Men's Basketball 12.30.25

Titans Open 2026 Calendar At Home Vs. Robert Morris

Men's Basketball 12.30.25

Titans Open 2026 Calendar At Home Vs. Robert Morris

Freshman Zak Abdalla and the Titans will look for a win to start 2026.

DETROIT (12/30/2025) -- The New Year will have the Titans looking to keep up their winning ways as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team hosts Robert Morris on Friday, Jan. 2.

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 .

Detroit Mercy has won five of the last six and is now 6-7 on the year and 3-1 in the Horizon League.

A win would give the Titans a 4-1 mark in HL play through five games, their best start in conference play since a 4-1 start in 2018-19, and also get them to .500 for the first time past New Year's since they were 14-14 late in the 2021-22 campaign.

UDM is coming off a 73-68 win at Youngstown State as senior Orlando Lovejoy led the way with 22 points - his 11th career 20-point game - and freshman Keshawn Fisher posted a season-high 15 points with seven rebounds and three assists.

The defense held a high-scoring YSU squad to just 32.8% from the field, swatting away a season-high nine shots.

Robert Morris won both the regular season and the conference tournament last year and is 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the HL, with wins at Green Bay and against Youngstown State and losses at Milwaukee and at home to NKU. All four games have been one-possession contests.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

Despite being 208 miles apart, this will be just the 12th career meeting between the two schools as the Titans are 7-4 all-time and 6-4 since the Colonials joined the Horizon League in 2020.
Robert Morris has won four of the last five meetings, but the Titans did take a 78-76 overtime decision at home last season.
UDM is 5-1 all-time at home in the match-up.
The first battle was in 2009 at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in upstate New York.

FACTS ABOUT 2009

Detroit Mercy took down Robert Morris, 71-59, in the first-ever meeting in 2009 as Thomas Kennedy led the way with a game-high 19 points. Here are some other events that occurred in 2009.

* Barack Obama started his first term as President
* Bitcoin was first launched
* Michael Jackson passed away
* Zhu Zhu Pet hamsters were one of the top toys for Christmas
* A 4 GB MP3 player costs $39.99, while an Apple iPod Nano was $149.00
* 22-year-old Usain Bolt shatters his own world record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 9.58 seconds
* Matthew Stafford was the first pick by the Lions in the NFL draft, while the city of Pittsburgh collected titles in hockey and football

IN THE CLASSROOM

Detroit Mercy just missed a team 3.0 GPA as UDM tallied a 2.91 in the fall semester.
Junior Ayden Carter and freshman Zak Abdalla posted a perfect 4.0, while five other Titans recorded at least a 3.0.

WE HAVE OPTIONS

The Titans have had a few injuries pop up, but should be in a good position to deal with them as they are currently second in the Horizon League and 47th in the nation, tallying 32.8 bench points per game.
UDM had a season-high 59 points off the bench in the win over IU Indy.

CLEANING THE GLASS

UDM has hit the glass all season long and leads the conference at 40.0 rebounds per game - 61st in DI - as well as first in the league in defensive rebounding (26.3) and third in the HL and 37th in the country with 13.7 offensive rebounds per game.
The Titans had a 51-18 advantage against Siena Heights, their biggest rebounding margin in nearly 10 years, with 17 of those rebounds coming on the offensive end.
The week before, UDM posted a 44-34 margin at Purdue Fort Wayne, where the Titans collected 15 offensive rebounds.
At Niagara, Detroit Mercy dominated the boards, 43-27, including 14 offensive rebounds that led to 14 second-chance points. The +16 margin was the most against a DI team since outrebounding Wake Forest by 17 last year.
Earlier in the season, the Titans had 21 offensive caroms at UIC.

LOOKING FOR THAT SWEET SHOT

Last season, UDM ranked 11th in the HL and 341st in DI, connecting on 5.6 per game.
While the Titans have hit a season-high nine 3-pointers three times this season (at Notre Dame, vs. IU Indy, at Purdue Fort Wayne) they have not fared that much better overall, ranking 331st in three-point shooting (29.6%) and 318th in triples per game (6.2), both last in the HL.
In fact, the Titans have reached double-digit 3-pointers just four times in the last 77 games - twice last year with 10 at Oakland and 11 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne.

BUILT FOR THE D

Detroit Mercy has played better defense as the season has progressed, ranking third in the HL in field-goal defense (43.0%) and fifth in points allowed (76.9).

MAKING THE FREE ONES

The Titans rank first in the HL and 81st in the nation at 74.8% at the free-throw line, while their 16.0 makes per game is fourth in the league.
The Titans have reached double-digit made free throws in 11 games this year and four in the 20's, going 24-of-33 against Siena Heights, 21-of-24 against IU Indy, 23-of-30 at Niagara, and 25-of-41 versus Cleary.
Senior Orlando Lovejoy tops the league and is fourth in the NCAA at 95.5% (42-of-44), while sophomore TJ Nadeau is third in the HL at 85.0% (34-of-40).
Other Titans shooting well include Lance Stone at 81.8% (27-of-33), Ayden Carter at 76.9% (20-of-26), and London Maiden at 70.8% (17-of-24), while Keshawn Fisher has made 11-of-13.

PROTECT THE BALL

Detroit Mercy had just two games last season with double-digit steals, but tallied 11 in the season opener at UIC.
On the flip side, the Titans committed a season-low six miscues at Cleveland State.
UDM has committed less than 10 turnovers in four of its last six games and in five total on the year.

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

Sophomore TJ Nadeau has netted double figures in eight of the 13 games, including a career-best 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 4-of-5 from three at Cleveland State.
Earlier this season, he had 24 points on a 9-of-14 effort from the field and six triples at Notre Dame and scored 20 points against Siena Heights.
Nadeau also has hit the boards, grabbing a season-tying six at Niagara, and five at CSU, and has tallied 3.6 per game.
He leads the squad with 12.9 points and 28 triples and ranks eighth in the HL with 2.1 trifectas per game.
Nadeau was one of three Titans to appear in all 32 games last year, with 16 starts, and registered 8.9 points and 3.5 rebounds.
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 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals - both top 10 in the HL - and is tied for second on the squad with 12.2 points per game.
He has a 2.4-1 assists-to-turnover ratio with 42 assists against just 17 turnovers, and recently celebrated crossing the 1,000-point plateau in his career.
He also has at least two steals in eight of his 12 games played.
Lovejoy just scored a season-high 22 points - his 11th career 20-point game - at Youngstown State, where he was a career-best 10-of-10 at the line.
He had 17 points, a team-high six assists, three rebounds, and two steals at Cleveland State.
He posted 18 points, five assists, and two steals at Toledo, 20 points and six rebounds against Eastern Michigan, and 14 points with four assists and three steals at Michigan State.
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-school player, making just four total 3-pointers last season while looking to penetrate and use his mid-range game.
In fact, in seven of his 11 career 20-point outings, he has not even attempted a three.

THE BIG MAN

The Titans reeled in a big man in 6-8, 250-lb London Maiden, and he started to show dominance in the paint with back-to-back season highs, before an illness slowed his playing time down against Purdue Fort Wayne and Siena Heights to two and 12 minutes, respectively.
He came back strong at Youngstown State with eight points and four rebounds, with all eight points coming during a 19-4 run to start the second half.
He had 16 points and eight rebounds at Niagara, hitting 5-of-7 from the field and 6-of-8 at the line, and then had a season-high 18 points and nine rebounds, shooting 6-of-7 from the field and 6-of-8 at the line versus IU Indy.
After starting the year 12-of-31 (38.7%) and tallying 4.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in his first seven games, Maiden has made 20-of-33 (60.6%) from the floor in his last six, averaging 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Before he arrived in the Motor City, he played at Blinn College, where he tallied 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.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Freshman Keshawn Fisher had a good start to his collegiate career with 12 points at UIC and 14 points versus Cleary, but he has really come on in his last three games.
He just scored a season-high 15 points with seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal at Youngstown State.
Before that, he had 12 points with six rebounds, two steals, and a block against Siena Heights and 14 points with a season-best nine rebounds at Purdue Fort Wayne.
After posting just 4.8 points and 1.8 rebounds, making 20-of-54 shots (37.0%) in his first 10 appearances, he is averaging 13.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.0 steals in his last three, hitting 15-of-29 from the field (51.7%).
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.

THE LEGEND OF GEETER

Senior Legend Geeter - who missed last game with an undisclosed injury - has been a consistent presence in the middle for the Titans, especially over the last five games, where he is averaging 7.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists, making 11-of-24 shots and 4-of-8 from three.
He has seven games on the year with at least five rebounds and 33 in his career.
Geeter had eight points, six rebounds, and three assists at Purdue Fort Wayne. Before that, he tallied seven points, nine rebounds, and five assists at Cleveland State, eight points and five rebounds against IU Indy, and pulled down a team-high six rebounds at Michigan State.
Last season, he played in 29 games and tallied 7.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 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.

SPRATT IS COMING HOME

Redshirt freshman Tyler Spratt earned the Horizon League Freshman of the Week on Dec. 15 after his best performance of the season at Purdue Fort Wayne.
After coming into that game scoring just 43 points and making six 3-pointers in his first 10 games, Spratt netted a season-high 15 points, going 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-9 from three with five rebounds.
He had eight points against IU Indy, adding a season-best three blocks, eight points, and eight boards at Toledo, and eight points at DePaul.
After starting the season 4-of-25 (16.0%) from three, Spratt is now 9-for-22 (40.9%) in his last five games.
He spent his freshman campaign at Cleveland State but did not play.
In high school, he was All-League as a sophomore, junior, and senior, and All-State as a junior and senior, and was a McDonald's All-American nominee.

GREAT STONE TO BUILD UPON

Detroit Mercy freshman Lance Stone has had a good start to his career and tied his season high for the fourth time, netting 11 points with three assists against IU Indy, making 3-of-6 from three.
He also had 11 at Niagara, hitting 9-of-11 at the line, and 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.

AC BRINGING THE FAITH

Junior Ayden Carter - who has missed the last four games with a knee injury - stood out at DII Walsh University and has made an impact on offense, netting double figures in six games and grabbing at least five rebounds in four.
He had a great all-around game with a season-high 21 points - his ninth career 20-point game - six rebounds, a career-tying four assists, and a career-high three steals against IU Indy.
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.
He is second on the team with 12.2 points and 4.3 rebounds, and is hitting 43-of-78 (55.1%) from the field and 20-of-26 (76.9%) 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 - who missed last game with an undisclosed injury - has scored at least six points in six games and pulled down at least four boards five times.
He just had a season-best 12 points and six rebounds against Siena Heights.
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, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, hitting 38.6% from the field and 30.1% from three.
Johnson - a member of the HL All-Freshmen Team - 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, on 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.

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, scoring six points on a pair of huge 3-pointers with four rebounds at Youngstown State. He netted seven points at Purdue Fort Wayne, pulled down six rebounds at Niagara, and tallied seven points, a rebound, and an assist at DePaul.
He started six of the nine games he saw action in last season before the knee injury, 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, who has missed the last two games with an injury.
He was a part of the high-scoring bench, tallying seven points in just five minutes of court time against IU Indy.
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.

KALAMBAY'S PLAY

Sophomore Ryan Kalambay has started to see more time recently and has made a mark in the paint.
He just grabbed a season-high seven rebounds against Siena Heights, and that was after five points and six rebounds at Purdue Fort Wayne. He pulled down four rebounds, blocking two shots, and scoring two points at Cleveland State, and posted three points and three rebounds against IU Indy.
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 boards on 14 occasions, including 12 of the last 16.
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.

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 grabbed a season-high five rebounds with three points against Siena Heights.
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.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Legend Geeter: F; 6' 8"; Senior

#10 Nate Johnson: G; 6' 7"; Sophomore

#30 Ryan Kalambay: F; 6' 9"; Sophomore

#13 Jared Lary: G; 6' 6"; Senior

#5 Orlando Lovejoy: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#33 TJ Nadeau: G; 6' 5"; Sophomore

#1 Tyler Spratt: G; 6' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

#4 Keshawn Fisher: G/F; 6' 7"; Freshman

#6 Xavier Istomin-Monroe: C; 7' 1"; Freshman

#7 Ayden Carter: G/F; 6' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#23 Legend Geeter
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F

#10 Nate Johnson
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#30 Ryan Kalambay
: 6' 9"; Sophomore
: F

#13 Jared Lary
: 6' 6"; Senior
: G

#5 Orlando Lovejoy
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#33 TJ Nadeau
: 6' 5"; Sophomore
: G

#1 Tyler Spratt
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

#4 Keshawn Fisher
: 6' 7"; Freshman
: G/F

#6 Xavier Istomin-Monroe
: 7' 1"; Freshman
: C

#7 Ayden Carter
: 6' 5"; Junior
: G/F