Jack Moreland - Detroit Mercy Athletics

Men's Basketball 02.13.26

Detroit Mercy Starts Three-Game Homestand On Sunday With Youngstown State

Men's Basketball 02.13.26

Detroit Mercy Starts Three-Game Homestand On Sunday With Youngstown State

DETROIT (2/14/2026) -- Off a come-from-behind win over first-place Wright State, the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will begin its final homestand of the regular season as the Titans welcome Youngstown State to Calihan Hall.

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

Tickets start at just $10 and can be purchased here.

Detroit Mercy is now 11-3 on the year and 8-7 in the Horizon League, looking for its third conference sweep of the season as it downed YSU on the road, 73-69, back in December. UDM has already taken both regular-season games against Cleveland State and IU Indy.

A win would also give the Titans their ninth Horizon League victory, the most since they ended the 2022-23 campaign at 9-11.

UDM just defeated Wright State, 77-74, ending the game on a 12-2 run and scoring the last eight points of the contest. Senior Orlando Lovejoy led the way with 18 points, and redshirt freshman Tyler Spratt had nine, including the game-winning bucket with just nine seconds remaining.

Those two have been a big part of the offense shooting at least 50.0% from the field in four of the last five games.

Youngstown State has won three of the last four and enters the affair at 13-13 overall and 6-9 in league play.

Following the game, the Titans will battle Milwaukee and Green Bay in the Motor City next Friday and Sunday.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

Detroit Mercy has dominated the all-time series, 41-20, but Youngstown State has won eight of the last nine and 11 of the last 14 meetings.
The last time the Titans swept the Penguins was during the 2020-21 pandemic season, when Detroit Mercy won back-to-back road games.
The Titans are 21-8 all-time at Calihan Hall in the match-up, but the Penguins have won their last five 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.

OFFENSE AND DEFENSE

Detroit Mercy currently leads the Horizon League in three-point field-goal defense (32.8%) and is second in overall field-goal defense (75.8).
Also in the last five games, the Titans have shot at least 50.0% four times (50.0% vs Oakland, 55.6% vs. NKU, 53.7% at Milwaukee, 52.5% at Wright State).

CLEANING THE GLASS

UDM has hit the glass all season long and leads the conference at 38.5 rebounds per game - 54th in DI - and second in the HL and 32nd in the country with 13.1 offensive rebounds per game.
Detroit Mercy has won the glass in 11 of the 15 league contests and secured at least 15 offensive boards in seven games on the year.
The Titans posted a 49-27, +22, margin on the glass against Cleveland State, the second biggest on the season behind the 51-18 advantage over Siena Heights. The +22 margin was the largest against a DI school since UDM posted a +33 against Youngstown State at home in 2016.
UDM posted a 44-34 margin at Purdue Fort Wayne, where the Titans collected 15 offensive rebounds.
At Niagara, Detroit Mercy dominated the boards, 43-27, including 14 offensive that led to 14 second-chance points.
Earlier in the season, the Titans had 21 offensive caroms at UIC.

LOOKING FOR THAT SWEET SHOT

The Titans have struggled from downtown most of the year, but have connected on double-digit 3-pointers in three conference games, going 12-of-20 against NKU, hitting 11 from long range versus Oakland, and a 10-of-22 effort at home against Cleveland State.
While the numbers overall this season are not great, UDM actually leads the Horizon League in league-only games at 40.6% from the outside, with efforts like 9-of-20 against IU Indy and at Purdue Fort Wayne, 9-of-21 at Green Bay, 7-of-15 at Youngstown State, 7-of-13 versus Robert Morris, and 7-of-18 against Purdue Fort Wayne.
Overall, Detroit Mercy ranks 174th in three-point shooting (34.2%) and 276th in triples per game (6.8), eighth and 11th, respectively, in the HL, and has reached double-digit 3-pointers seven times in the last 88 games.
Last season, UDM ranked 11th in the HL and 341st in DI, connecting on 5.6 per game.

MAKING THE FREE ONES

The Titans tied their season high in free throws, going 26-of-30 in the road win at IU Indy, just a hair better than the 26-of-31 effort in the home victory over Cleveland State.
Detroit Mercy leads the HL and is 58th in the nation at the free-throw line at 75.8%.
UDM has reached double-digit made free throws in 19 games this year and eight times in the 20's.
Senior Orlando Lovejoy leads Horizon League and is 45th in the NCAA at 88.0% (88-of-100).
Other Titans making the free ones include freshman Lance Stone at 86.8% (46-of-53) and sophomore TJ Nadeau at 85.2% (52-of-61),

PROTECT THE BALL

Detroit Mercy has tallied a season-high 11 steals twice, in the season opener at UIC and against Cleveland State.
Senior Orlando Lovejoy leads the way, ranking fourth in the Horizon League with 1.7 steals per game.
On the flip side, the Titans committed a season-low six miscues at Cleveland State and have eight games this year with 10 or fewer turnovers.

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

Sophomore TJ Nadeau - who missed the game at IU Indy with an injury - has netted double figures in 15 of his 23 games.
He registered his seventh career 20-point game and sixth this season with a team-high 20 points at Green Bay, going 8-of-14 from the field and 4-of-5 from three.
He also led the team in scoring with 18 at Milwaukee.
Nadeau posted a career-best 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 4-of-5 from deep at Cleveland State.
He tallied a team-high 22 against Purdue Fort Wayne, while grabbing five rebounds, and scored 17 points against Oakland, hitting 4-of-8 from deep.
He also had 20 against Robert Morris and 24 points on a 9-of-14 effort from the field and six triples at Notre Dame.
Nadeau is second on the team with 13.2 points per game, while his 48 triples top the squad and are tied with the team-high 48 he had last year.

OUR PRIDE AND JOY

Preseason All-Horizon League guard senior Orlando Lovejoy is all over the leaderboard for the Titans, leading the squad in scoring (13.7), assists (3.6), and steals (1.7), and third in rebounding (3.6).
He has a 1.9-1 assists-to-turnover ratio with 83 assists against just 44 turnovers, 10th in the HL, and celebrated crossing the 1,000-point plateau against Siena Heights.
He currently has 1,195 points and 287 assists in his career.
His defensive prowess has seen him post at least two steals in 12 of his 23 games played, 19 career games with at least three steals, and 158 total in his career.
Also in his career, he has 20 games with at least five assists after dishing out six against Oakland.
He just had a team-high 18 points in the win at Wright State, after 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists at Green Bay and 16 points at Milwaukee.
In the win over NKU, he tallied a season-high 24 points, going 8-of-10 from the field and 8-of-10 at the line.
Lovejoy scored 19 points with four assists, three rebounds, and a block against Purdue Fort Wayne, and that was after 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and four steals at IU Indy.
He had a career all-around game, tallying 18 points, a career-tying nine assists, a career-high eight steals, and seven rebounds against Cleveland State.
The eight steals were the third most in school history and the most ever against a Division I program.
Lovejoy registered a pair of 20-point games with 22 points at Youngstown State (where he was a career-best 10-of-10 at the line) and 20 points against Robert Morris (where he tied his career high with a pair of 3-pointers and dished out five assists).
He started all 30 games he saw action in last year, leading the team at 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, shooting 44.7% overall and 86.7% 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 (2nd - 35:05).
He netted double figures in 24 games and tallied nine 20-point games on the season, tied for the eighth most in the HL.
Lovejoy scored a career-high 32 points with nine rebounds against Robert Morris, and had 20 points with a career-tying 10 rebounds for his second career double-double, along with five assists, versus Milwaukee.
One of the most impressive stats is that the 6-3 guard is an old-school player, making just four total 3-pointers last season - and four already this year - while looking to penetrate and use his mid-range game.
In fact, in seven of his 13 career 20-point outings, he has not even attempted a three.

THE LEGEND OF GEETER

Senior Legend Geeter has been that senior leader on the floor and has expanded his game into a scorer, rebounder, and distributor.
Geeter now has at least five rebounds in 15 games this season, including six straight, and is eighth in the HL in rebounding (6.2) as well as eighth in offensive rebounding (2.1).
He also has at least three assists in seven games and 19 in the last five contests.
He was solid at Wright State with eight points, eight rebounds, and a huge block with under 1:30 left in the contest.
In Wisconsin, he recorded four points, eight rebounds, and two assists at Green Bay and six points, eight rebounds, five assists, and a season-high three steals at Milwaukee.
He posted his second double-double with 12 points, a career-tying 10 rebounds, and six assists, along with a block against NKU, and just missed another double-double the game before with a career-best 24 points, nine rebounds, and four assists against Oakland.
Earlier this season, he netted 22 points, going 8-of-8 from the field and grabbing six rebounds against Wright State.
In his last 10 games, Geeter is averaging 11.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, shooting 55.4% from the field.

SPRATT IS COMING HOME

Redshirt freshman Tyler Spratt has really come on since the start of the season, scoring in double figures nine times in the last 11 games.
He just had an all-around game of nine points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block at Wright State, scoring the game-winning basket with under 10 seconds left.
He was the HL Freshman of the Week for the second time this season last week after netting a season-best 28 points against NKU, connecting on 8-of-10 from three (the most 3-pointers by a Titan since Antoine Davis in 2023), along with a season-high six assists and grabbing six rebounds.
He had 21 points against Oakland the game before, making 9-of-19 from the field with six rebounds.
Spratt had five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points, six boards, and two assists against Purdue Fort Wayne, 16 points and a career-tying eight rebounds at IU Indy - hitting some key free throws down the stretch - and 19 points, including 14 in a second-half 18-4 run to put the game away against Cleveland State.
After starting the season 10-of-47 overall (21.2%), 4-of-25 (16.0%) from three, and averaging 3.9 points, Spratt has made 62-of-131 (47.3%) from the field and 38-of-84 (45.2%) from distance and averaging 13.5 points and 4.8 boards in his last 14 games.

GREAT STONE TO BUILD UPON

Detroit Mercy freshman Lance Stone has started to step up in his rookie season, scoring in double figures in three of the last nine games, with 26 assists against just 14 turnovers.
He is also averaging 8.1 points and 2.9 assists in the last eight contests, draining 14-of-34 (41.1%) from three.
He just had seven points and a big 3-pointer at Wright State and eight points and five assists at Milwaukee.
Stone scored a season-high 16 points with four assists against NKU, and that was after a season-high seven assists with six points against Oakland.
He recorded 12 points and four assists (against no turnovers) in the win at IU Indy, and had 11 points against Cleveland State.
He also dished out seven assists at DePaul, the most helpers by a freshman since Anotine Davis at the end of the 2018-19 season.
The son of assistant coach LaMonta Stone, he posted over 1,500 career points and breaking the Michigan high school record in assists, with more than 850 helpers in his career.

THE BIG MAN

The Titans reeled in a big man in 6-8, 250-lb London Maiden has shown dominance at times in the paint.
Maiden has dealt with an illness that kept him out of the Oakland game and limited him to a few minutes in others over the last six weeks, but he was back in double figures with 10 points and four boards at Milwaukee and just had 10 points and five boards in the win at Wright State.
He scored 11 points at IU Indy, after 11 points and six rebounds at NKU.
Maiden had nine points and four boards against Cleveland State, and eight points and four rebounds, with all eight points coming during a 19-4 run to start the second half, at Youngstown State.
He had 16 points and eight rebounds at Niagara, and a season-high 18 points and nine rebounds, going 6-of-7 from the field and 6-of-8 at the line versus IU Indy.
After starting the year 12-of-31 (38.7%) and tallying 4.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in his first seven games, Maiden is shooting 57.4% (50-of-87) in his last 16, averaging 7.4 points and 4.3 rebounds.

KALAMBAY'S PLAY

Sophomore Ryan Kalambay has started to make his mark in the paint, just as he did in the second part of last season.
Kalambay has scored at least eight points in three of the last five games, grabbed at least five rebounds in 12 of his last 14 games - including four in double digits - and now leads the team with 27 blocks.
Kalambay ended with eight points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and two steals at Wright State, securing the final board of the contest and hitting two free throws to seal the win.
He tied his career-high with five blocks at Green Bay, and that was after eight points and a team-high 10 caroms at Milwaukee.
He posted eight boards against NKU, and that was after a season-high 11 rebounds with eight points versus Oakland.
Kalambay registered his second career double-double, recording 10 points and 10 rebounds with two blocks against Cleveland State.

THE RETURN OF LARY

Senior Jared Lary had just started to find his role last season at Detroit Mercy, but suffered a knee injury at Eastern Michigan.
Lary netted a season-high 10 points with five rebounds at IU Indy.
He had six points on a pair of huge 3-pointers with four rebounds at Youngstown State. He netted seven points at Purdue Fort Wayne, pulled down six rebounds at Niagara, and tallied seven points, a rebound, and an assist at DePaul.
He started six of the nine games he saw action in last season before the knee injury, recording 9.1 points and 4.0 rebounds.
Lary had 11 points, six rebounds, two steals, an assist, and a block against Niagara and netted a season-high 15 points - all in the second half - shooting 6-of-9 overall and 3-of-4 from three, with four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block at Ball State.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Freshman Keshawn Fisher had a good start to his collegiate career with 12 points at UIC and 14 points versus Cleary.
He had 10 points against Cleveland State, including an off-the-glass pass from Orlando Lovejoy and a dunk that was #8 on SportsCenter Top plays.
Fisher scored a season-high 15 points with seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal at Youngstown State.
He also had 14 points with a season-best nine rebounds at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Fisher was a three-star recruit and had an 85 rating on 247Sports.com after prepping at Overtime Elite Academy in Atlanta, an institution that has produced top 10 NBA draft picks Rob Dillingham, Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, and Alex Sarr in the last few years.
In his lone season at OTE, he posted 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks, and was a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year.
At River Rouge High School, he was named All-State First Team by the Detroit News and the AP as a senior after tallying 25.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.

THE PRIZE FROM OHIO

The Titans landed one of Ohio's top recruits in 6-6 freshman Je'kel Cotton.
Cotton missed a few games with a lower-body injury, but has stepped up at key moments this season, including tying a season-high with nine points and draining three 3-pointers in the win at Wright State.
He came up huge with nine rebounds, four points, a block, and a steal in the win over NKU.
Cotton had five points and two rebounds at IU Indy, hitting a key 3-pointer in an early run to help erase a 10-point deficit.
He was a part of the high-scoring bench, tallying seven points in just five minutes of court time against IU Indy.
In his collegiate debut, he had two points and four rebounds in just eight minutes of action at UIC and pulled down seven caroms at Notre Dame. He also came up with a near double-double of nine points and 10 rebounds in the win over Cleary.
In high school, he was All-State as a senior after averaging 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds, netting a career-high 40 points.

NATE THE GREAT

Sophomore Nate Johnson has scored at least six points in six games and pulled down at least four boards six times.
He just had five rebounds off the bench versus Cleveland State. He had a season-best 12 points and six rebounds against Siena Heights.
Johnson had seven points and four boards at MSU and six points and four rebounds against Eastern Michigan. He started the year with seven points, four rebounds, and two steals at UIC and added seven more points at Notre Dame and nine against Cleary.
A member of the HL All-Freshmen Team, he was one of the freshmen trio who played in all 32 games, making 31 starts, and posted 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, hitting 38.6% from the field and 30.1% from three.
Johnson's cousin is former Titan standout Wilbert McCormick, who played from 1977-80 and is second in school history with 611 assists.

FROM THE LAND DOWN UNDER

Detroit Mercy landed a recruit from Australia in a big way as 7-1, 235-lb Xavier Istomin-Monroe joined the Titans.
He has scored a basket in four of the last five games and has at least three rebounds in six contests.
He grabbed a season-high five rebounds with three points against Siena Heights.
At Niagara, Istomin-Monroe had six points and two boards, and that was after his best offensive game with eight points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal at DePaul.
He had three rebounds at UIC, at Notre Dame, and at Michigan State, and has a blocked shot in four of the eight games.
He is only the second Australia-born Titan following Jayden Stone (2022-24).
As a prep, he won U-18 titles in both Canada and Australia.
Last season, he was at the Royal Crown Academic School in Toronto, helping the team win a NPA title, after averaging 12.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks. He earned finals MVP after posting a season-high 22 points and eight rebounds in the championship game.
In his homeland, he suited up for the City of Sydney basketball association, leading the team to a Melbourne Classic U-18 national title in 2023.

AC BRINGING THE FAITH

Junior Ayden Carter - who is out for the season with a knee injury - stood out at DII Walsh, and netted double figures in six games before being sidelined.
He had a great all-around game with a season-high 21 points - his ninth career 20-point game - six rebounds, a career-tying four assists, and a career-high three steals against IU Indy.
In his DI debut at UIC, he tallied a team-high 18 points (7-14 FG) with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. He had 15 points and eight boards over Cleary, 12 points and six rebounds at Toledo, and 10 points at DePaul.
At Walsh, he played in 50 games and tallied 11.2 points and 4.3 rebounds, shooting 46.2% from the field and 80.4% at the free-throw line.
As a sophomore, he led the squad at 19.0 points, was second with 5.7 rebounds, and third with 1.7 assists, scoring in double figures in 19 of his 20 games and netting eight 20-point games.
Earlier this year, he was ordained as a minister by his church, Path2Life Ministries.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Legend Geeter: F; 6' 8"; Senior

#10 Nate Johnson: G; 6' 7"; Sophomore

#30 Ryan Kalambay: F; 6' 9"; Sophomore

#13 Jared Lary: G; 6' 6"; Senior

#5 Orlando Lovejoy: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#33 TJ Nadeau: G; 6' 5"; Sophomore

#1 Tyler Spratt: G; 6' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

#4 Keshawn Fisher: G/F; 6' 7"; Freshman

#6 Xavier Istomin-Monroe: C; 7' 1"; Freshman

#7 Ayden Carter: G/F; 6' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#23 Legend Geeter
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F

#10 Nate Johnson
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#30 Ryan Kalambay
: 6' 9"; Sophomore
: F

#13 Jared Lary
: 6' 6"; Senior
: G

#5 Orlando Lovejoy
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#33 TJ Nadeau
: 6' 5"; Sophomore
: G

#1 Tyler Spratt
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

#4 Keshawn Fisher
: 6' 7"; Freshman
: G/F

#6 Xavier Istomin-Monroe
: 7' 1"; Freshman
: C

#7 Ayden Carter
: 6' 5"; Junior
: G/F