Men's Basketball 11.09.25

Titans Welcome Cleary For Home Opener On Tuesday

Men's Basketball 11.09.25

Titans Welcome Cleary For Home Opener On Tuesday

Sophomore Nate Johnson and the Titans will look for their first win of the season.

DETROIT (11/10/2025) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will be at home after a tough week on the road as the Titans meet Cleary on Tuesday on Dick Vitale Court in Calihan Hall.

Game time is set for 7:00 p.m., and will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with Dan Hasty and Jeremy Otto on the call.

Tickets start at just $10 and can be purchased here.

The Titans are looking to pick up their first win and keep a significant trend going in their home openers. Detroit Mercy is 79-13 in general home openers dating back to the 1932-33 campaign, including winning 28 of its last 31.

UDM fell in both games to start the season on the road. Sophomore Ayden Carter had 18 points to lead the offense at UIC, while sophomore TJ Nadeau scored a career-high 24 at Notre Dame.

Cleary - a NAIA program that competes in the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) - is 0-2 on the season, with a pair of six-point road setbacks. The Cougars feature a couple of coaches who played in the NBA in head coach Carl Thomas and assistant coach Grant Long.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

This is the fourth career meeting between the two schools, with the Titans winning all three, although last year's 91-52 triumph was the first matchup in almost 100 years.
The teams first met in 1905 - the first official season of Titan basketball - when the U-D Tigers (yes, they were the Tigers before the Titans) defeated the Cleary Business School of Ypsilanti 36-9, then repeated the winning score the following season.

LAST YEAR'S QUICK LOOK BACK

Eleven Titans scored, and UDM used a first-half run to open the game up as Detroit Mercy came away with a 91-52 win.
The win was head coach Mark Montgomery's 125th career victory and his first as a Titan.
Orlando Lovejoy netted 13 points and Nate Johnson added nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
UDM controlled the boards to the tune of a 53-24 advantage, the most rebounds by the Titans since 2016. The Titans also had a 54-16 advantage in points in the paint.

FUN FACTS ABOUT 1905

Here are some facts about 1905 when the first official basketball team suited up and met Cleary in game three of a four-game campaign.
* Theodore Roosevelt began his first full term as U.S. President.
* The Ford Model F car was produced
* Las Vegas, Nevada, was founded when 110 acres of land were auctioned off
* Albert Einstein publishes a paper that sets out his theory of relativity
* Ty Cobb makes his MLB debut, doubling off Jack Chesbro in a 5-3 win over the New York Highlanders at Bennett Park in Detroit

AGAINST NON DI'S

Detroit Mercy has taken care of business against non-Division I schools, winning 36 in a row, with the last loss coming against Wayne State in 1993.
The Titans are 261-67 (.792) all-time against non-division one foes.

HOME SWEET HOME

Detroit Mercy is 79-14 in general home openers dating back to the 1932-33 campaign, including winning 28 of its last 31, but 3-3 in the last six seasons.

VERSUS THE GREAT LAKES

The Titans are 296-179 (.617) all-time against other schools in the state of Michigan, including 276-105 against programs outside the two Big Ten schools.

JUST SPECULATION

The Titans were picked to finish ninth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, while senior Orlando Lovejoy was named First Team All-HL.
Other publications have slated UDM anywhere from 6th-9th, while Lance Stone and Keshawn Fisher have earned Freshman Of The Year nods by the Horizone Roundtable and Mid Major Madness, respectively.

A DAUNTING SLATE

Detroit Mercy will have a challenging non-conference schedule, visiting four states and playing eight games in the first 26 days of the season.
The slate includes trips to Michigan State, Notre Dame, and DePaul, as well as UIC, Toledo, and Niagara.
The game at Michigan State is particularly intriguing as head coach Mark Montgomery will face his college coach and former boss, Tom Izzo.

LOCAL & GLOBAL TITANS

Detroit Mercy will have a lot of local flair this year, 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.

THE HEALTH BUG

Last season, the Titans saw 10 players miss at least one game due to an injury.
There were two games when UDM had just eight and nine players to suit up as well, as a game on Jan. 11 at Purdue Fort Wayne, where Detroit Mercy started five freshmen for the first time in over 50 years.
Due to injuries, the Titans used 17 different starting combinations on the year.
The Titans are already off to a good start with all 14 players healthy and seeing action in both games.

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 and then going 28-of-67 at Notre Dame.
It was the second-most 3-point attempts in school history at UIC.
Last season, they were 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.
In fact, the red, white, and blue had just two games on the year with double-digit 3-pointers (10 at Oakland, 11 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne) and have now reached that mark just four times in the last 66 games.

MAKING THE FREE ONES

The Titans took advantage of the free throw line last year, ranking fourth in the Horizon League at 73.5%.
Senior Orlando Lovejoy was second in the league at 86.7% (117-of-135). Senior Legend Geeter made 49-of-61 (80.3%) and sophomore TJ Nadeau hit 86.0% (37-of-43).
Detroit Mercy tallied double-digit free throws 24 times last year, including a season-high of 22 at Youngstown State.
They got off to a good start, going 15-of-20 at the line at UIC, but were 5-of-10 at UND.

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.
Eight Titans came away with a steal, including two apiece in Orlando Lovejoy, Nate Johnson, and Ayden Carter.

OUR PRIDE AND JOY

Preseason All-Horizon League guard senior Orlando Lovejoy had his all-around game with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals at UIC, and then 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 28 points against Rhode Island, going 10-of-20 from the field, with seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals, and had 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.

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

Sophomore TJ Nadeau scored the first basket of the season and had five points at UIC, but was on fire at Notre Dame, posting a career-best 24 points on a career-high 9-of-14 from the field and six triples.
He 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.
He scored 13 points with a season-best nine boards at Wake Forest and had a career-high 20 points with eight rebounds and two steals at Purdue Fort Wayne.

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.
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. Fisher recorded double figures in 11 games, with a 20-point performance and a double-double.
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.

AC BRINGING THE FAITH

Junior Ayden Carter stood out at DII Walsh University and stood out in his DI debut, tallying a team-high 18 points (7-14 FG) with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals at UIC.
He came back with eight points and four rebounds at Notre Dame.
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.
As a freshman, he helped the team win the G-MAC and make the NCAA Tournament, playing in all 30 games and averaging 6.0 points and 3.4 rebounds.
Earlier this year, he was ordained as a minister by his church, Path2Life Ministries.

THE LEGEND OF GEETER

Senior Legend Geeter 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, starting 16, 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. His 83 field goals were also fourth on the team as he scored in double figures in 12 games.
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.

NATE THE GREAT

Sophomore Nate Johnson - a member of the Horizon League All-Freshmen Team - had seven points, four rebounds, and two steals in the season opener at UIC and added seven more points at UND.
He was another part 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 in 29.8 minutes of court time.
His 98 field goals were third on the team, while his 31, 3-pointers were second.
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 and finished with six points and three assists 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 the Seattle Storm in 2020.

KALAMBAY'S PLAY

Sophomore Ryan Kalambay had four points, three rebounds, a block, and a steal in just seven minutes in the season opener at UIC.
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 (4-8 FG, 5-6 FT) and 11 rebounds to go with an assist, a block and a steal against Oakland en route to his HL Freshman of the Week honor and came back with a near double-double finishing with 10 points, nine boards and two blocks, shooting 5-of-8, at Cleveland State.

GREAT STONE TO BUILD UPON

Detroit Mercy freshman Lance Stone had six points, three rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal at UIC in his collegiate debut.
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 Third Team as a freshman and 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.
He was also a two-time All-City selection and the PSL Male Athlete of the Year as a junior.

SPRATT IS COMING HOME

Detroit Mercy brought back a hometown kid when redshirt freshman Tyler Spratt transferred to UDM, and he just had seven points at Notre Dame.
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 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.
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.

THE RETURN OF LARY

Senior Jared Lary had just started to find his role at Detroit Mercy, but suffered a knee injury at Eastern Michigan and missed the last 21 games of the season.
He started six of the nine games he saw action in, 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 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.
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.
He also topped his team in scoring as a junior at 17.3 points per game to go with 7.0 rebounds until an injury ended his season.
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, 2350-lb Xavier Istomin-Monroe joined the Titans.
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, and also helped the school to back-to-back CIS crowns in 2023 and 2024.
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 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 before moving into college athletic administration. 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.