If Detroit Mercy men’s basketball fans or any followers of Horizon League basketball were told at the start of the year that the Titans would hold an overall record above .500 and be tied for second place in the conference standings going into the last week of the season, not many would have expected to hear that. Considering the 1-6 record the team started with, albeit against a tough nonconference schedule, where they stand today is that much more impressive.
UDM had a well-documented up-and-down run over most of Horizon League play, but in the last week-and-a-half, Mark Montgomery’s squad has kicked it into high gear. Since its last loss against Green Bay a couple weeks ago, the Titans have ripped off four-straight wins, now winners of six of their last seven games. They’re now up to 11-7 in the conference, tied with Oakland and Robert Morris and now trailing only Wright State.
The four-game streak started with a win over the Raiders back on Feb. 12. The Titans went down eight fairly early before going on a run to take a six-point lead into halftime. They then stretched the lead out to as many as 12 (50-38) in the second half. However, Wright State wouldn’t go away, chipping away for most of the second half.
Even though the Titans still led 63-56 with 9:16 left, the Raiders would go on an 18-6 run to take a 74-69 lead with just over three minutes to go. Detroit Mercy stepped up and held first-place Wright State scoreless the rest of the way. Down one, redshirt freshman Tyler Spratt hit the game-winning floater with less than 20 seconds left. A defensive stop and two free throws from sophomore Ryan Kalambay sealed the road win over the league leader.
Then the red, white and blue returned to Calihan Hall for its final homestand of the season. First was a 76-70 win over Youngstown State. The Titans held a 37-29 lead at the half and led by as many as 15 in the second half. The wealth was spread against the Penguins, as Spratt led six total guys that recorded double-digit points with 15, while also grabbing nine rebounds.
Next up was Milwaukee on Friday night. Fresh off a win over Green Bay, the Panthers came into the 313 and gave Detroit Mercy their best shot. Despite leading for most of the first half, the Titans trailed by six at the intermission 48-42. They surged out of the break, leading for nearly 13 minutes.
Despite last minute heroic attempts from Panthers freshman Stevie Elam, who recorded a team-high 22 points, the Titans hung on to win 91-86. Sophomore TJ Nadeau scored a team-high 25 points, and seniors Orlando Lovejoy and Legend Geeter went for 24 and 19, respectively. The two also combined for 15 (seven and eight) of the team’s 32 rebounds. Additionally, 22 of Lovejoy’s points came in the second half. Nadeau led the team in scoring for the second time this season against Milwaukee.
He was certainly aware of the importance of coming out on top in the contest against Milwaukee.
“It was really important, not just for seeding but also for morale. You have to be able to set yourself apart, and that’s what we’re doing right now. It’s very important going into March,” Nadeau said.
Then it was Senior Day.
The Green Bay Phoenix came to town two days later with coach Doug Gottlieb making his return to the bench after his one-game absence. Detroit Mercy was attempting to avenge their 76-63 loss to the Phoenix earlier in the month. The Titan three seniors in Lovejoy, Geeter and Jared Lary were recognized prior to the game.
Two teams that have made the biggest turnarounds for their respective programs were separated by half a game in the conference standings. A lot was on the line on Sunday. Yet the day could be summed up in two words — Orlando Lovejoy.
The senior guard reminded everyone that he can still put the team on his back offensively when needed. He exploded for a career-high 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting to lift the Titans to a 74-70 win over Green Bay on senior day. It was a special display of a player taking over a game, as freshman Lance Stone was the only other Titan in double-figures with 10. Geeter, a senior in his own right, also had a solid game, notching eight points and eight boards.
Lovejoy has now scored 55 points in his last three halves of basketball, dating back to the Milwaukee game. Despite the atmosphere of celebration in Calihan Hall, No. 5 was still all business after the win.
“I’m just happy we were able to get the win. My teammates trusted me and I had it going today, but I’m already looking forward to Robert Morris,” Lovejoy said.
Montgomery also reflected on the victory over the Phoenix and how his team was able to make adjustments after the loss to them the first time the two teams met.
“We were locked in more defensively. We knew every action — every switch was going to be clean this time,” Montgomery said. “At Green Bay, we got off to such a bad start. We were turning the ball over, but in this one, we didn’t. It also helped that it was senior day, because [Lovejoy] just gave an unbelievable senior day performance.”
Both Nadeau and Spratt have been on fire, with Nadeau shooting the ball at a 47.5% clip from three-point range this year on almost five attempts per game, and Spratt is over 45% from downtown since the month of December began. This has helped the Titans spacing tremendously.
Stone has also buried 14 of his last 26 from behind the arc for 53.8% over the course of his last eight games. It’s allowed Lovejoy to have more room to operate, but it’s also forced opposing defenses to have to switch more and allowed guys such as Geeter and London Maiden to have more one-on-one matchups and mismatches in the post too.
Additionally, UDM has tightened it up on the defensive side of the ball in the second half of the season, now up to third in opponent field-goal percentage in the Horizon League. The team has held opponents to 44.6% shooting on average, and the Titans are now just half a percentage point behind Robert Morris for the best mark in the conference in that statistic.
It’s been a collective effort, but much of the change has to do with the services offered by Kalambay. The sophomore is quietly becoming one of the league’s best big man defenders, showing the ability to guard any position on the floor. The 6-foot-9-inch Kalambay recorded an astounding 12 blocks over the last five games and 11 steals in his last seven. He’s also recorded five blocks in a game on two different occasions this year. On top of that, he’s hauled in five or more rebounds in 11 of the last 12 games.
The Detroit Mercy men’s basketball team will finish the regular season with two more road contests against two teams that are currently tied for second place in the conference standings. First, it’ll be a matchup between the two hottest teams in the league when they travel to Robert Morris, as the Titans attempt to avenge the loss they suffered to the Colonials in the first tilt between the two.
The Titans will try to extend their winning streak to five games, while attempting to prevent RMU from extending their winning streak to six. That game will tipoff tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the UPMC Events Center. UDM will wrap up back the regular season in Michigan as it takes on Oakland in hopes to avenge its round one loss to the Golden Grizzlies a month ago at home. It’s squaring up to be the most significant game played in the metro series rivalry in years. That ever-important matchup will square off on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the OU Credit Union O’rena.
Montgomery had one clear message as the Titans get ready for the two biggest games that the program has been a part of in a long time in the final week of February, trying to clinch the opportunity to host a conference tournament game.
“We still have to act and play like our back is up against the wall. We got to be locked in, getting back in transition, defending and rebounding, and taking care of the ball, doing these things on every single possession.”
Orlando Lovejoy had an even simpler message.
“Let’s just keep playing like us.”
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