DETROIT (1/2/2026) -- Senior
Orlando Lovejoy and sophomore
TJ Nadeau had 20 points apiece, but Robert Morris got hot from the field in the second half as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball fell, 85-77, to the Colonials on Friday evening at Calihan Hall.
Lovejoy was 6-of-11 shooting with five assists, and Nadeau was 7-of-11, with both hitting a pair of 3-pointers.
Redshirt freshman
Tyler Spratt had 12 points and two steals, and sophomore
Ryan Kalambay ended with six points and five rebounds.
The game was back and forth early on as freshman
Keshawn Fisher tied it at 10-10.Â
Robert Morris (11-5, 3-2 HL) then took a 17-13 lead when the Titans (6-8, 3-2 HL) scored nine in a row for a 22-17 advantage at the 7:24 mark. Freshman
Lance Stone started the run with two free throws, and junior
London Maiden tied it with a basket. Nadeau then hit two from the line and connected on a three for the five-point lead.
Detroit Mercy also led by five at 28-23 and at the break, 32-27, as Nadeau was able to beat the buzzer with a long jumper.
UDM ran its lead to seven twice in the second half and led by eight, 40-32, with 16:13 left after two free throws from Spratt and another jumper from Nadeau.
The Colonials then countered with a 16-4 charge for a 48-44 lead with 11:59 remaining.Â
Detroit Mercy was able to pull within one, 51-50, after a Maiden bucket and two free throws from Fisher, but RMU was able to keep the Titans at bay and run the margin up to 12, 65-53, at the 7:06 mark.
The Titans would chip away, and a three from Spratt had the deficit down to just four, 71-67, with 2:49 left, but that was as close as the red, white, and blue would get.
Fisher had seven points, three rebounds, two steals, and a block, and Maiden finished with six points.
Detroit Mercy shot 48.1% from the field and was 7-of-13 from three and 20-of-26 (76.9%) at the line. The defense held RMU to just 28.6% in the first half, but the Colonials made 17-of-27 (63.0%) in the second half and won the boards, 36-26.
The Titans will now prepare for two home games next week, starting with Wright State next Friday, Jan. 9, at 7:00 p.m.Â
Game Notes:
- Despite being 208 miles apart, this was just the 13th career meeting between the two schools as the Titans are 7-5 all-time and 6-5 since the Colonials joined the Horizon League in 2020, while owning a 5-2 mark in Detroit
- The Titans played without senior Legend Geeter and junior Ayden Carter due to injuries
- The last time the Titans had a pair of 20-point scorers was last season at Wisconsin, when Lovejoy and Grant Gondrezick II had 20
- The Titans have reached double-digit 3-pointers just four times in the last 78 games after going 7-of-13 today from distance
- The Titans came into the game 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 12 games this year, and five times with at least 20
- Nadeau has netted double figures in nine of the 14 games and has four 20-point games on the season and five in his career
- Lovejoy now has 12 career 20-point games, including back-to-back, and three times this season
- Lovejoy now has 18 games in his career with at least five assists
- Spratt was in double figures for the second time this year as he had a season-best 15 at Purdue Fort Wayne
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