GAMEDAY CENTRAL

DETROIT (1/18/13) –The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will continue its three-game homestand on Saturday, January 19 when the Titans host UIC for Homecoming. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Calihan Hall and will be televised live on FOX Sports Detroit Plus. The game will also be a Red Out as all Titan fans are encouraged to wear red. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive a free red t-shirt courtesy of Student Life.

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Titan fans can follow every UDM game this season through men's basketball GAMEDAY CENTRAL page located on the Titans Athletic Website that will keep fans one click away from all the action. This page will feature links for live stats (audio and video when applicable) as well as links for all the latest info while also making it easy to find the Titans on social media and to purchase photos and game tickets. The Game Day Central page also carries all the information on each opponent from who is leading the all-time series to who won the last game.

LAST TIME OUT
Senior forward Nick Minnerath scored a career-high 36 points, but it wasn't enough as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team fell to Valparaiso 89-88 on Thursday night at Calihan Hall. The loss snapped the Titans' 17 game home winning streak as well Detroit's 22 game winning streak when scoring 80 or more points.

Detroit led by as much as 22 points in the second half, before Valpo closed the game with a 51-28 run, including two free throws from Ryan Broekhoff with 17 seconds remaining. The Titans had the final shot, twice, but attempts from downtown by Evan Bruinsma and Minnerath both came up short.

Minnerath led the Titans with a career-high 36 points on 12-of-17 shooting overall, including 4-of-7 from downtown, while classmate Doug Anderson added 17 points and Jason Calliste pitched in 14. Ray McCallum led the Titans with a game-high eight assists and seven rebounds.

Valparaiso (14-5, 4-1 HL) won the battle on the boards 38-29, but the Titans forced 15 Crusaders turnovers, which resulted in 23 points for Detroit. Detroit shot 53.0 percent (35-66) overall, while the Crusaders shot 50.0 percent (32-64) overall, including 62.5 percent (20-32) in the second half. Valpo also finished 18-of-22 from the charity stripe, while Detroit only connected on 13-of-20 from the foul line.

SERIES WITH UIC
This will be the 39th meeting between Detroit and UIC, with the Titans owning a 24-14 lead. The two teams split their regular season series last year, with Detroit winning the last game, 70-66, at Calihan Hall.

ABOUT THE FLAMES
Senior point guard Gary Talton sank a running bank shot with just 1.7 seconds remaining, lifting the UIC men's basketball team to a thrilling 61-59 win over crosstown rival Loyola in a Horizon League battle at the UIC Pavilion Wednesday night. The victory pushed UIC's record to 7-1 at home this season.
Overall, UIC improved to 11-7, with a 2-3 Horizon League record. Loyola dropped to 10-7 and 1-4.

Talton scored a team-high 14 points on six field goals, and dished out four assists against just one turnover. He was joined in double figures by senior center Josh Crittle, who chipped in 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Loyola was led by Christian Thomas, who poured in 16 points on 4-of-4 shooting, and an 8-of-8 effort from the free throw line. Preseason All-Horizon League selection Ben Averkamp contributed 14 points. UIC senior Anthony Kelley collected just his second-career start, scoring six points, pulling down three rebounds, dishing out two assists and swatting one block.

THE TITAN FIVE
Detroit boasts one of the most balanced attacks in the nation with all five starters averaging double figures. Junior guard Ray McCallum, leads the team in scoring with 18.3 ppg, while classmate Jason Calliste is averaging 13.9 ppg. Seniors Nick Minnerath (13.2 ppg) and Doug Anderson (11.4 ppg), along with sophomore Juwan Howard, Jr. (10.0 ppg) fill out the starting five. Detroit's starters are responsible for 85.1 percent of the Titans scoring, while all five rank among the top-20 in the Horizon League.   

CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Detroit junior guard Jason Calliste is closing in on becoming the 38th player Titan history to reach the 1,000-point plateau in his career. Calliste enters Saturday's game with 882 career points and is averaging 13.9 ppg, which ranks seventh in the Horizon League.

McCALLUM NAMED COUSY AWARD FINALIST
Detroit junior guard Ray McCallum was named a finalist for the 2013 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award. This marks the second straight year that McCallum has been named to the final 20 of the Bob Cousy Award.

The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in men's college basketball. Over 80 candidates have been nominated for the 2013 Bob Cousy Award. McCallum currently leads the Horizon League two categories this season scoring (18.3 ppg) and steals (1.7 spg.) and is third in assists with 4.7 apg.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Detroit junior Ray McCallum currently leads the Titans in three categories this season scoring (18.3 ppg), assists (4.7 apg), and steals (1.7 spg.) and is also climbing up the career record board in all three. McCallum has 1,331 points (20th), 389 assist (9th) and 141 steals (10th) in his career. The last Titan to rank among the top-10 in all three of those categories was Rashad Phillips '01. Phillips finished his spectacular career with 2,319 points (1st), 548 assists (4th) and 190 steals (2nd). McCallum needs 271 points to reach that plateau.

TITANS RECEIVE VOTES IN MID-MAJOR POLL
Detroit, which has posted a 9-3 record over its last 12 games, is one of only three teams in the Horizon League to receive votes in the CollegeInsider.com Men's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll released this week. The Titans have 31 votes in this weeks edition of the poll, which is the fifth most in the receiving votes section. Valparaiso leads the league ranked 14th (353), while Wright State is ranked 23rd (68).

LEADING THE LEAGUE
Detroit currently leads the Horizon League in five team categories including scoring offense by averaging 78.4 points per game. The Titans also lead the League in three point field goals made (141), steals (158), turnover margin (+5.6) and assist to turnover ratio (1.3). Detroit also ranks second in assists (263) and third in blocked shots (70). The Titans also rank fifth in the nation in turnover margin and 22nd in scoring.

UP NEXT
Detroit will conclude its three-game homestand when it welcomes Wright State to Calihan Hall on Monday, Jan. 21. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Horizon League Network.