Although their record might not jump out at anyone to this point so far, a team’s record doesn’t always tell the whole story in sports. This would certainly be the case with the Detroit Mercy Titans to this point in the season. After losing three of their last four contests in their recent stretch, Detroit’s College Team sits now at 2-6. However, the Titans have hardly played an easy non-conference schedule and are looking to use the tough stretch of basketball they’ve had to endure thus far to help them in the next slate of opportunities that now lie in front of them.
With that being said, there’s a lot to dive into when it comes to the past few games for the red, white and blue. Detroit Mercy started their busy week before Thanksgiving at home against in-state foe Eastern Michigan. After a poor start found them down 10-2 within minutes, they quickly battled back, largely due to 11 first half points from senior Orlando Lovejoy, who is quite familiar with Eastern Michigan after spending his first two years of college with the Eagles. Eastern Michigan senior and former Detroit Mercy Titan Mak Manciel delivered a burst off the bench, scoring all nine of his points in the first half. Despite the early deficit though, the Titans took a 39-30 advantage into the half.
After the break, UDM picked up where it left off, extending their lead to 43-30 early in the second half. After some trading of buckets commenced in the next couple of minutes, the Titans led 47-38. However, that’s when the tide began to turn. Eagles head coach Stan Heath went to a 2-3 zone with just over 15 minutes left in the half, and Detroit Mercy had absolutely no answer for it. The Titans entered a seven-minute-long scoring drought, and by the time it was broken by a Lovejoy free throw thanks to an Eastern Michigan technical foul, the lead was down to 48-47 with eight minutes to go. Despite buckets still being at a premium, the Titans hung tight for the next six minutes, but an Addison Patterson layup, followed by a Detroit Mercy turnover and a three from Jon Sanders II that put the Eagles up 65-58, did all but seal the game. Eastern Michigan then made enough free throws down the stretch to put the stamp on a 72-62 win.
The Eagles were led by Sanders II and Patterson, both who are seniors, with 17 and 15 points respectively, with Patterson scoring all 15 of his in the second half. Freshman big man Mohammad Habhab also contributed a double-double, ending with 11 points and 10 rebounds. On the Titans side, despite getting plenty of good looks, they just couldn’t get anything to fall as their 1-of-19 from three-point range all but told the story for the night. They were led by Orlando Lovejoy, who finished with a game-high 20 points to go along with a team-leading six rebounds. As disappointing as the loss was, there was good to take from it, and there was no time for anyone to hang their head. A matchup with then #17 (now #7) ranked Michigan State was on deck, just three days later.
Fast forward to Friday night, Detroit Mercy ended up getting all that they could have expected in East Lansing from the Spartans. Michigan State jumped out to a 10-0 lead going into the first media timeout, and they never looked back, cruising to an 84-56 win over the Titans. Detroit Mercy struggled from three yet again, going just 5-of-20 from out there, and was also out-attempted 26-8 at the free throw line. They got 14 points from Orlando Lovejoy, and both TJ Nadeau and Ayden Carter reached double-figures with 10 apiece. It wasn’t enough to account for the four Spartans that notched double-digit points though, as standout point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. led Tom Izzo’s squad with 18 points and 11 assists. Coen Carr had a red-hot start and ended with 13 points and six rebounds; Jaxon Kohler had 13 also, and Carson Cooper tallied 12 points.
There is a note-worthy storyline from the loss to Michigan State though, and it would be that freshman Xavier Istomin-Monroe made his first collegiate start at the Breslin Center. The 7-footer from Australia played 21 minutes (second on the team behind Lovejoy), and despite the tall task in his first start, Istomin-Monroe had a lot of good things to say about the experience:
“I felt confident making my first start at the Breslin [Center]. We went hard all week in practice and coach wanted to see how we would handle the pressure. It was unlike any environment I’ve ever played in. It was electric.”
He also went on to talk about how he feels as if he’s grown a lot during the early part of the season, and that he hopes to continue that throughout the rest of the year.
“I feel as though I’ve been finding my stride and gaining my teammates’ trust these last few games. I’ve learned that it’s important to focus on the next game and not dwell on the past or your mistakes. Worry about what you can control, not what you can’t.”
After a 20-point loss (95-75) to Big East opponent DePaul two days later, the Titans continued their streak of road games with a trip to take on Niagara in dire search of a win heading into their first Horizon League game.
They headed back to Detroit with a much-needed victory.
Detroit Mercy outlasted the Purple Eagles 70-66, in what was a game that the Titans led for almost the entirety of. They went into the half up nine and maintained a six-to-eight-point lead for most of the second half despite shooting the ball poorly from three-point range again (3-of-17). However, the lead did get down to as low as three a couple of different times inside of the three-minute mark. The Titans though, to their credit, never panicked and made their free throws down the stretch to pull out the four-point road win. Detroit Mercy was led by junior big man London Maiden, who notched 16 points and eight rebounds, while going a clutch 6-of-8 from the free throw line. The Titans as a whole, while not shooting it great from the charity stripe so far this season, combined to go 23-of-30 (77%) from the line in the contest. Orlando Lovejoy added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, and freshman Lance Stone chipped in 11 off the bench. Niagara was paced by junior Justin Page with 15 points.
Next Up
Two Horizon League battles await the Titans this week as the first conference games for the league take place on Wednesday. The red, white and blue will play host to the IU Indianapolis Jaguars on Wednesday, December 3rd, with first tip coming at 7pm in Calihan Hall. IU Indy were winners of both games against Detroit Mercy last season, but we’ll see how the new-look Jaguars fare against the Titans in round one on Wednesday. UDM then heads on the road to take on Cleveland State on Saturday, December 6th. The contest against the Vikings in the Wolstein Center will tip-off at 2pm.
