Titans Head To Windy City For Jesuit Battle With Loyola

Men's Basketball 11.06.24

Titans Head To Windy City For Jesuit Battle With Loyola

Legend Geeter and the Titans will look for a road win in the Windy City.

DETROIT (11/5/2024) -- Off a season-opening win, the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will hit the road for Chicago as the Titans visit Jesuit-rival Loyola on Thursday.

Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. (EST) and it will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Watch ESPN App and feature live stats.

Detroit Mercy and Loyola were longtime rivals in the Horizon League, as the 125 match-ups with the Ramblers represent the most against one team in school history. The Titans have tallied 58 wins, the second most over one opponent and only behind the 59 against Eastern Michigan.

In the opener, freshman Stephen Okoro posted a double-double in his collegiate debut with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Orlando Lovejoy netted 13 points in the win over Cleary. The Titans shot nearly 50.0% from the field and pulled down 53 rebounds in the contest.

Loyola, who was 23-10 a year ago and earned a bid to the NIT, started the season 1-0 as the Ramblers upended Chicago State, 79-72 at home.

Following the game, UDM will return home to host Niagara on Sunday.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

Detroit Mercy won the last 10 meetings over Loyola before the Ramblers left the Horizon League, but Loyola leads the all-time series, 67-58.
According to the record book, the first match-up in the series came back in 1911, a 70-16 Titan win.
UDM is 17-45 all-time on the road in the series, but did claim the last four trips into Gentile Arena from 2010-2013.

THE WORLD IN 1911

The world was slightly different when the Titans and Ramblers first hooked up in 1911.
William Howard Taft was the President of the United States.
White Sox pitcher Ed Walsh stopped Ty Cobb's 40-game hitting streak.
Mona Lisa stolen from Louvre
New York receives first Marconi wireless transmission from Italy
The average newspaper cost 5¢ and milk cost an average 17¢ per half gallon.

SOME JESUIT CONNECTIONS

Loyola head coach Drew Valentine is familiar with the Titans. He served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Oakland, from 2015-17, when the two schools were rivals in the Horizon League.
Another connection between the programs is Drew Valentines' dad, Carlton, who played for Michigan State from 1984-88 under head coach Jud Heathcote and assistant coach Tom Izzo.
Immediately following his graduation, Mark Montgomery had a four-year career at MSU from 1988-92.
Yet another tie between the two programs is with Loyola Athletic Director Steve Watson, as his dad, John, played for the Titans from 1962-65 under head coach Bob Calihan. He played in 79 games and averaged 7.9 points and 3.8 rebounds, helping the Titans tie a then-school record with 20 wins in 1964-65. U-D won its first-ever game in the postseason, defeating La Salle 93-86 before falling to NYU.

A CHICAGO TITAN

One of the most acclaimed Titans in school history, Bob Calihan has his roots in Chicago. He starred at St. George High School and was an All-Catholic League selection in 1936.
He signed with U-D, became an All-American, played pro, and then came back to coach his alma mater for 21 years before serving as an athletic director and hiring Dick Vitale.
The Titans' home arena is Calihan Hall.

LOCAL & GLOBAL TITANS

Detroit Mercy will have a lot of local flair this year, as 10 of the 15 Titans hail from Michigan.
The 10 homegrown products are the most on the roster since UDM had 12 student-athletes from the Great Lakes State in 2017-18.
Along with those Titans, Detroit Mercy also has a player from Wisconsin, two from Canada and a player from France and Nigeria.

A FEW NEW FACES

With 11 new players on the 15-man roster, the Titans return just 14.2% of their scoring, 12.9% of their rebounding, and 18.0% of their minutes played from last season.

TOUGH FOES IN THE NON-CONFERENCE

The Titans will play a few home games in the non-conference campaign and will face some big challenges this season with teams from the Big Ten, ACC, Atlantic 10, American, and MAC on the docket.
Three of those games will take place at home in November, marking the most home games in November since they had three in the 2018-19 season.
Overall, the Titans' 10 Division I 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 pulled down 53 rebounds in the season opener, the most by the red, white and blue since the 53 they had against Youngstown State in 2016

RETURN OF THE MAK

Senior Mak Manciel had a slow start to last season, 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.
Manciel started the year with 12 points and five rebounds in the season opener, giving him eight double-figure outings in his last 16 games.
Last season, he scored a career-high 20 points, connecting on 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from three at Wright State.
As a sophomore at Arkansas State, Manciel missed the season due to a knee injury.
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%.

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.
He just 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 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.
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 in a game 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 knocked down two 3-pointers, and netted eight points at Youngstown State.

A DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR OKORO

Freshman Stephen Okoro made an immediate 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.

313 IS WHERE O WANTS TO BE

Junior Orlando Lovejoy hails from the city of Detroit, evidenced by his 313 tattoo on his right arm.
In the season opener, he tied for the team lead with 13 points and had three rebounds and a steal.
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.

NATE THE GREAT

Freshman Nate Johnson had a great opening game against Cleary, tallying nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
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.

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.
He showed his all-around game in the season opener as he posted seven points, five rebounds, an assist, block and steal against Cleary.
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. There, he helped the school to a top-five ranking in the Associated Press state poll, a district title, and an OHSSA State Title in 2021.

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.
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.

FRENCHIE IS HERE

Senior Alex Tchikou has faced several obstacles in his career, which has seen him play just 32 games in four years.
Last season, he missed the year dealing with immigration issues.
Before that, he played in 29 games at Rhode Island, tallying 4.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, shooting 48.8% from the field with 21 blocks and 10 steals.
He posted a career-high 11 points at Loyola, 10 points and was 6-for-6 at the free throw line at George Mason, six points and grabbed eight rebounds at Saint Louis, six points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots at Saint Joseph's and eight points and six rebounds at Massachusetts.
In his first two years at Alabama, he missed his freshman year with a torn Achilles and played in just three games as a sophomore.