UDM Readies For HL Tilt At NKU On Wednesday

Men's Basketball 12.16.24

UDM Readies For HL Tilt At NKU On Wednesday

Freshman Ryan Kalambay and the Titans will look for a road conference win on Wednesday.

DETROIT (12/16/2024) -- After a quick dash into non-conference play, the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will gear up for a mid-week Horizon League battle as the Titans visit the Norse of NKU on Wednesday.

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

Detroit Mercy is looking to break a two-game slide after falling at home to Wright State and at Davidson as the red, white and blue is 5-7 on the year and 1-1 in league play.

Junior Orlando Lovejoy continues to pace the Titans in virtually every category as he leads the team in scoring at 13.5 points, along with 4.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. He ranks in the top 10 in the Horizon League in scoring, assists, assist-to-turnover ratio, steals, and free-throw percentage.

Meanwhile, junior Legend Geeter has scored in double figures in five straight games and is averaging 14.8 points in the span, up from his 5.7 in his first seven games.

NKU has won three in a row and is 5-6 overall and 1-0 in the HL as the Norse defeated IU Indy on the road, 66-64, in the first week of conference action.

After the game, the Titans will stay on the road as they play their final non-conference affair on Sunday at Wisconsin.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The Titans have dropped five in a row and seven of the last 10 as the Norse lead the all-time series, 15-4.
Detroit Mercy is also 2-9 all-time on the road in the match-up.

OUR HL HISTORY

The Titans are now 305-362 all-time in the Horizon League, winning the regular league championships in 1998 and 1999 and the conference title in 1994, 1999 and 2012.

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 63-38 (.623) on the year, highlighted by Rhode Island (10-1), Loyola (8-1), Davidson (8-2) and Wisconsin (9-3).
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 6-7, their best start through 13 contests since they were 8-5 in 2015-16. It would also end a 10-game Horizon League road slide, as the last conference road win was a 96-74 triumph at Oakland in the 2022-23 campaign.

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, and is fourth in the conference, connecting on 36.3% from downtown.

DOMINATING THE GLASS

Detroit Mercy has owned the glass this year, outrebounding its opponents in nine of its 12 games. The Titans are second in the Horizon League and 46th in the country with 40.0 rebounds per game, second in the HL and 39th in the country with 13.5 offensive boards, and third in the league and 74th in DI with a +5.8 rebounding average.
UDM registered a 48-31 tally 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 166-93 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.

IT HAS BEEN A WHILE

The Titans earned an overtime win against Niagara, the first win in extra time since a 116-109 victory against Houston Baptist (Houston Christian) in 2017.
UDM added another at Eastern Michigan, giving the red, white, and blue two overtime triumphs in a year for the first time since 2013-14.

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 nine games, scoring in double figures in seven, averaging 15.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, handing out 44 assists against just 24 turnovers with 14 steals.
He has at least one steal in 10 games and five multi-steal contests, including a career-high five at Loyola, four at Davidson, and three at Eastern Michigan, as he is fourth in the HL with 1.75 steals per game.
He also has at least three assists in nine games and five or more in six, ranking third in the league with 4.4 per game.
Lovejoy 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 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists, shooting 41.4% overall and 81.5% at the line, ranking in the top 10 in the HL in scoring, assists, assist-to-turnover ratio, steals, and free-throw percentage.

GEETER READY TO MAKE HIS OWN LEGEND

After stops at Providence and Eastern Michigan, junior Legend Geeter has found himself at home in his hometown.
He was in double figures for the fifth-straight game and sixth time this year with 17 points - hitting a career-high five 3-pointers - along with three rebounds, two steals and a block at Davidson.
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. Earlier in the year, he recorded 14 points against Niagara, going 3-of-5 from the field and 8-of-8 at the free-throw line.
On the year, he is averaging 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds, shooting 50.0% (40-of-80) overall and 12-of-21 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 EMU, 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 double-digit effort with 10 points against Toledo.
On the year, he is averaging 7.5 points as 15 of his 30 field goals have been 3-pointers, the second most on the squad.

NATE THE GREAT

Freshman Nate Johnson has held his own as a rookie on the hardwood, registering four games in double figures, 10 games with three or more rebounds, and four games with at least two assists.
On the year, he is averaging 6.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists, shooting 40.6% overall.
He just scored 10 points with four rebounds at Davidson and had 12 points, three rebounds and two assists against Wright State. He added 11 points and five rebounds versus EMU and netted 13 points at Loyola.
As the Titans opened the year with a 2-1 week, the Horizon League took notice as he 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.

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 grabbed a season-high six rebounds with a block at Davidson and 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 notched two points, four rebounds, an assist and a block in 15 minutes of action at EMU.
He is 12-of-20 from the field (60.0%) on the year, with all of those field goals coming around the basket.

KALAMBAY'S PLAY

Freshman Ryan Kalambay is coming off one of his strongest games as he tied for the team lead with a season-high six boards to go with two assists, two steals and a block.
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.

GIVE ME A GRANT

Redshirt freshman Grant Gondrezick II has really come on since the start of the year, reaching double figures in four straight games after scoring just 16 total points in his first seven.
He 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 ended with 13 points at Davidson, 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals against Wright State, and 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.

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 4.1 rebounds on the season, with 23 on defense and 22 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 and five rebounds with a block 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.