary.
• Geeter - who was coached in high school by assistant coach LaMonta Stone and was a top 50 recruit in the nation - started his career in the BIG EAST at Providence, but did not see action in any games.
• He spent the last two seasons at Eastern Michigan, playing in 57 games with 40 starts and averaging 5.5 points, 3.8 rebounds,1.2 assists, six blocks, and 44 steals while shooting 49.8% from the field and 76.5% at the free-throw line.
• He scored in double figures five times last year, including a then career-tying 13 points with five rebounds at Florida Atlantic and 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals against Bowling Green. He also had 13 points at Illinois State and a career-high 10 rebounds against Winthrop in 2022-23. 

KUAC READY FOR THE SEASON

• Emmanuel Kuac is back for his second graduate season and hopes to be healthier than last year. 
• Kuac started the year with five points and four rebounds against Cleary in the season opener, netted seven points at Loyola and just had 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal against Niagara.
• He missed the first 12 games recovering from an injury sustained before arriving at UDM last year, but he never fully recovered, posting 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 19 games. 
• He showed what he could do when healthy at Milwaukee as he was 9-of-19 shooting and 7-of-13 from three en route to a career-high 27 points to go with a season-high eight rebounds, a career-tying three steals and a block at Milwaukee. 
• He also scored 12 points, hitting four triples, grabbing five boards, and having three assists at Oakland, and knocking down two 3-pointers and ending with eight points at Youngstown State.

313 IS WHERE O WANTS TO BE

• Junior Orlando Lovejoy hails from Detroit, evidenced by his 313 tattoo on his right arm.
• In the season opener, he tied for the team lead with 13 points, three rebounds, and a steal. He then had nine points, five rebounds, three assists, and a career-high five steals at Loyola and just posted six points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists versus Niagara. 
• On the year, he is averaging 9.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, a team-high 3,0 assists and 2.3 steals. 
• He was a four-time All-State selection in high school and spent the last two seasons at Eastern Michigan. He played in 53 games with 29 starts with the Eagles and posted 7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, shooting 43.8% from the field and 70.5% at the free-throw line. 
• Last season, he tallied 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists with 32 steals, scoring in double figures in 12 games, including a career-high 19 points with five assists and four steals at Northern Illinois.
• He also scored 16 points at Michigan and against Toledo and had a career-best eight assists at Central Michigan.

LARY HAS FOUND A HOME AT UDM

• Junior Jared Lary has moved around a bit for basketball, playing at three high schools and then in college at Lincoln Memorial and Aquinas.
• Through three games, he is tallying 7.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocks and steals per game.
• He just posted 11 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block against Niagara and had the game-tying basket down the stretch to send the game into overtime.
• He showed his all-around game in the season opener, posting seven points, five rebounds, an assist, block, and steal against Cleary and then had three points, four rebounds, two assists, and a block at Loyola. 
• Last year at Aquinas, he registered 11.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 30 games, shooting 45.7% from the field and 74.2% at the free-throw line, with 30 triples. He had 17 double-figure scoring games, with three 20-point performances, including a career-high 22 against Cleary. 
• He was at Lincoln Memorial for two years, redshirting as a freshman, and playing 18 games in 2022-23, averaging 3.6 points and 1.7 boards, shooting 41.9%.
• As a prep, he started to gain attention at Grand Rapids Christian before transferring to Lutheran East in Cleveland, Ohio. 

A DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR OKORO

• Freshman Stephen Okoro had three points and a team-best six boards at Loyola. He made an impact in his Titan debut. In just 16 minutes, he posted a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, connecting on 6-of-8 from the field.
• He is the first Titan to have a double-double in his debut since senior Gerald Liddell did it at Purdue Fort Wayne in 2022, while the last Titan freshman to accomplish the task was Marquis Moore at IUPUI in 2019.
• A native of Imo State, Nigeria, he prepped at Combine Academy (NC) last year. As a senior at Principia High School in Missouri, he was named the District Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-State after tallying 13.5 points, 14.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game, breaking the record for most rebounds in a season.

GRANT READY TO KEEP FAMILY LEGACY GOING

• Redshirt freshman Grant Gondrezick II came to Detroit Mercy after a stop at Elon and a stellar high school career.
• He did not see any action at Elon but was a high scorer at Benton Harbor, posting nearly 2,000 career points. As a senior, he netted 997 total points, averaging 25.3 points, 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.5 steals. He earned First Team All-State for Detroit News, BCAM, and All Eyes on Michigan Magazine while being named to the Mr. Basketball Top 10 Watchlist for 2023.
• In his collegiate debut against Cleary, he had five points and a team-high five assists with a steal. 
• His dad, Grant Gondrezick, played college basketball at Pepperdine and then two seasons in the NBA for the Phoenix Suns, while his mother, Felicia, won the 1988 NCAA Championship at Louisiana Tech.
• His older sister, Kalabrya, played college basketball at Michigan State, while his other sister, Kysre, was Miss Basketball in Michigan, played for Michigan and West Virginia and currently plays in the WNBA.
• His uncle, Glen, his dad's brother, played at UNLV and spent six seasons in the NBA with the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets.  

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

• Freshman TJ Nadeau recorded seven points, four rebounds, an assist, and a steal in the season opener, and then hit a couple of more 3-pointers to end with eight points at Loyola. 
• Nadeau hails from South Lyon and had a great career at Detroit Catholic Central. He was All-Catholic, All-County and All-State as a senior as well as a Mr. Basketball Candidate and a Midwest All-American. He tallied over 1,000 points in his prep career, including 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game as a senior.

KALAMBAY'S PLAY

• Freshman Ryan Kalambay came to UDM from Brampton, Ontario, and recorded 10.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 53.9% at Fort Erie Academy last season. 
• In the season opener, he showed some muscle, scoring eight points and collecting two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block in just 13 minutes and had four points and two boards at Loyola. 

IT HAS BEEN A WHILE

• The Titans are coming off an overtime win against Niagara, the first win in extra time since a 116-109 victory against Houston Baptist (now called Houston Christian) in 2017.