DETROIT (12/12/2024) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will have a couple of non-conference games around a Horizon League match-up as the Titans visit Davidson on Saturday.

Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at John M. Belk Arena and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

The Titans (5-6) started conference play by splitting their games at home last week as they downed one of the preseason favorites, Purdue Fort Wayne, 79-78, before falling to Wright State, 80-72.

Junior Orlando Lovejoy leads the Titans in scoring (14.5), rebounding (4.5), assists (4.5) and steals (1.5) to go with a 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio (49-26), while junior Legend Geeter is tallying 14.2 points and 6.5 rebounds in his last four games, scoring in double figures in all four after posting 5.7 points and 2.7 boards in his first seven contests.

Davidson is 7-2 on the season and have won two in a row, beating Charleston Southern, 73-72, and Charlotte, 75-71, both at home.

After the game, the Titans will go back into HL action, heading to NKU on Dec. 18 before closing out the non-conference slate at Wisconsin on Dec. 22.

PAST HISTORY IN DETROIT

• These two teams have never faced, but Davidson does have some history with Detroit Mercy looking on.
• The Wildcats made a run to the Elite 8 in 2008, defeating Wisconsin and falling to Kansas at Ford Field in Detroit, where UDM served as the host.
• Also, the two schools produced two of the best shooting guards in NCAA history as UDM's Antoine Davis finished with 3,664 career points - second in NCAA history - and a NCAA record 588 3-pointers, while Steph Curry ended with 2,653 points and 414 3-pointers for Davidson. Davis broke Curry's freshman record with 132 trifectas (122 for Curry) and almost took down the single-season mark as Curry had 162 in 2007-08 and Davis made 159 in 2022-23. 

AGAINST THE A-10

• Davidson is the third Atlantic 10 member that the Titans will face this season, as Detroit Mercy is 154-164 all-time against current members of the A-10. 
• Most of that has come against former conference rivals Loyola, Dayton, St. Louis, and Duquesne when they were members of the MCC.

TOUGH FOES IN THE  NON-CONFERENCE

• The Titans will play a few home games in the non-conference campaign. Three will take place in November, marking the most home games since they had three in the 2018-19 season.
• Overall, the Titans' 10 DI opponents are 62-34 (.645) on the year.
• Last year, the teams were 173-152 (.532) as Wisconsin made the NCAA Tournament, while Loyola and Wake Forest played in the NIT. 

LOOKING FOR THE NEXT BENCHMARK

• The Titans have already eclipsed last year's win total of one and snapped a 22-game road slide with a win at Ball State.
• UDM posted four wins in November, the most in the month since going 4-3 at the start of the 2017-18 season.
• A win would put the Titans at 6-6, their best start through 12 contests since they were 7-5 in 2015-16.

TURNING ON THE OFFENSE

• The Titans scored 90 points for the second time this season in their 98-89 road win at Eastern Michigan. They also won 91-52 versus Cleary to start the year. 
• The 98 points were the most since UDM recorded 99 in two overtimes at Robert Morris last year, the only time it was in the 90's. 
• UDM's 54.8% shooting against the Eagles was the best since hitting 59.6% (31-of-52) at Wright State last year, while the 17 assists were the second most on the year after the 19 against Cleary.
• They nearly went over 50.0% again, ending with 48.3% (29-of-60) versus Purdue Fort Wayne, including 65.5% (19-of-29 overall and 9-of-14 from three) in the second half.
• UDM also nailed a season-high 11 triples against the Mastodons, the most since connecting on 12 last year at Wright State.

DOMINATING THE GLASS

• Detroit Mercy has owned the glass this year, outrebounding its opponents in nine of its 11 games. The Titans are second in the Horizon League and 36th in the country with 40.9 rebounds per game, second in the HL and 39th in the country with 13.7 offensive boards, and second in the league and 38th in DI with a +7.7 rebounding average. 
• UDM registered a 48-31 advantage at Wake Forest (14-6 on offense). The Titans outrebounded Ball State, 40-30, with 13 offensive boards and collected 15 of the last 20 rebounds in the contest to seal the win. 
• Detroit Mercy took the glass against Niagara, 49-28, the first time it 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. They also edged Loyola, 40-39, which included 20 offensive caroms, and Tulsa, 47-44, 16-9 on offense. 

GIVE US ONE MORE CHANCE

• UDM's outstanding work on the glass has led to a 146-78 margin on second-chance points on the season.
• Detroit Mercy had 20 second-chance points in the season opener against Cleary, 22 at Loyola, and tallied a 17-4 margin at Ball State and 18-6 versus Wright State. 
• Last year, the Titans had just one game all season long with 15 second-chance points.

PLAYING SOME DEFENSE

• In the win at Ball State, the Titans held a team under 60 points on the road for the first time since a 71-58 triumph at Milwaukee in 2021-22.
• At Wake Forest, the Titans responded from a slow start to force the Demon Deacons into missing 25 of their last 31 from behind the arc and 16 for their last 50 shots overall after starting the contest 8-of-11. 
• Against Tulsa, the defense came back to force the Golden Hurricane into 8-of-25 (32.0%) from the field and 4-of-17 (23.5%) from three in the second half, while Purdue Fort Wayne was 6-of-26 from three in the second half. 

313 IS WHERE O WANTS TO BE

• Junior Orlando Lovejoy hails from Detroit, evidenced by his 313 tattoo on his right arm.
• The EMU transfer has turned up his play in the last eight games, scoring in double figures in seven of them, averaging 16.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, handing out 40 assists against just 22 turnovers with 10 steals.
• Lovejoy just tallied 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals against Wright State. He had 18 points and handed out a career-high nine assists against Purdue Fort Wayne, and that was after 18 points, seven assists, and three steals at Eastern Michigan, tying the game with a layup with just three seconds on the clock. 
• He scored a career-high 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting and 8-of-8 at the free-throw line against Rhode Island, with seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals. 
• Lovejoy tallied a team-high 15 points, grabbed a season-best eight boards, and handed out six assists at Wake Forest and registered 19 points, seven rebounds with five assists, and a steal at Ball State, going 5-of-12 from the field and tying his career-best with a 9-of-10 effort at the line. 
• On the year, he leads the team at 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, shooting 43.8% overall and 81.5% at the line, ranking in the top 10 in the HL in scoring, assists, steals, and free-throw percentage. 

GEETER READY TO MAKE HIS OWN LEGEND

• After stops at Providence and Eastern Michigan, junior Legend Geeter is ready to make himself at home in his hometown. 
• Geeter had a great opening week of conference play, scoring 10 points, grabbing eight rebounds with two assists and a block against Wright State, and that was after a career game, netting a career-high 22 points, going 9-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from distance, while corralling nine boards. 
• He scored 14 points, along with three boards, three assists, and a steal, at EMU, after 11 points, six rebounds, and a career-high four steals with a block against Rhode Island. He recorded 14 points against Niagara, going 3-of-5 from the field and 8-of-8 at the free-throw line, and eight points, four rebounds, and two steals at Ball State, going 2-of-2 from distance. 
• On the year, he is averaging 9.1 points and 4.0 rebounds, shooting 49.3% (34-of-69) overall and 7-of-13 from three. 
• Geeter - who was coached in high school by Titan 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 and spent the last two seasons at Eastern Michigan.

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

• Freshman TJ Nadeau was in double figures for the fourth time this season, ending with 11 points versus Wright State.
• Nadeau started HL play with nine points, five rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal against Purdue Fort Wayne.
• He had a season-best 16 points at Eastern Michigan, hitting 5-of-7 from the field, 2-of-2 from distance, and 4-of-4 at the line. 
• Before that, he posted 13 points with a season-best nine boards at Wake Forest and netted his first collegiate double-digit scoring performance with 10 points against Toledo.
• On the year, he is averaging 7.9 points as 15 of his 30 field goals have been 3-pointers, the second most triples on the squad. 

NATE THE GREAT

• As the Titans opened the year with a 2-1 week, the Horizon League took notice as rookie Nate Johnson was named the Under Armour Freshman of the Week on Nov. 11.
• 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.
• He has been fighting foul trouble recently but added 11 points, five rebounds, an assist, and a steal at EMU, and 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists against Wright State.
• He is averaging 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists for the year, shooting 39.7% overall.

GIVE ME A GRANT

• Redshirt freshman Grant Gondrezick II stepped up when his team needed him at Eastern Michigan, posting a season-high 22 points, a season-best seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal as he was 7-of-14 from the field, 2-of-4 from three and 6-of-7 at the charity stripe.
• He came into the game with just 16 total points and was 7-of-22 from the field. 
• He just added 11 points, four rebounds and two assists versus Purdue Fort Wayne.
• In his collegiate debut against Cleary, Gondrezick II had five points and a team-high five assists with a steal. He also had five points and two helpers at Wake Forest and four points, two boards, and a steal against Tulsa. 
• He did not see any action at Elon last year, 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 and was named to the Mr. Basketball Top 10 Watchlist for 2023.
• His dad, Grant Gondrezick, played college basketball at Pepperdine and then two seasons in the NBA for the 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 Knicks and Nuggets. 

PUTTING IN THE MILES

• Freshman Miles Mitchell was a candidate to redshirt at the start of the season, but after not playing the first three games, he has come off the bench, providing a spark on offense and defense.
• He just netted four points and three boards in just 12 minutes against Wright State. 
• Mitchell finished with eight points and had four rebounds in just 13 minutes against Rhode Island and just notched two points, four rebounds, an assist and a block in 15 minutes of action at EMU. 
• He also had two points, three caroms, a block and a steal at Wake Forest.
• He is 11-of-16 from the field (68.8%) on the year, with all of those field goals coming around the basket.

KALAMBAY'S PLAY

• Freshman Ryan Kalambay is another Canadian import for Detroit Mercy.
• He had two points, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal against Rhode Island. He had his second-straight game with five rebounds, three points, two steals and a block against Tulsa after pulling down five rebounds with a block at Wake Forest.
• 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.

A DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR OKORO

• Freshman Stephen Okoro talked about being a Dennis Rodman-type player and so far, he has lived up to that, averaging 4.3 rebounds on the season, with 22 on defense and 21 on offense.
• He pulled down a game-high nine boards against Tulsa, with four off the offensive glass.
• He had four rebounds, two points, a block, and an assist in 10 minutes at Wake Forest, four rebounds with two assists at Ball State in eight minutes, and five rebounds with a block in nine minutes against Toledo.
• Okoro had three points and a team-best six boards at Loyola and made an impact in his Titan debut against Cleary. He played just 16 minutes and came away with a double-double of 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 at Purdue Fort Wayne in 2022, while the last freshman to accomplish the task was Marquis Moore at IUPUI in 2019.