DETROIT (11/27/2025) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will look to make it a happy Thanksgiving weekend as the Titans get on the bus to New York to face Niagara on Saturday.

Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Gallagher Center and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

The Titans enjoyed some Thanksgiving food but also worked hard in practice all week, even getting in a morning session on the holiday. UDM has dropped four in a row, but the last two have been to power schools in Michigan State out of the Big Ten and DePaul from the BIG EAST.

Three Titans are in double figures in scoring, led by senior Orlando Lovejoy's 12.8 points. Sophomore TJ Nadeau is at 12.3, while junior Ayden Carter is tallying 11.7.

Niagara is 2-4 on the season, with wins at Binghamton and at home over Delaware State.

Following the game, the Titans will open Horizon League play with IU Indy visiting Calihan Hall on Wednesday and traveling to Cleveland State on Saturday.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

• Detroit Mercy has won the last three meetings and leads the all-time series, 5-4.
• The Titans knocked off Niagara in overtime last year, 84-78, as Jared Lary tied the game to send it to the extra session. He would finish with 11 points and six rebounds, while Legend Geeter had 14 points.
• The last three meetings took place in Detroit, while the last time the Titans visited Niagara was in 1922, a 37-20 setback.
• UDM is 1-4 all-time in upstate New York, wth the lone win a 33-30 tally in 1916.

AGAINST THE MAAC

• Detroit Mercy is 37-24 all-time against current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
• Most of that is the 17-4 record over Canisius and the 9-3 mark over Iona.

VS. THE EMPIRE STATE

• Detroit Mercy has handled teams from the state of New York in its history, owning a 72-48 record all-time against New York programs.
• Once again, the best marks are the 17-14 record against Jesuit rival Canisius, the 14-10 record against St. Bonaventure, and the 10-4 record against Buffalo.
• Meanwhile, the last time the Titans won a game in New York was in the 2009-10 campaign as they captured the 2k9 Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer Subregional in Albany, defeating Albany, Robert Morris, and Alcorn State.

FUN FACTS ABOUT 1922

• Here are some facts about 1922, the last time the Titan cagers made their way to Niagara Falls to play.

*  Bread cost 10 cents a loaf, butter was 43 cents a pound, and bananas were 30 cents a dozen
*  Gummy Bears were created in Germany
*  The Rose Bowl Stadium officially opened in Pasadena
*  The Toronto St. Pats won the Stanley Cup
*  Ford Company buys Lincoln Motor Company
*  Warren G. Harding becomes the first US President to use radio in dedicating the Francis Scott Key memorial in Baltimore

LOCAL & GLOBAL TITANS

• Detroit Mercy will have a lot of local flair, as eight of the 14 Titans hail from Michigan, including six from the Detroit Metro area. 
• Along with those Titans, Detroit Mercy also has three players from Ohio, a student-athlete from Nevada, and two from out of the country in Canada and Australia.

LOOKING FOR THAT SWEET SHOT

• One of the Titans' offseason emphases was shooting and getting more shots up, which they did in the season opener, hoisting 77 shots, including 40 from behind the arc, at UIC. It was the second-most 3-point attempts in school history. 
• UDM then went 28-of-67 at Notre Dame, 30-of-64 in the win over Cleary, and 32-of-71 at Toledo. 
• Last season, UDM was seventh in the Horizon League, hitting at 33.0% from three, ranked 11th in the HL and 341st in DI, connecting on 5.6 per game, and 11th in the conference and 347th in the country with just 17.0 attempts per game. 
• After their 5-of-12 effort from three at DePaul, the red, white, and blue have now reached double-digit 3-pointers just four times in the last 71 games and twice last year (10 at Oakland, 11 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne).

MAKING THE FREE ONES

• The Titans took advantage of the free throw line last year, ranking fourth in the Horizon League at 73.5%, and tallying double-digit free throws 24 times.
• They are currently connecting on 72.2% at the line this season. 
• UDM was just  25-of-41 versus Cleary and 11-of-17 at Toledo, before converting 17-of-18 against Eastern Michigan, 7-of-8 at Michigan State, and 16-of-19 at DePaul.

GIVE ME THAT BALL

• Detroit Mercy had just two games last season with double-digit steals, but tallied 11 in the season opener at UIC. 

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

• Sophomore TJ Nadeau scored the first basket of the season and has not stopped scoring, netting double figures in five of the seven games, including a career-best 24 points on a career-high 9-of-14 from the field and six triples at Notre Dame.
• He also led the team with 16 points in the win over Cleary, 14 at DePaul, and finished with 15 points and five rebounds at Toledo.
• He is second on the squad with 12.3 points per game and has now scored in double figures 16 times in his career and 11 times in his last 17 outings. He also tops the squad with 16 triples. 
• Nadeau was one of three Titans to appear in all 32 games last year, with 16 starts, and registered 8.9 points - second on the team - 3.5 rebounds - sixth on the squad - while hitting 36.1% from the field, 34.3% from three, and 86.0% at the line, playing in 24.4 minutes a night.
• He led the team with 48, 3-pointers - connecting on a three in 25 of the 32 games - and was second with 100 total field goals.
• He reached double figures 11 times and had at least five caroms in 10 contests.
• He really came on as the season went along, going from 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds, shooting 28.9% from the field in the non-conference to 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds, shooting 39.7% overall and 36.1% from distance in conference action.

OUR PRIDE AND JOY

• Preseason All-Horizon League guard senior Orlando Lovejoy got off to a slow start, but has turned it on in the last few games.
• He now leads the team with 12.8 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 steals, and is also approaching 1,000 career points entering the game at 958. 
• He also has at least two steals in four of his six games and now has at least three steals in 16 games in his career. 
• He posted 18 points, five assists, and two steals at Toledo, 20 points - his 10th career 20-point game - and six rebounds against Eastern Michigan, and 14 points with four assists and three steals at Michigan State.
• He had 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals at UIC in the season opener and dished out a team-high six assists at Notre Dame.
• He started all 30 games he saw action in last year, leading the team at 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, shooting 44.7% overall and 86.7% at the line, ranking in the top 10 in the HL in scoring (4th), assists (7th), steals (2nd), field-goal percentage (8th), free-throw percentage (2nd) and minutes played (2nd - 35:05).
• Lovejoy netted double figures in 24 games, grabbed at least three rebounds in 26 games and six on nine occasions, registered at least three assists in 23 games and five or more in eight, and secured at least one steal in 25 games with 10 multi-steal contests.
• He tallied nine 20-point games on the season, tied for the eighth most in the HL.
• He scored a career-high 32 points with nine rebounds against Robert Morris, going 13-of-21 from the field, and 20 points with a career-tying 10 rebounds for his second career double-double, along with five assists, versus Milwaukee.
• One of the most impressive stats is that the 6-3 guard is an old-style type of player, making just four total 3-pointers on the season as he looks to penetrate and kick it out. In fact, in six of his 20-point outings, he did not even attempt a three.

AC BRINGING THE FAITH

• Junior Ayden Carter stood out at DII Walsh University and has made an impact on offense, netting double figures in five games and grabbing at least five rebounds in three.
• In his DI debut at UIC, he tallied a team-high 18 points (7-14 FG) with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. He had 15 points and eight boards over Cleary, 12 points and six rebounds at Toledo, and 10 points at DePaul.  
• Through seven games, he is third on the team with 11.7 points and is tied for second with 4.3 rebounds, hitting 31-of-53 (58.5%) from the field and 15-of-21 (76.2%) at the line.  
• At Walsh, he played in 50 games and tallied 11.2 points and 4.3 rebounds, shooting 46.2% from the field and 80.4% at the free-throw line. 
• As a sophomore, he led the squad at 19.0 points, was second with 5.7 rebounds, and third with 1.7 assists. Carter scored in double figures in 19 of his 20 games and netted eight 20-point games, including a career-high 34 points and 12 rebounds against Northwood. 
• Earlier this year, he was ordained as a minister by his church, Path2Life Ministries. 

NATE THE GREAT

• Sophomore Nate Johnson - a member of the Horizon League All-Freshmen Team - has scored at least six points in five games and pulled down at least four boards four times.  
• He had seven points and four boards at MSU and six points and four rebounds against Eastern Michigan. He started the year with seven points, four rebounds, and two steals at UIC and added seven more points at Notre Dame and nine against Cleary.  
• He was one of the freshmen trio who played in all 32 games, making 31 starts, and posted 8.8 points - third on the team - 4.5 rebounds - second on the team - and 1.7 assists, hitting 38.6% from the field and 30.1% from three.
• Johnson registered 13 games in double figures, 17 games with five or more rebounds, and nine games with at least two assists. 
• He pulled down a season-high 10 boards at Youngstown State and scored a season-high 19 points, hitting 6-of-12 from the field, 3-of-3 from three, and 4-of-4 at the line, with six rebounds at Purdue Fort Wayne. 
• Johnson's cousin is former Titan standout Wilbert McCormick, who played from 1977-80 and is second in school history with 611 assists. Two cousins played college basketball in Xavier Johnson (Colorado State) and Raquan Battle (West Virginia), while another cousin, Morgan Tuck, played at Connecticut and won four NCAA titles before winning a WNBA championship with Seattle in 2020. 

GREAT STONE TO BUILD UPON

• Detroit Mercy freshman Lance Stone has had a good start to his career and just dished out a season-high seven assists at DePaul, the most helpers by a freshman since Anotine Davis at the end of the 2018-19 season.
• He posted 11 points with five rebounds, six assists, and three steals in his first start against Cleary, 11 points on 3-of-6 from three at Toledo, and seven points with three caroms versus EMU. 
• The son of assistant coach LaMonta Stone, he was a three-star and a top-five recruit in Michigan by 247 Sports and ESPN, as well as a top 55 point guard by ESPN, after tallying over 1,500 career points and breaking the Michigan high school record in assists, with more than 850 helpers in his career.
• Stone was a four-time All-State selection, who was named First Team by the Detroit News and Associated Press as a sophomore and senior. He was tabbed Detroit Mr. Basketball as a junior, the first time a junior ever received the honor, and a Mr. Basketball finalist as a senior after tallying 23.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 11.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS

• Freshman Keshawn Fisher had a good start to his collegiate career, recording 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, with a pair of 3-pointers at UIC.
• He then netted seven points and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds at Notre Dame, and had 14 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals in just 14 minutes of action against Cleary and eight points in 18 minutes against EMU. 
• He was a three-star recruit and had an 85 rating on 247Sports.com after prepping at Overtime Elite Academy in Atlanta, an institution that has produced top 10 NBA draft picks Rob Dillingham, Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, and Alex Sarr in the last few years.
• In his lone season at OTE, he posted 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks, and was a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year. 
• At River Rouge High School, he was named All-State First Team by the Detroit News and the AP as a senior after tallying 25.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 blocks, shooting 50.6% from the field and 35.7% from three.

SPRATT IS COMING HOME

• Detroit Mercy brought back a hometown kid when redshirt freshman Tyler Spratt transferred to UDM.
• He had seven points at Notre Dame and five points with eight rebounds and two assists in the win over Cleary. He also had eight points and eight boards at Toledo and eight more points at DePaul.  
• He spent his freshman campaign at Cleveland State but did not appear in a game for the Vikings. 
• In high school, he was All-League as a sophomore, junior, and senior, and All-State as a junior and senior. He posted 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals, and 3.0 assists as a senior and was a McDonald's All-American nominee. 
• He is very familiar with the Horizon League, not only as a player on a 20-win CSU squad, but also because his cousin, Kay Felder, played for Oakland and was the Horizon League Player of the Year in 2016, and would go on to play in the NBA.

THE RETURN OF LARY

• Senior Jared Lary had just started to find his role last season at Detroit Mercy, but suffered a knee injury at Eastern Michigan.
• He is now coming off his best game with seven points, a rebound, and an assist at DePaul. He had two points and four assists against Cleary and two points and two helpers at Michigan State. 
• He started six of the nine games he saw action in last season, recording 9.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 42.7% from the field and 40.0% from behind the arc.
• He had 11 points, six rebounds, two steals, an assist, and a block against Niagara and netted a season-high 15 points - all in the second half - shooting 6-of-9 overall and 3-of-4 from three, with four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block at Ball State.

THE LEGEND OF GEETER

• Senior Legend Geeter is coming off a strong game weekend on the glass, pulling down a team-high six rebounds at Michigan State and five boards at DePaul. 
• He had two points, two assists, a steal, and tied for the team lead with five rebounds in the season opener at UIC, and had three points, three boards, and a block at Notre Dame. 
• He played in 29 games and tallied 7.9 points - fifth on the team - 4.1 rebounds - third on the squad - and 1.3 assists, shooting 41.2% from the field, 35.6% from three, and 80.3% at the line. He was also fourth on the team with 12 games in double figures.
• On the glass, he posted at least three rebounds in 22 games and grabbed at least two offensive rebounds in 12 games.
• He recorded 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, and also had 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists at Oakland.

THE BIG MAN

• The Titans reeled in a big man in 6-8, 250-lb London Maiden, and he tied for the team lead with five rebounds at UIC. 
• Maiden went to work inside at Toledo with seven points, hitting 3-of-6 from the field, and scored four points with three caroms at Michigan State and six points at DePaul.
• After starting the year 3-of-13 shooting, he has made 9-of-18 from the floor in the last four games.
• Before the Titans, he played at Blinn College, where he averaged 11.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, shooting 59.2% from the field and 71.0% from the line as a sophomore, earning NJCAA All-Region XIV Honors. He posted 19 games in double figures and collected three double-doubles.
• He was also at Mars Hill College as a freshman, after redshirting at Kent State. 

 KALAMBAY'S PLAY

• Sophomore Ryan Kalambay has started to see more time recently and just had two points, two rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal at DePaul. 
• He had four points, three rebounds, a block, and a steal in just seven minutes in the season opener at UIC, and grabbed four rebounds at MSU.
• He was one of three Titans to appear in all 32 games, making 15 starts, and averaging 3.5 points and 3.8 rebounds, while hitting 53.0% from the field in 18.2 minutes a night.
• He also led the team with 25 blocks and was second with 21 steals.
• Just like rookie teammates Nate Johnson and TJ Nadeau, he grew as the season progressed going from just 37 points (1.9), 46 (2.4) rebounds, eight blocks, and 12 steals in just 11.4 minutes of action in his first 19 games to 77 points (5.9), 75 boards (5.7), 16 rejections, and 11 takeaways playing 25.9 minutes in the last 13.
• He posted at least five rebounds on 14 occasions, including 12 times in the last 16 games.
• Kalambay tallied his first career double-double with a season-high 13 points and 11 rebounds to go with an assist, a block, and a steal against Oakland.

THE PRIZE FROM OHIO

• The Titans landed one of Ohio's top recruits in 6-6 freshman Je'kel Cotton.
• In his collegiate debut, he had two points and four rebounds in just eight minutes of action at UIC and pulled down seven caroms at Notre Dame. He also came up with a near double-double of nine points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes in the win over Cleary.  
• In high school, he was All-State as a senior after averaging 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds, netting a career-high 40 points.
• Cotton was ranked a three-star and a top-10 recruit in Ohio by 247 Sports and was a Toledo top-64 player. 

FROM THE LAND DOWN UNDER

• Detroit Mercy landed a recruit from Australia in a big way as 7-1, 235-lb Xavier Istomin-Monroe joined the Titans.
• He just had his best offensive game with eight points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal at DePaul. 
• He had three rebounds at UIC, at Notre Dame, and at Michigan State, and has a blocked shot in four of the seven games. 
• He is only the second Australia-born Titan following Jayden Stone (2022-24).
• As a prep, he won U-18 titles in both Canada and Australia. 
• Last season, he was at the Royal Crown Academic School in Toronto, helping the team win a NPA title, after averaging 12.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks. He earned finals MVP after posting a season-high 22 points and eight rebounds in the championship game.
• In his homeland, he suited up for the City of Sydney basketball association, leading the team to a Melbourne Classic U-18 national title in 2023. 

HITTING THE VEGAS JACKPOT

• Freshman Zak Abdalla has had sports in his bloodline from an early age.
• He scored five points with a rebound and an assist against Cleary. 
• He played his senior year at Trinity Prep in Las Vegas and tallied 15.0 points in the PRO16/NXTPRO league, an Official Grassroots Partners of PUMA. As a senior, he recorded 27.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and that was after being named All-State First Team at Foothill High School. 
• His dad played soccer at UNLV - leaving the Rebels as the program leader for most saves in a season (101) and a career (321) - and also coached women's soccer at UNLV and TCU. His uncle played soccer at UCLA, and his grandfather, Tim Grgurich, played baseball and basketball at Pittsburgh, later coached at Pitt, and served as an NBA assistant coach. 

MEN'S BASKETBALL INKS 4 FALL SIGNEES

• Detroit Mercy was able to secure some highly touted prospects as the Titans announced the signings of Keaton Aldridge Jr. (Indianapolis, Ind./ Cathedral), Greg Grays Jr. (Detroit, Mich./Brother Rice), Chance Houser (Detroit, Mich./Mumford), and James Martin (Muskegon, Mich./ Muskegon).
• Aldridge Jr. posted 13.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.0 steals in the last two seasons, earning All-City and All-Conference.
• Grays Jr. - the son of former Titan Greg Grays - has scored 1,410 career points and averaged 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in his prep career, earning First Team All-State as a junior.
• Houser was All-State Second Team last year, tallying 14.5 points and 5.7 rebounds a game, leading Summit Academy to its first MHSAA D2 state finals.
• Martin is a three-time team captain who has averaged 16.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.7 steals, earning two All-Conference accolades, and was the team's Defensive Player of the Year last season.