Men's Basketball 02.20.25

Senior Day Has UDM Hosting First-Place Cleveland State On Friday

Men's Basketball 02.20.25

Senior Day Has UDM Hosting First-Place Cleveland State On Friday

Graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac and the Titans will have one final home game this season.

DETROIT (2/20/2025) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will look to honor its senior class and send its fans home with a win as the Titans battle the Cleveland State Vikings on Friday.

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

Prior to the game, the Titans will honor senior Mak Manciel.

Both teams are looking to get back on track heading into the Barbasol Horizon League men's basketball championships.

Detroit Mercy has dropped four in a row after Wednesday's setback to IU Indy. Junior Orlando Lovejoy reached 20 points for the third-straight game and the eighth time this season, ending with 22 points and nine rebounds. He is currently fourth in the Horizon League in scoring at 16.6 points per game.

Freshman TJ Nadeau was in double figures for the eighth time this season with 16 points, while freshman Nate Johnson is averaging 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in the last nine games, going in double figures five times and pulling down at least five boards in seven contests.

Cleveland State has lost two in a row and three of the last four as the Vikings are 18-9 overall and 12-4 in league play. CSU won the first meeting, 65-50, erasing a nine-point UDM second-half lead.

Tickets to all home games start at just $10 and can be purchased here.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Cleveland State has won three in a row and seven of the last nine, but Detroit Mercy still leads the all-time series, 47-32.
No team has won more than three in a row over each other in the last 33 meetings, dating back to 2008-2010, when the Vikings won five straight.
UDM has is 31-6 all-time in the Motor City, but the teams have split the last four on Dick Vitale Court.
The red, white and blue did win 28 of the first 34 games in the overall match-up.

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.

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 combinations on the year, but the same five have started the last six games (Lovejoy, Nadeau, Johnson, Geeter, Kalambay).

NOT YOUR NBA GAME

The Titans are currently fifth in the Horizon League hitting at 32.7% from three.
But a little different than in years past or today's NBA game, UDM is 11th in the HL and 341st in DI, connecting on 5.5 per game and 11th in the conference, and 347th in the country with just 16.8 attempts per game.
In fact, the red, white, and blue have just two games on the year with double-digit 3-pointers (10 at Oakland, 11 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne) and just four times in the last 60 games going back to last year.

WINNING THE GLASS

Detroit Mercy has outrebounded teams 16 times this year, including the last four games at Oakland (40-34), at Robert Morris (35-28), against Youngstown State (36-29) and versus IU Indy (39-34).
The Titans are now second in the Horizon League, and 61st in the country with 38.1 rebounds per game and fifth in the HL and 74th in the country with 12.2 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 YSU.

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 nine 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.
The Titans are currently second in the Horizon League in three-point field goal percentage defense, holding teams to 32.3% from distance, and are third in overall field-goal defense, forcing teams to 42.8%.

MAKING THE FREE ONES

The Titans have taken advantage of the free throw line this season, especially in the last seven games, where UDM has connected on 88-of-106 (83.0%).
Detroit Mercy has now tallied double-digit free throws 21 times during the year, including a season-high of 22 at Youngstown State.
UDM is third in the Horizon League at 74.5%, but in HL games only, it is second at 77.5%.
Junior Orlando Lovejoy is second in the league at 86.7% (104-of-120). Graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac is 34-of-41 (82.9%), junior Legend Geeter has made 49-of-61 (80.3%) and freshman TJ Nadeau is at 83.3% (25-of-30).

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 came back with 10 points in 20 minutes against Youngstown State and had 13 points (4-7 FG, 3-4 3FG) and two assists at Oakland in just 15 minutes of court time.
Earlier in the year, 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 and six in overtime.

OUR PRIDE AND JOY

Junior Orlando Lovejoy - who missed two games with an ankle injury at IU Indy and at Purdue Fort Wayne - has been remarkably consistent on offense and defense, scoring in double figures in 21 games and grabbing at least three rebounds in 24 games and six on eight occasions.
He now has eight 20-point games on the season - as well as in three straight games - tied for the seventh most in the HL.
In his eight 20-point games, he has not even attempted a three in six of them, as he is an old-school guard with a mid-range game and gets to the line.
He just posted a team-high 22 points, nine rebounds and three steals against IU Indy. Before that, he had 20 points, five rebounds, and three assists at Oakland and 24 points, six rebounds, and three assists against Youngstown State.
He has at least three assists in 20 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 tied for second in the league with 1.80 per game.
He had a great all-around game with 17 points, six assists, four steals, and three rebounds at Robert Morris and 19 points with four rebounds, four assists and tied his career-high with five steals as the Titans topped Green Bay.
Lovejoy had 20 points against Milwaukee and tied his career high with 10 rebounds for his second career double-double, along with five assists.
He tallied a career-high 32 points with 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. In the non-conference, he scored 28 points 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.
He leads the team at 16.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, shooting 44.9% overall and 86.7% at the line, ranking in the top 10 in the HL in scoring (4th), assists (7th), steals (T-2nd), field-goal percentage (7th), free-throw percentage (3rd) and minutes played (1st - 35:50).
In Horizon League-only games, Lovejoy's 18.8 points are second only to the 19.9 by Purdue Fort Wayne's Jalen Jackson, while his 38:10 minutes of playing time is first.

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 10.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, hitting 22-of-55 from the field (40.0%) in the last six games, scoring in double figures and grabbing at least seven board four times.
He had 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists at Oakland after 11 points, seven rebounds, and a career-tying six assists against Youngstown State.
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 11 points, six rebounds with a career-high four steals and a block against Rhode Island and 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 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds, shooting 40.8% with 15 triples and netting double figures in 12 games.
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.spending the last two seasons at EMU.

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

Freshman TJ Nadeau has really started to come alive, averaging 11.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in the last six games, with 17 of his 23 field goals coming from downtown.
Nadeau is coming off a 16-point effort against IU Indy as he now has scored in double figures eight times. He has also netted at least seven points in 18 of the 28 games, and has at least four boards in 10 contests.
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 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 8.2 points and 3.4 rebounds. He has also seen 40 of his 80 field goals come from behind the arc, leading the team, and has connected on a three in 21 of his 27 contests.
His progress on the season has seen him go from 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds, shooting 28.9% from the field in the non-conference to 9.8 points and 3.5 rebounds, shooting 39.6% overall and 37.2% from distance in conference action.

NATE THE GREAT

Nate Johnson has held his own as a rookie, playing all 28 games with 27 starts, and registering 11 games in double figures, 14 games with five or more rebounds, and seven games with at least two assists.
He is posting 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds, shooting 38.9% overall and 32.9% from three on the season, but has upped those numbers to 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds, hitting 40.4% from the field and 36.8% from distance in the last 10 games, going in double figures six times and pulling down at least five boards in eight contests.
Even deeper, he has gone from averaging 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds, shooting 34.4% overall and 31.8% from three in the non-conference to 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds, hitting 40.8% from the field and 33.3% from three in HL games.
Johnson just had 13 points and five rebounds against IU Indy and that was after 15 points, tying his season-best with three triples, six rebounds, and three assists at Oakland. He had 11 points and six rebounds with a steal against Youngstown State and 12 points and seven rebounds versus Green Bay.
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.

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 132 field goals, 60 of those from three, including 41 of his 84 field goals as a Titan.

PUTTING IN THE MILES

Freshman Miles Mitchell has come off the bench to provide a spark.
He just had five rebounds in just five minutes at Oakland. He had a season-best nine rebounds with five points and a steal at IU Indy and had seven boards at Wright State.
He grabbed seven boards at Wisconsin and eight boards with a block at NKU.
Earlier in the season, he had eight points and four rebounds in just 13 minutes against Rhode Island.

KALAMBAY'S PLAY

Freshman Ryan Kalambay has picked up his play in the last nine games, tallying double figures in scoring three times, five rebounds seven 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 52 points (5.7), 53 boards (5.9) and 10 rejections playing 26.1 minutes in the last nine
He has also now connected on 19 of his last 26 at the line after starting the season 2-of-12.
He 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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