Men's Basketball 02.13.25

Titans Look For #MetroSeries Revenge On Sunday At Oakland

Men's Basketball 02.13.25

Titans Look For #MetroSeries Revenge On Sunday At Oakland

Freshman Nate Johnson and the Titans will look for a win against their rivals.

DETROIT (2/14/2025) -- It will be the second round of the #MetroSeries as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will look to split the season series when it makes the short trip to Oakland on Sunday.

Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. at the O'rena and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Detroit Mercy comes into the game at 8-18 overall and 4-11 in Horizon League play as it still has a chance to host a home playoff game. Junior Orlando Lovejoy is coming off his sixth 20-point game of the season and leads the team at 16.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, while freshman Nate Johnson is tallying 10.0 points and 5.3 rebounds, hitting 40.0% from the field and 43.5% from distance in the last eight games, going in double figures four times and pulling down at least five boards in six contests.

Oakland is 11-15 on the year and 8-7 in the conference. The Golden Grizzlies have split their last six games and are coming off an 82-67 win at IU Indy.

After the game, the Titans will return home and host IU Indy on Wednesday and Cleveland State on Friday.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

This is the 37th meeting between the two schools, located about 26 miles apart.
Oakland leads the series, 21-15, and has won 15 of the last 17 overall and 20 of 24 since joining the league in 2013-14.
Detroit Mercy is 3-10 all-time in Rochester, collecting victories in 2017 (93-88), 2021 (82-72) and 2023 (96-74).

ABOUT THE #METROSERIES

Oakland leads this year's #MetroSeries at 10-4 as the two schools branded the annual rivalry in 2013. Points are awarded to the school with the most head-to-head victories over the academic year.
The Golden Grizzlies and Titans will compete in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, and men's and women's track and field.
The winner of each competition will be awarded points, with cross country, golf, and track and field being decided by the highest finish at the Horizon League Championships. The school with the most points at the end of the season will be awarded the Metro Rivalry Cup.
In 2013-14, Detroit Mercy and Oakland witnessed attendance highs at the men's basketball games. The Titans featured a crowd of 6,976 in Calihan Hall, the third largest attendance since the 1999-00 season, while the Golden Grizzlies set a new attendance record of 4,065. In 2014-15, another crowd of over 6,000 came out to Calihan Hall.
The 2024-25 season marks the 11th year of the Metro Series.

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 137-100 (.578) on the year, highlighted by Wake Forest (18-6), Wisconsin (19-5), Rhode Island (15-8), Loyola (15-9), Toledo (15-9) and Davidson (14-9).

CONGRATS

The Titans saw graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac, senior Mak Manciel, juniors Peter Fuchs Jr. and Legend Geeter and freshmen Chase Kuiper and Nate Johnson earn a spot on the Athletics Director's Honor Roll for having a semester GPA of 3.0.

WE JUST NEED 5 MORE MINUTES

The Titans are 3-0 in overtime this year, the most wins in the extra session since 1982-83 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.

OUR FRESH FIVE

Detroit Mercy did something at Purdue Fort Wayne that it has not done in over 50 years: start five freshmen in a game.
In an era where teams may not even have five freshmen on their roster, Grant Gondrezick II, Nate Johnson, Ryan Kalambay, TJ Nadeau and Miles Mitchell all got the nod, as Detroit Mercy had just eight available players in the contest due to injury.
UDM is also believed to be the only team in DI to start five freshmen this year and is one of only three teams in the nation (South Dakota State, Tarleton State) to have five freshmen averaging at least 10 minutes of playing time.
Due to injuries, the Titans have used 14 different starting line-ups on the year.

NOT YOUR NBA GAME

The Titans are currently seventh in the Horizon League hitting at 32.8% from three.
But a little different than in years past or today's NBA game, UDM is 11th in the HL and 343rd in DI, connecting on 5.3 per game and 11th in the conference, and 349th in the country with just 16.3 attempts per game.
In fact, the red, white, and blue have made double-digit 3-pointers just once this season (11 at home vs. Purdue Fort Wayne) and three times going back to the start of last year (spanning 58 games).

WINNING THE GLASS

Detroit Mercy has outrebounded Robert Morris (35-28) and Youngstown State (36-29) in the last two games and comes into the match-up second in the Horizon League and 63rd in the country with 38.0 rebounds per game, and fifth in the HL and 78th in the country with 12.1 offensive boards per game.
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 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

The Titans have had their moments playing some great defense this season and have really come on in the last few weeks, holding five of the last seven opponents to under 70 points, including two in a row under 60 in wins over NKU and Green Bay.
The last time the Titans held back-to-back teams under 60 points was on Dec. 2 and Dec. 5 of 2021, as they beat IUPUI 69-45 and UIC 64-56, both on the road.
The Titans held NKU to 57 points, 30.2% from the field and 4-of-27 (14.8%) from three. The 57 points allowed was the fewest since the 91-52 season-open victory over Cleary and the fewest in HL play since beating Purdue Fort Wayne, 85-52, on Feb. 4, 2023, while the 19 field goals allowed was the fewest since Ball State had 17 earlier this season and the least in conference play since the Mastodons were 19-of-56 in that 2023 contest.
In their 67-57 over Green Bay, they limited the Phoenix to 38.2% shooting and 7-of-28 from the outside.
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.
The Titans forced Wake Forest into missing 25 of its last 31 from behind the arc and 34 of its last 50 shots overall after starting the contest 8-of-11.
Wisconsin was 7-of-35 and Robert Morris 4-of-23 overall from distance. In the Milwaukee game, UDM held the high-scoring Panthers to 30.8% from the field and 3-of-24 from three, while at Cleveland State, the Vikings were 4-of-24 from three.
The Titans currently lead the Horizon League in three-point field goal percentage defense, holding teams to 31.9% from distance, and are third in overall field-goal defense, forcing teams to 42.5%.

MAKING THE FREE ONES

The Titans have taken advantage at the free throw line this season, especially in the last five games where UDM has connected on 65-of-79 (82.2%).
Detroit Mercy has tallied double-digit free throws 19 times during the year, including a season-high of 22 at Youngstown State.
UDM is third in the Horizon League at 74.2%, but in HL games only, it tops the conference at 77.2%.
Junior Orlando Lovejoy is second in the league at 85.5% (94-of-110). Graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac is 34-of-40 (85.0%), junior Legend Geeter has made 48-of-59 (81.4%) and freshman TJ Nadeau is at 81.5% (22-of-27).

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.

HOW ABOUT THAT MAK-TION

Senior Mak Manciel had a strong start to the season, leading the Titans at 13.4 points per game before suffering an injury at Ball State and missing 20 games.
He just came back with 10 points in 20 minutes against Youngstown State.
Manciel tallied a career-high 30 points and eight rebounds against Niagara, where he was a career-best 9-of-15 from the field and 6-of-7 from behind the arc, netting 18 of his points in the second half, six of which were in overtime.

OUR PRIDE AND JOY

Junior Orlando Lovejoy - who missed two games with an ankle injury and came back in the home game against Oakland - has been remarkably consistent on offense and defense, scoring in double figures in 19 games as well as grabbing at least three rebounds in 22 games and five on seven occasions.
He just scored 24 points with six rebounds and three assists against Youngstown State, his sixth 20-point game of the season.
In his six 20-point games, he has not even attempted a three in five of them, as he is an old-school guard with a mid-range game and gets to the line.
He had a great all-around game with 17 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds at Robert Morris. He netted 19 points with four rebounds, two assists, and a block in the NKU victory and then had 19 points with four rebounds, four assists, and tied his career-high with five steals as the Titans topped the Phoenix.
He has at least three assists in 18 games and five or more in eight, ranking seventh in the league with 3.8 per game.
On defense, he has at least one steal in 21 games with eight multi-steal contests, including a career-high five at Loyola and against Green Bay, and is second in the HL with 1.88 per game.
He had 20 points against Milwaukee and tied his career high with 10 rebounds for his second career double-double, along with five assists.
He had 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.
He posted 18 points and a career-high nine assists against Purdue Fort Wayne and recorded 18 points with seven assists and three steals at EMU, tying the game with a layup with just three seconds left.
Lovejoy 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 16.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, shooting 44.0% overall and 85.5% 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 (1st - 35:27).

GEETER READY TO MAKE HIS OWN LEGEND

Junior Legend Geeter has found himself at home in his hometown.
Geeter - who missed a game at Purdue Fort Wayne with an injury - has started to get back on track, tallying 10.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, hitting 14-of-34 from the field (41.2%) in the last four games.
He just tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and a career-tying six assists against Youngstown State and has now scored in double figures in 10 games this season.
He posted 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds versus NKU and finished with 15 points and seven boards against Green Bay.
Back in December 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 4.2 rebounds, shooting 41.1% overall, with 13 triples.
Geeter was coached in high school by Titan assistant coach LaMonta Stone and started his career at Providence before spending the last two seasons at EMU.

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

Freshman TJ Nadeau has really started to come alive, averaging 11.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in the last four games, shooting 40.0% from the field (16-of-40) and 41.4% from behind the arc (12-of-29).
He scored 16 points with seven boards at Robert Morris, hitting 4-of-6 from three. The weekend before, he rang in five 3-pointers, including three straight to start the second half to give UDM an 18-point lead, en route to 17 points and seven rebounds against NKU. He came back with eight points, two rebounds, and two assists against Green Bay, with all eight points coming in the second half to help stop any chance of a Phoenix comeback.
He has scored in double figures seven times this season and netted at least seven points in 17 of the 26 games, and has at least four boards in 10 contests.
He tallied his first 20-point game, ending with 20 points, eight rebounds, and two steals at Purdue Fort Wayne and had 11 points versus Wright State.
He posted 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 8.3 points and 3.4 rebounds. He has also seen 38 of his 79 field goals come from behind the arc, leading the team, and has connected on a three in 20 of his 26 contests.

NATE THE GREAT

Nate Johnson has held his own as a rookie, playing all 26 games with 25 starts and registering nine games in double figures, 12 games with five or more rebounds, and six games with at least two assists.
He is posting 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds, shooting 38.5% overall and 38.5% from three on the season, but has upped those numbers to 10.0 points and 5.3 rebounds, hitting 40.0% from the field and 43.5% from distance in the last eight games, going in double figures four times and pulling down at least five boards in six contests.
Johnson just had 11 points and six rebounds with a steal against Youngstown State. He had 12 points and seven rebounds versus Green Bay and had eight points and five boards at Cleveland State.
Johnson scored 16 points, going 6-of-13 from the field and tying his season-high with three 3-pointers, with five rebounds, two assists and two steals against Oakland.
He had a season-high 19 points with six rebounds at Purdue Fort Wayne and pulled down a season-high 10 boards at Youngstown State, adding six points and three assists. Johnson was named the HL Freshman of the Week on Nov. 11 after starting his collegiate career with nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists in the win over Cleary and coming back with 13 points and three boards at Loyola and nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal in the win over Niagara.

JUST KUAC THIS

Graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac was off to a strong start in his second Titan season but also missed three games with an injury.
He had 10 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals against NKU, the first time he was in double figures since netting 16 in the overtime win over Robert Morris.
He returned after missing three games 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. He 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 129 field goals, 60 of those from three, including 41 of his 81 field goals as a Titan.

KALAMBAY'S PLAY

Freshman Ryan Kalambay has picked up his play in the last seven games, tallying double figures in scoring three times, five rebounds five times and recording a double-double.
After posting just 37 points (1.9), 46 (2.4) rebounds and eight blocks in just 11.4 minutes of action in his first 19 games, Kalambay has 46 points (6.6), 43 boards (6.1) and seven rejections playing 29.1 minutes in the last seven.
He has also now connected on 17 of his last 24 at the line after starting the season 2-of-12.
He just had 10 points and seven boards against Youngstown State, connecting on 4-of-5 shots. He recorded six rebounds, a season-high three blocks and three assists with a steal against NKU.
Kalambay was named the HL Freshman of the Week on Jan.20 after registering his first double-double with a season-high 13 points and 11 rebounds against Oakland, going 4-of-8 shooting and 5-of-6 at the line.
Kalambay came back with a near double-double with 10 points, nine boards and two blocks, shooting 5-of-8 at Cleveland State and had five rebounds at Wright State.
He tied for the team lead with six boards to go with two assists, two steals, and a block at Davidson, had six rebounds, two points, and a block at IU Indy, and five rebounds with a block at Wake Forest.

WHAT A CHASE

Freshman Chase Kuiper made some big plays recently, especially in the two Titan home wins two weeks ago, scoring his first collegiate basket against NKU with three rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes and then grabbing a season-high five boards with another basket versus Green Bay.
The walk-on also had three rebounds at Purdue Fort Wayne and scored his first DI points, hitting four free throws at IU Indy.
Kuiper was a four-year letterwinner in basketball at Troy High School and was Second Team All-State by the Detroit Free Press and Honorable Mention All-State by the Detroit News after recording 19.1 points and 10.1 rebounds as a senior.

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