DETROIT (11/16/2024) -- In a game featuring 14 lead changes and eight ties, the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team ran out of gas late as the Titans fell to Toledo, 82-67, on Saturday evening.
Graduate senior
Emmanuel Kuac led the Titans with 18 points and also had four rebounds and two steals. Junior
Orlando Lovejoy tallied 12 points and three boards and freshman
TJ Nadeau had a season-high 10 points to go with three rebounds.
Early on, UDM (2-2) took a 7-4 lead as Kuac nailed a three and Lovejoy got inside for a bucket. Toledo (3-1) jumped ahead, but an offensive rebound and putback by freshman
Miles Mitchell and a three from Nadeau knotted the game at 17-all at the 11:24 mark. The Titans then took a 19-17 lead as Nadeau fought for an offensive board, which led to junior
Legend Geeter's layup.
Detroit Mercy had a 25-22 advantage as Kuac buried back-to-back 3-pointers.
The Rockets would come back to lead by as many as six, but a jumper from senior
Mak Manciel and another trifecta from Kuac trimmed the deficit to 34-33. Then, with under 30 ticks showing, Nadeau connected on a jumper, but Toledo went into the break up 36-35.
Manciel gave the Titans the lead back to start the second half on a layup, and Lovejoy split a pair at the line for a 38-36 margin. Lovejoy would even it up with a basket at 43-43 with 15:28 remaining, but Toledo went on a 21-9 run for a 64-52 score with under seven minutes on the clock.
Nadeau rang in a three to cut it to nine, 64-55, but that was as close as the red, white and blue could get.
Mitchell ended with four points, two rebounds and an assist in his collegiate debut. Manciel had seven points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal and freshman
Stephen Okoro pulled down five rebounds.
Detroit Mercy shot 43.1% from the field and was 8-of-17 (47.1%) from three, while outrebounding Toledo, 37-36.
The Titans will now hit the road for five-straight games, starting with a trip to Ball State on Wednesday.
Game Notes:
- The match-up between the Titans and Rockets was the 63rd in this rivalry that dates back to 1920, as Toledo leads the all-time series, 38-25, including seven-straight wins by UT
- The 63 games between the two programs are the 10th most against any opponent in school history and only trail the 80 games against Eastern Michigan against an opponent who has never been a league rival.
- Detroit Mercy outrebounded an opponent for the fourth-straight game
- Kuac's career-high in points was 27 at Milwaukee last season
- Lovejoy was in double figures for the second time this season and 18th time in his career
