Men's Basketball 02.06.25

Men's Basketball Set For Home Date With Youngstown State On Saturday

Men's Basketball 02.06.25

Men's Basketball Set For Home Date With Youngstown State On Saturday

DETROIT (2/7/2025) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will wrap up a busy stretch of six games in 18 days as the Titans host Youngstown State on Saturday.

Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. on Dick Vitale Court and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Watch ESPN App as Dan Hasty and Jeremy Otto have the call.

Detroit Mercy has won two straight at home after beating NKU and Green Bay last week, but is coming off a tough loss at Robert Morris. Freshman TJ Nadeau kept up his strong play with 16 points and seven rebounds and is averaging 13.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in the last three games, shooting 45.2% from the field (14-of-31) and 47.8% from behind the arc (11-of-23).

Youngstown State has won three of the last four and comes into the contest at 15-10 overall and 9-5 in Horizon League play.

Back in December, the Penguins got past UDM, 73-64, at home.

Tickets to all Titan games can be purchased here.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Detroit Mercy has dominated the all-time series, 40-19, but Youngstown State has won seven in a row and 10 of the last 12 meetings.
The Titans are 21-7 all-time at Calihan Hall in the match-up, but the Penguins have won their last four trips to the Motor City.
In fact, due to the pandemic canceling the 2021-22 game and both games at YSU in 2020-21, Detroit Mercy has not defeated Youngstown State at home since Jan. 12, 2018.

REMEMBERING EARL THE TWIRL

Both Detroit Mercy and Robert Morris were in shock and sadness when Earl Cureton passed away on Feb. 4, 2024.
In a special ceremony this week on Feb. 4, the one-year anniversary of his passing, the street alongside St. Cecilia's gym (Stearns & Livernois) was renamed to honor him.
Cureton transferred from Robert Morris and helped the Titans to a 36-19 in his two years, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 1979. He averaged 20.0 points and 9.1 rebounds to lead the team in 1980. He also sits ninth on the all-time Titan list in blocks with 79.
He was selected in the third round of the 1979 NBA Draft by Philadelphia and played 12 years, earning rings with Philadelphia in 1983 and Houston in 1994.

LET'S TALK PLAYOFFS

With six games left in the regular season, the Titans are still fighting for a home playoff game as they sit tied for ninth with IU Indy at 4-10, just two games out of eighth place.
The 2025 Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Championships are set to begin on March 4.
The top five teams receive a bye in the first round, while teams 6, 7 and 8 will host a first-round game.
The semifinals and title game are set for March 10-11 at the Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis.

KEEP IT GOING AT HOME

The Titans are looking for their third-straight game at home, which would be the first in the Motor City since the 2022-23 season.
Detroit Mercy has held its last two opponents at home to under 60 points, the first time since the 2014-15 season, and if they were to do it again, it would be the first time since 2013-14 when UDM downed Indiana Tech (93-50), Bethune Cookman (73-53) and Wright State (58-53).

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 sixth in the Horizon League hitting at 33.2% from three.
But a little different than in years past or today's NBA game, UDM is 11th in the HL and 342nd in DI, connecting on 5.4 per game and 11th in the conference, and 349th in the country with just 16.4 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 57 games).

WINNING THE GLASS

Detroit Mercy just outrebounded Robert Morris, 35-28, and comes into the game second in the Horizon League and 68th in the country with 38.0 rebounds per game and fifth in the HL and 82nd in the country with 12.0 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 six opponents to under 70 points, including two in a row under 60 in its winning homestand last week.
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 31.2% from distance. They are also third in overall field-goal defense, forcing teams to 42.4%, and have allowed just 63.6 points in their last six games.

MAKING THE FREE ONES

The Titans have taken advantage at the free throw line this season, especially in the last four games where UDM has connected on 50-of-60 (83.3%).
Detroit Mercy has tallied double-digit free throws 18 times on the year, including a season-high 22 at Youngstown State.
UDM is fourth in the Horizon League at 74.0%, but in HL games only, it tops the conference at 77.1%.
Junior Orlando Lovejoy is second in the league at 84.9% (90-of-106). Graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac is 33-of-38 (86.8%), junior Legend Geeter has made 45-of-55 (81.8%) and freshman TJ Nadeau is at 81.5% (22-of-27).

OUR PRIDE AND JOY

Junior Orlando Lovejoy - who missed two games with an ankle injury and came back against Oakland - has been remarkably consistent on offense and defense, scoring in double figures in 18 games as well as grabbing at least three rebounds in 21 games and five on seven occasions.
In his five 20-point games, he has not even attempted a three in four of them, as he is an old-school guard with a mid-range game and gets to the line, where he is second in the league at 84.9%.
He just had another great all-around game with 17 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds at Robert Morris. Last week, he netted 19 points with four rebounds, two assists, and a block in the Norse 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 17 games and five or more in eight, ranking seventh in the league with 3.9 per game.
On defense, he has at least one steal in 20 games with eight multi-steal contests, including a career-high five at Loyola and against Green Bay, and is second in the HL with 1.91 per game.
He reached 20 points for the fifth time this season against Milwaukee as he had 20 points 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 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals against Wright State, and that was after 18 points and a career-high nine assists against Purdue Fort Wayne. He recorded 18 points with seven assists and three steals at EMU, tying the game with a layup with just three ticks on the clock.
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 15.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists, shooting 43.6% overall and 84.9% at the line, ranking in the top 10 in the HL in scoring (4th), assists (7th), steals (2nd), field-goal percentage (9th), free-throw percentage (2nd) and minutes played (1st - 35:16).

GEETER READY TO MAKE HIS OWN LEGEND

Junior Legend Geeter has found himself at home in his hometown.
Geeter - who missed the game at Purdue Fort Wayne with an injury - has started to get back on track after tallying 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks, hitting 9-of-18 from the field and 6-of-8 at the line in Detroit Mercy's wins over NKU and Green Bay. Getter just had six points, five boards, an assist and a steal at Robert Morris.
Geeter has now scored in double figures in nine games this season, including five in a row at one point.
He posted 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds versus NKU and finished with 15 points and seven boards against the Phoenix.
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 8.1 points and 4.1 rebounds, shooting 41.2% 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 13.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in the last three games, shooting 45.2% from the field (14-of-31) and 47.8% from behind the arc (11-of-23).
He just scored 16 points and seven boards at Robert Morris, hitting 4-of-6 from three. Last weekend, 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 25 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 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds. He has also seen 37 of his 77 field goals come from behind the arc, leading the team, and has connected on a three in 19 of his 25 contests.

NATE THE GREAT

Freshman Nate Johnson has held his own as a rookie on the hardwood, registering eight games in double figures, 22 games with three or more rebounds, and six games with at least two assists.
He is currently posting 7.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists, shooting 37.6%.
Johnson had eight points and three boards against NKU and 12 points and seven rebounds versus Green Bay.
He 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. He pulled down a season-high 10 boards at Youngstown State, adding six points and three assists. He netted 11 points with four rebounds and a block at NKU and 12 points, three rebounds and two assists against Wright State.
Johnson was named the HL Freshman of the Week on Nov. 11 after averaging 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists, hitting 10-of-23 (43.5%) shots, with four triples.
He started his collegiate career with nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists in the win over Cleary. He came 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 twice, five rebounds four times and recording a double-double.
After posting just 31 points (1.7), 43 (2.4) rebounds and eight blocks in just 11.4 minutes of action in his first 18 games, Kalambay has 42 points (6.0), 39 boards (5.6) and seven rejections playing 29.7 minutes in the last seven.
He has also now connected on 15 of his last 20 at the line after starting the season 2-of-12.
He showed great vision, coming away with a season-high four assists at Robert Morris. He had six points, four rebounds and two assists against Green Bay after registering six rebounds, a season-high three blocks and three assists with a steal against NKU.
He 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 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line.
He 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.