DETROIT (12/2/2025) -- The attention now shifts to conference play as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will play three league foes in the next two weeks, starting with a visit from IU Indy on Wednesday.

Game time is set for 7:00 p.m., on Dick Vitale Court in Calihan Hall 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 coming off a 70-66 win at Niagara on Saturday as three players scored in double figures, led by junior London Maiden's season-high 16 points and eight rebounds.

Senior Orlando Lovejoy ranks in the top 20 in the Horizon League at 12.7 points per game and enters the contest just 30 points shy of 1,000 for his career, while sophomore TJ Nadeau is tallying 11.9 points per contest.

IU Indy is coming off an 85-80 win at Air Force and is 3-6 on the year, leading the HL and ranking 22nd in the nation in offense at 91.6 points per night.

After the game, UDM will have two road HL affairs, traveling to Cleveland State on Saturday and Purdue Fort Wayne next Sunday.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

• Despite being just a four-and-a-half-hour drive, the Titans and Jaguars had never faced each other before IU Indy joined the Horizon League in 2017-18, as Detroit Mercy leads the series, 8-5.
• The Titans are 5-1 all-time at home in the match-up, with four wins by double digits.
• IU Indy swept last year's series and has won three of the last four meetings.

OUR HORIZON LEAGUE HISTORY

• Detroit Mercy is 19-26 in league openers, winning five of the last seven, and 25-20 all-time in HL home openers, also winning five of the last seven.
• Last season, UDM downed Purdue Fort Wayne at home to start conference play.
• Overall, the red, white, and blue are 308-377 all-time in the Horizon League, winning the regular league championships in 1998 and 1999 and the conference title in 1994, 1999, and 2012.

A DAUNTING SLATE

• Detroit Mercy had 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 MSU was intriguing as head coach Mark Montgomery faced his college coach and former boss, Tom Izzo.
• So far this season, the DI non-conference opponents have amassed a 32-20 record. 

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.

WE HAVE OPTIONS

• Detroit Mercy came into the season knowing it had a deep bench, and that has shown so far this year.
• The Titans are currently third in the Horizon League and 64th in the nation, tallying 39.2 points from the bench per game.
• Some of the big games included 43 points at UIC, 49 versus Cleary and 33 at DePaul.

CLEANING THE GLASS

• UDM has hit the glass all season long and is second in the conference, recording 38.2 rebounds per game, as well as second in the league and 49th in the country with 13.8 offensive rebounds per game.
• At Niagara, the Titans dominated the boards to the tune of a 43-27 margin, which included 14 offensive rebounds leading to 14 second-chance points. The +16 margin was the most against a Division I team since outrebounding Wake Forest by 17 last year.
• The Titans had 21 offensive rebounds at UIC, 15 at Toledo, and 13 against Eastern Michigan and at DePaul.

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 3-of-17 effort from three at Niagara, the red, white, and blue have now reached double-digit 3-pointers just four times in the last 72 games and twice last year (10 at Oakland, 11 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne) as they are still looking for that consistent stroke from the outside. 

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 73.0% at the line this season - fourth in the HL - while their 14.9 makes per game is also fourth. 
• The Titans have reached double-digit free throws in six games, going 15-of-20 at UIC, 25-of-41 versus Cleary, 11-of-17 at Toledo, 17-of-18 against Eastern Michigan, 16-of-19 at DePaul, and 23-of-30 at Niagara.

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 eight 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.
• Nadeau also has hit the boards, grabbing a season-tying six at Niagara, and has tallied 3.4 per game.
• He is second on the squad with 11.9 points per game and has now scored in double figures 16 times in his career and 11 times in his last 18 outings. He also tops the squad with 18 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 leads the team with 12.7 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 steals. 
• He has a 2.2-1 assists-to-turnover ratio with 26 assists against just 12 turnovers on the season and is approaching 1,000 career points, entering the game at 970.
• He leads the HL and is 11th in the nation, hitting 96.4% at the line (27-of-28). 
• He has at least two steals in four of his seven 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 just had 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists at Niagara. He dished out a team-high six assists at Notre Dame and five at Toledo.
• 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 eight games, he is third on the team with 11.1 points and 4.1 rebounds, hitting 34-of-62 (54.8%) from the field and 17-of-23 (73.9%) 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 as he just tied his season high for the third time netting 11 points at Niagara, hitting 9-of-11 at the line.
• He 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 and 11 points on 3-of-6 from three at Toledo.
• The son of assistant coach LaMonta Stone, he posted 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, 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 starting to get back into the rotation, pulling down six rebounds at Niagara and tallying 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 with a season-high seven points, four assists, and three rebounds at Niagara.
• The weekend before, he pulled down a team-high six rebounds at Michigan State and had 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 has started to show that dominance in the paint, tallying a season-high 16 points and eight rebounds at Niagara, hitting 5-of-7 from the field and 6-of-8 at the line.  
• 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, Maiden has made 14-of-25 (56.0%) from the floor in the last five 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.

 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 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.

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.
• Istomin-Monroe now has 18 points in his last three games, after scoring just six in his first five contests.
• At Niagara, he had six points and two boards and that was after 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 eight 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.