Men's Basketball 01.10.25

UDM Gears Up For Road Game At Purdue Fort Wayne

Men's Basketball 01.10.25

UDM Gears Up For Road Game At Purdue Fort Wayne

Freshman Nate Johnson and the Titans will look for a sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne.

DETROIT (1/10/2025) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will look for a regular season sweep as the Titans head to Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday night.

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

Detroit Mercy downed Purdue Fort Wayne, 79-78, back in early December as junior Legend Geeter scored a career-high 22 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with four seconds remaining.

The Titans fell to IU Indy on Thursday as they were without their leading scorer, Orlando Lovejoy, due to an ankle injury. Nine players dressed for the Titans - six of those freshmen - against the Jaguars as redshirt freshman Grant Gondrezick II led the way with 21 points and five assists.

The Mastodons are 12-6 overall and 5-2 in the Horizon League after back-to-back home victories over Youngstown State and Milwaukee.

Following the game, the Titans will have a week off before hosting #MetroSeries rival Oakland on Jan. 18.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

Purdue Fort Wayne swept the series a year ago, but the Titans got some revenge, winning the first meeting at home as the all-time series is now tied at 6-6.
Detroit Mercy is 1-3 all-time on the road, with the lone victory a 75-66 tally in 2022.

OUR HL HISTORY

The red, white and blue are now 306-366 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 88-53 (.624) on the year, highlighted by Rhode Island (12-2), Wisconsin (12-3), Davidson (11-4) and Wake Forest (11-4).

WE JUST NEED 5 MORE MINUTES

The Titans are 3-0 in overtime games this year, the most wins in the extra session since the 1982-83 campaign when they won at Michigan State and at home against Canisius and Dayton.
So far on the season, UDM downed Niagara 84-78 for the first win in extra time since a 116-109 victory against Houston Baptist (Houston Christian) in 2017. Detroit Mercy added another at Eastern Michigan before its come-from-behind 78-76 win at Robert Morris.
The last time the Titans played four overtime games was in 1995-96, while the red, white and blue also captured three wins in OT in 1981-82 and 1963-64.

NOT YOUR NBA GAME

The Titans are currently fourth in the Horizon League hitting at 34.0% from downtown.
But a little different than in years past or today's professional game, UDM is 11th in the HL and 339th in DI connecting on 5.7 per game and 11th in the conference and 345th in the country with just 16.7 attempts per game.
In fact, the red, white and blue have made double-digit 3-pointers just once this season (11 vs. PFW) and three times going back to the start of last year (spanning 50 games).

RUNNING 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.
Against Robert Morris, the Titans started slow, making five of their first 20 shots, but finished the game 26-of-47 (55.3%) overall and 61.3% (19-of-31) in the second half to get the game to overtime.

WINNING THE GLASS

Detroit Mercy has outrebounded its opponents in 10 of its 18 games as the Titans are third in the Horizon League and 62nd in the country with 38.8 rebounds per game, third in the HL and 62nd in the country with 12.6 offensive boards, and fifth in the league with a +1.7 margin.
UDM registered a 48-31 tally at Wake Forest (14-6 on offense). The Titans outrebounded Ball State, 40-30, with 13 offensive 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.

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 forced the Demon Deacons into missing 25 of their last 31 from behind the arc and 34 of its last 50 shots overall after starting the contest 8-of-11.
Against Purdue Fort Wayne, the Mastodons were 6-of-26 from three in the second half, Wisconsin 7-of-35 from distance and Robert Morris 4-of-23.
In the game versus Milwaukee, UDM held the high-scoring Panthers to 30.8% from the field and 3-of-24 from three.

LANDO GETTING TO 20

Junior Orlando Lovejoy - who missed the IU Indy game with an ankle injury and is considered day-to-day - has continued to elevate his offensive game as he reached 20 points for the fourth straight game and the fifth time this season after his 20-point effort against Milwaukee.
Along with his 20 points, he tied his career high with 10 rebounds for his second career double-double and also had five assists.
He started last weekend with a career-high 32 points and nine rebounds against Robert Morris, going 13-of-21 from the field.
Lovejoy tallied 23 to go with four boards and three steals at Youngstown State after 20 points with four rebounds and three assists at Wisconsin.
In the last four games, he has averaged 22.8 points on 49.3% shooting (35-of-71) and 88.5% on the line (23-of-26). The last Titan to record 20 points in five straight games was Antoine Davis in 2022-23.
Also, in four of his five 20-point games this season, he has not made or even attempted a three, as he is an old-school driver and mid-range guard.
He has been remarkably consistent on offense and defense, scoring in double figures in 13 games as well as grabbing at least three rebounds in 15 games and five on seven occasions.
He also has at least three assists in 13 games and five or more in six, ranking fifth in the league with 4.1 per game, as well as at least one steal in 15 games with six multi-steal contests, including a career-high five at Loyola and four at Davidson and at NKU, and is fourth in the HL and 99th in DI with 1.82 steals per game.
He had a team-high 16 points with five rebounds, four assists, and four steals at NKU. He posted 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals against Wright State, and that was after 18 points and a career-high nine assists against Purdue Fort Wayne. He recorded 18 points with seven assists and three steals at EMU, tying the game with a layup with just three ticks on the clock.
He scored 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 and had a team-high 15 points, eight boards, and handed out six assists at Wake Forest.
On the year, he leads the team at 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists, shooting 43.9% overall and 83.8% at the line, ranking in the top 10 in the HL in scoring (4th), assists (5th), assist-to-turnover ratio (10th - 69a - 41t), steals (4th), field-goal percentage (10th), free-throw percentage (4th) and minutes played (1st - 34:28).

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.
After tallying 10 points against Robert Morris, he has been in double figures seven times this season, including five in a row at one point.
At Davidson, he netted 17 points - hitting a career-high five 3-pointers - along with three rebounds, two steals and a block.
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 ringing in the game-winning triple against Purdue Fort Wayne, 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 8.2 points and 3.8 rebounds, shooting 43.8% (53-of-121) overall, with 12 triples.
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 EMU.

JUST KUAC THIS

Graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac was off to a strong start in his second Titan season but missed three games with a knee injury.
He returned at Youngstown State and tied his career-high with nine rebounds and scoring seven points and had 16 points with four boards, two assists, two blocks and a steal against Robert Morris.
He posted a team-high 18 points, connecting on 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-7 from three against Toledo. Kuac netted 11 points with six boards against Purdue Fort Wayne and had 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal versus Niagara.
For his career, Kuac has made 118 field goals, 59 of those from three, including 40 of his 70 field goals as a Titan.
Kuac missed the first 12 games of last year's season, recovering from an injury he sustained before arriving at UDM.

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

Freshman TJ Nadeau has scored in double figures four times this season and has netted at least seven points in 11 of the 18 games.
He just had eight points at IU Indy, seven with three boards and three assists versus Milwaukee and eight points against Robert Morris.
He had eight at NKU and Youngstown State, 11 versus Wright State, and started HL play with nine points, five rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal against Purdue Fort Wayne.
He posted 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 registered 13 points with a season-best nine boards at Wake Forest and netted his first double-digit effort with 10 points against Toledo.
As a rookie, he is averaging 7.2 points, with 20 of his 47 field goals coming from behind the arc, second on the team, and connecting on a three in 13 of his 18 contests.

NATE THE GREAT

Freshman Nate Johnson has held his own as a rookie on the hardwood, registering five games in double figures, 15 games with three or more rebounds, and five games with at least two assists.
He is currently posting 7.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists, shooting 37.5%.
He just scored nine points at IU Indy, eight points against Robert Morris and Milwaukee, with six boards against the Panthers, and pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds at Youngstown State, adding six points and three assists. He netted 11 points with four rebounds and a block at NKU after registering 10 points with four rebounds at Davidson and 12 points, three rebounds and two assists against Wright State.
Johnson was named the HL Freshman of the Week on Nov. 11 as he 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 with 13 points and three boards at Loyola and nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal in the come-from-behind win over Niagara.

GIVE ME A GRANT

Redshirt freshman Grant Gondrezick II has really come on since the start of the year, reaching double figures in seven of the last 10 games - three of those reaching 20 - after scoring just 16 total points in his first seven.
He started his scoring streak by stepping up when his team needed him at Eastern Michigan, posting a season-high 22 points, 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 registered his second 20-point scoring game with 20 at Wisconsin, going 8-of-18 overall and 3-of-4 from three and just had a team-high 21 points and a season-tying five assists at IU Indy.
He had 12 points with five rebounds, four assists, and two steals at NKU and ended with 13 points at Davidson. Before that, he recorded 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.
He had four points, but pulled down a season-high eight rebounds with two assists and a steal at Youngstown State.
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.
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 is averaging 3.9 rebounds on the season, with 26 on offense and 28 on defense.
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, coming away with a double-double of 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, connecting on 6-of-8 from the field.
He became 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.

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 has 39 rebounds in the last seven games and is coming off a season-best nine rebounds with five points and a steal at IU Indy.
He grabbed seven boards at Wisconsin, eight with a block and a steal at NKU and six with a block at Davidson.
Mitchell finished with four points and a season-best three steals at Youngstown State.
Earlier in the season, he had eight points and 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 Eastern Michigan.
He is 20-of-37 from the field (54.1%) on the year, with all of those field goals coming around the basket.