YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (12/29/2024) -- Junior
Orlando Lovejoy scored 23 points and the Titans cut a 23-point second-half deficit to single digits, but couldn't complete the comeback as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team was downed by Youngstown State, 73-64, on Sunday.
Lovejoy also added four rebounds and three steals. Graduate senior
Emmanuel Kuac returned to action and finished with seven points and tied his career-high with nine boards and freshman
Nate Johnson added six points, a career-high 10 rebounds and three assists.
Detroit Mercy (5-10, 1-3 HL) saw Youngstown State (9-5, 4-0 HL) race out to a 23-3 lead in the first seven minutes and led by 20, 29-9, with 7:13 left. Four straight points by Lovejoy would trim the YSU advantage to 14, 33-19, but UDM trailed at the break 38-23.
The Penguins took a 47-24 lead early in the second half before UDM started chopping away. The Titans went on a 9-0 run to make it a 48-37 game with just over 14 minutes remaining. Kuac started it with a steal that led to a layup by Lovejoy. Redshirt freshman
Grant Gondrezick II then hit a jumper and freshman
TJ Nadeau followed with a 3-pointer. Lovejoy then had a steal underneath the basket, which led to a dunk from freshman
Miles Mitchell.
Youngstown State stopped that, but Detroit Mercy kept battling and made it a 10-point affair at 58-48 with 8:14 on the clock as Kuac had a bucket and a free throw, and Johnson added a pair at the line.
UDM then found itself down 18, 66-48, but once again made a run with a dunk by Mitchell, getting the squad within 11, 68-57, at the 4:19 mark. Free throws pushed the deficit down to 10, and a layup from junior
Legend Geeter had the score at 72-64 with 40 ticks left but that was as close as the Titans would get.
Geeter ended with eight points and four rebounds. Nadeau recorded eight points and Gondrezick II pulled down a season-high eight caroms.
The Titans were a season-high 22-of-30 at the line, outrebounded YSU, 47-44, and came away with a season-best 11 steals.
Detroit Mercy will be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 2, as the red, white and blue host Robert Morris, with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m.
Game Notes:
- Detroit Mercy has dominated the all-time series, but Youngstown State has won seven in a row and 10 of the last 12 meetings as UDM leads the match-up 40-19, including 17-12 on the road
- The 22 free throws were the most since making 24 against IUPUI at home last season, while the 11 steals were the most since that game as well
- It was the third time this year the Titans have hit two or fewer triples in a game
- Detroit Mercy has outrebounding its opponents in 10 of its 15 games
- Lovejoy has now scored in double figures in 11 games, including three 20-point efforts, as well as grabbing at least three rebounds in 13 games and five on six occasions
- Lovejoy has at least one steal in 13 games with six multi-steal contests as he came into the game fourth in the HL with 1.86 steals per game
- Kuac had missed the last three games with a knee injury
- Kuac also had nine rebounds at Nevada as a member of New Mexico in 2022
- Nadeau has a three in 12 of his 15 games
- Johnson now has 12 games with three or more rebounds, with his previous high of seven against Cleary
- Gondrezick II previous high in boards was seven at Eastern Michigan
