DETROIT (2/27/2024) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will look to throw a wrench in a few team's postseason plans as the Titans will end the regular season on the road against programs holding the top two spots in the standings as UDM visits Youngstown State on Wednesday.

Game time is set for 6:30 p.m., at the Beeghly Center and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Watch ESPN App. Fans can also listen to the action on the radio on WLQV 92.7 FM & 1500 AM FaithTalk Detroit with the Voice of Detroit Mercy basketball Dan Hasty.

The Titans can still move up to the 10th seed in the conference tournament, while Youngstown State is on the hunt for a share of the regular season title. 

The Barbasol Horizon League Men's & Women's Basketball Championships will begin next Tuesday.

Senior Jayden Stone comes into the game leading the Horizon League and 12th in the nation in scoring at 21.1 points per game, with 14, 20-point performances on the year. His offense has helped the Titans shoot over 50.0% from the field in three straight games and four of the last five.

Marcus Tankersley is part of that offensive charge as he has netted 20 or more nine times this season, including four of the last six games, and is tallying 16.3 points on the year - seventh in the HL - and shooting 45.4% from the field - 14th in the conference.

The defending regular-season champion Penguins have won two in a row and three of the last four as YSU heads into its regular-season finale at 21-9 overall and 13-6 in league play. 

Following the game, the red, white and blue will be at #MetroSeries-rival Oakland on Saturday. 

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Detroit Mercy has dominated the all-time series, 40-17, but Youngstown State has won eight of the last 10 meetings.
• The Titans are 17-10 all-time on the road, winning seven of the last 11 trips to the Beeghly Center.

STARTING TO SURGE

• The Titans have struggled on offense but have picked it up in the last 12 outings, averaging 74.5 points after tallying just 60.1 in their first 17 games. 
• Detroit Mercy has registered double-digit assists in nine of the 12 games.
• UDM has shot over 46.0% in seven straight games after shooting 51.7% against Wright State, 52.2% against Purdue Fort Wayne and 51.0% in the win over IUPUI last week. Before that, UDM tallied 47.5% at NKU - including 66.0% in the second half - and hit a season-high 59.6% at Wright State the game before, its best mark since hitting 66.0% against Green Bay in 2021. 
• They had a season-high 99 points at Robert Morris and a season-best 17 assists. 
• The 99 points were the most since a 101-83 victory against Green Bay at home in 2019 and the most points on the road since a 115-108 setback at Green Bay in 2016.  

SHOWING SOME DEFENSE

• Detroit Mercy has forced double-digit turnovers in 19 games this season. UDM also has at least 10 steals in six games this year.
• The Titans' defense forced Robert Morris into 20 at home and registered 16 turnovers with a season-tying 12 steals at Milwaukee.
• Earlier this year, they forced Ball State into a season-high 21 turnovers with a season-best 12 steals. 
• UDM is fifth in the HL with 6.8 steals per game. 

EARNING POINTS AT THE LINE

• The Titans have made double-digit free throws in 22 games this season.
• The Titans were 17-of-22 against Purdue Fort Wayne and 24-of-33 effort against IUPUI, the second most free throws on the season behind the 25-of-26 at home against NKU.
• The 33 free throws were the most since going 24-of-34 against Rochester on Nov. 8, 2022, a 93-65 win.
• The Titans are fifth in the HL in free-throw percentage at 73.0%. 
• They also have two of the best in the league as Marcus Tankersley is eighth at 80.0% and Jayden Stone is 10th at 79.1%. 
• Tankersley has made 28 of his last 31 in the last five games, including 14 straight at one point.  

A PRECIOUS STONE

• Senior Jayden Stone returned to action after missing six games and quickly reestablished himself as one of the top scorers in the NCAA in the last 12 games at 23.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists. 
• He just tallied 25 points against Wright State, and that was after a game-high 27 points with six rebounds against Purdue Fort Wayne. He had 24 points with six boards at NKU, 28 points against Cleveland State and 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists at Green Bay.
• Stone recorded his second double-double of the year with 15 points, a career-high 10 assists, six boards, and two steals at Milwaukee.
• Stone had a monster game with a career-high 36 points and a season-best 10 rebounds, playing 49 of a possible 50 minutes at Robert Morris, while adding four assists, two steals, and a block. 
• He had a then career-best 34 points against Eastern Michigan, hitting 12-of-15 from the field and 4-of-7 from three with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. 
• Defensively, he came away with six steals against Ball State, the most steals by a Titan since 2017.
• He now has two 30-point efforts - tied for second in the HL - and 14, 20-point performances - tied for third in the league - in just 23 games played.
• Stone is averaging a league-best 21.1 points, 12th in the nation, along with 2.4 triples, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists, top 15 in the HL in all three.
• He has played in 36 career games with the Titans and has netted 20 or more 19 times, been in double figures 29 times, grabbed five or more rebounds on 25 occasions, including 18 times this year, and recorded three double-doubles.

SCORE IT MARK

• Sophomore Marcus Tankersley has now scored 20 or more nine times on the year - seventh most in the HL - including seven of the last 12 games.
• He just finished with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists against Wright State and that was after 17 points and a career-high eight assists against Purdue Fort Wayne as he has evolved into more of a ball handler, averaging 4.0 assists in the last eight contests.
• He tallied 24 points on a career-best 11-of-17 effort at NKU, and that was after matching his career-high with 29 points, a career-high three triples, and handing out six assists at Wright State.
• Tankersley netted 24 points against Robert Morris and tallied 23 points against Youngstown State. That came after a career-high 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting and 9-of-9 at the line at Robert Morris.
• He is tallying 16.3 points on the year - seventh in the HL - and shooting 45.4% from the field - 14th in the conference.
• In the non-conference, he had 20 at NC State with a career-tying three steals and recorded his first career double-double with a then-career-best 23 points and 11 rebounds at Northwestern.

RETURN OF THE MAK

• Junior Mak Manciel tallied his seventh double-figure scoring effort of the season with 10 points against Wright State.
• He had 14 points and five rebounds in the win over IUPUI. 
• He started the year 6-of-42 (14.2%) from the field, but is shooting just over 39.2% (42-of-107) in the last 16 games, going in double figures in seven of them. 
• He scored a career-high 20 points, connecting on 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from three at Wright State. 
• He got his game going against NKU at home, recording 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting with four rebounds. He then had 16 points on 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-7 from three with a season-high five assists at Robert Morris.
• Last year, he was at Arkansas State, but missed last season due to a knee injury.
• He was a First Team NJCAA All-American as a sophomore at Henry Ford College after posting 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists, shooting 47.6%. 

DEL CADIA NETS CAREER BEST

• Graduate senior Edoardo Del Cadia has three double-doubles on the year as he continues to showcase some fine all-around play as a post-player.
• Del Cadia ended with 14 points and five rebounds and tied his career high with four steals against Wright State. He had 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal against Purdue Fort Wayne.  
• He almost had another double-double with 13 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and an assist at NKU. 
• He ended with 11 points, nine rebounds and two steals against Cleveland State and registered a career-best 17 points on 8-of-15 from the field with three steals and three rebounds against Youngstown State.  
• He had 16 points and grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds at Purdue Fort Wayne and tallied 16 points with 10 boards at Ole Miss, to go with three assists.
• He has now scored in double figures in 14 games and has grabbed at least five rebounds in 17 as he is currently averaging 9.2 points, 5.6 rebounds - 15th in the HL - 1.7 assists and shooting 53.92% (96-of-178) from the field, which would be fifth in the league but he doesn't have enough attempts to qualify. 

FINALLY GET TO SEE HIM

• Graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac started the season recovering from a past injury and had a slow start, but he showed what he could do when healthy at Milwaukee.
• He drained 7-of-13 from deep en route to a career-high 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting overall to go with a season-high eight rebounds, a career-tying three steals and a block at Milwaukee. 
• He just had five points and tied for the team lead with six rebounds against Purdue Fort Wayne. He also tallied a team-high five rebounds with a career-tying three blocks against NKU. 
• He missed the first 12 games, recovering from an injury sustained before his arrival at UDM.  

MOTOR CITY PRIDE

• Senior Kyle LeGreair has 11 multi-assist games this year and also has a steal in 13 of the last 16 games and 19 on the season. He has multi-steal games on five occasions after swiping two against Wright State, where he also had four points and four rebounds.  
• He also had five points and a season-tying five rebounds with two assists and a steal against Milwaukee. 
• He scored four points with three assists and two rebounds at Purdue Fort Wayne and posted two points, four rebounds and three assists at NC State. 
• He registered five rebounds and three assists at Ole Miss, two steals at Ohio and three assists against Oakland. 

KEEP WORKING HARD

• Junior walk-on Tobin Schwannecke has seen more playing time recently as the coaching staff is awarding him for his dedication in practice.
• He just had a season-high five points against IUPUI and Purdue Fort Wayne, one shy of his career-best of six against Northwood when he played for Grand Valley State in 2021.
• He also hit a three in both games and now has three career triples.  

ON THE MEND

• The Titans have seen their share of injuries this season that have seen Ryan Hurst (24), Emmanuel Kuac (13), Trenton Johnson (19), Oton Jankovic (12), Jamail Pink (7), Jayden Stone (6), Donovann Toatley (3), Michael Oaks (4), Abdullah Olajuwon (3), and Mak Manciel (1) all miss games due to injuries or illness, adding up to 92 missed contests. The coaching staff has already announced that Hurst and Johnson will miss the rest of the year, while Jankovic and Toatley are no longer with the team.
• In addition, senior Alex Tchikou has not played for personal reasons, and junior Jonathan Ammori will miss the rest of the season due to eligibility requirements.