INDIANAPOLIS (1/17/2026) -- Six Titans scored in double figures as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team overcame injuries, illness, and a 10-point deficit to down IU Indy, 80-77, on the road on Saturday.
UDM played without leading scorer
TJ Nadeau, who missed the game after coming up with an injury while warming up. The triumph gave the Titans their second Horizon League sweep of the season as they matched last year's win total and exceeded its conference victories.
Redshirt freshman
Tyler Spratt led the way with 16 points and a season-tying eight rebounds. Senior
Orlando Lovejoy tallied 10 points, a season-high nine rebounds, four assists, and four steals, and freshman
Lance Stone netted a season-high 12 points.
It was a close affair the entire game, but the Titans (8-10, 5-4 HL) fell behind by six, 60-54, with 9:01 left, when they went on a 14-2 spurt to grab the lead.
Stone started the charge with a three, and after a Lovejoy steal, senior
Jared Lary had an offensive rebound and putback. After an IU Indy (5-16, 1-9 HL) basket, junior
London Maiden and sophomore
Ryan Kalambay had back-to-back baskets, and then Spratt drilled a three. Lovejoy then recorded another steal, which led to a bucket from Maiden and a 68-62 lead with 4:34 remaining.
From there, the Titans were able to hold off the Jaguars by hitting 12-of-14 free throws in the final 3:12 to earn the road victory.
Maiden finished with 11 points, while senior
Legend Geeter had 10 points, three rebounds, two steals, and a block. Lary posted a season-high 10 points and five rebounds, and Kalambay registered six points, six rebounds, a block, and a steal.
The Titans shot just 39.3% from the field, but made 26-of-30 (86.7%) at the line, tying a season high in free throws.
UDM started slow, missing three of its first 13 shots as IU Indy took an 18-8 lead, but the red, white and blue answered with a 14-4 run. Spratt and Lary had 3-pointers in that stretch, and a bucket by Stone tied it at 22-22 at the 7:59 mark.
UDM took its first lead of another three from Spratt, 27-26, with just over six minutes remaining. A three from Lovejoy also had the team in front, 30-28, before Detroit Mercy ended the first half with eight-straight points for a 38-34 advantage.
In the second half, the Titans and Jaguars traded leads, but IU Indy went on a 13-4 push to take that 60-54 lead midway through the period.
The Titans will open a three-game home stand on Wednesday as Detroit Mercy welcomes Purdue Fort Wayne for a 7:00 p.m. tip at Calihan Hall.
Game Notes:
- 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, 10-5, and just tied it up at 4-4 on the road
- The Titans now have sweeps over IU Indy, and Cleveland State, the most sweeps since they had three during the 2022-23 season (Purdue Fort Wayne, Green Bay, IU Indy)
- The double-digit deficit was the most the Titans have overcome since a 14-point margin against Robert Morris at home last season, and the first on the road since coming back from 10 at Tulsa in 2022
- The last time Detroit Mercy had six guys in double figures was in last year's road win at Eastern Michigan
- The Titans finished with 33 bench points, entering the game second in the Horizon League and 54th in the nation, averaging 30.3 bench points per game
- The Titans were an uncharacteristic 3-of-9 from the line at NKU, but came into the game second in the HL and 78th in the nation at 74.7% from the line, while their 16.4 makes per game rank third in the league and 88th in the country
- UDM has now reached double-digit made free throws in 15 games this year and eight times in the 20's, matching its season-best 26-of-31 against CSU
- Lovejoy now has 66 assists against just 24 turnovers on the year
- Lovejoy now has 15 steals in his last three games, at least two steals in 12 of his 17 games played, 19 career games with at least three steals, and 154 total in his career
- Lovejoy leads the Horizon League and is 19th in the NCAA at 91.6% (66-of-72)
- Maiden was in double figures for the second-straight game and the fourth time this season
- Geeter was in double figures for the second time this year and is now averaging 9.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, making 30-of-52 shots (57.6%)
- Spratt was in double figures for the fifth time in his last eight games
- Spratt's season-high was 19 points against Cleveland State
- Stone had scored 11 points in five different games this season
- It was Lary's sixth double-digit scoring effort as a Titan and the first since he had 10 against Rhode Island last season
- Kalambay now has 21 games with at least five rebounds
- Kalambay is now averaging 5.1 points and 6.0 rebounds, hitting 18-of-33 from the field (54.5%) in the last nine games
