GAMEDAY CENTRAL
JIMMY V FOUNDATION

DETROIT (12/12/13) – The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will tip-off a three game road swing with a visit to NC State on Saturday, Dec. 14. The game will be played at Reynolds Coliseum on the campus NC State as part of Jimmy V Week on the ESPN Family of Networks. The game is schedule to start at 6:00 p.m. ET and will be live on ESPN3.

ABOUT THE V FOUNDATION
The V Foundation for Cancer Research, a leading nonprofit funder of cancer research, is celebrating its 20-year anniversary in 2013. ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, legendary NC State men's basketball coach and ESPN commentator, first announced the creation of The V Foundation during Valvano's acceptance speech of the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the 1993 ESPY Awards show. Since its formation, The V Foundation has awarded more than $100 million nationwide for research into all types of cancers.

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 OUTING
Detroit used an early second half run, capped off by some clutch free throws down the stretch, to grab its third home win of the season, 70-68, over Rhode Island Sunday afternoon at Historic Calihan Hall.

The Rams led 32-27 at the half, before the Titans used a 12-3 run to take a lead they would not relinquish. This marks Detroit's second second-half comeback over the last three games.

Detroit (5-5) was led by junior forward Juwan Howard Jr. who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, while senior co-captain Evan Bruinsma added 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. Freshman guard Matthew Grant scored 11 points, while classmate Jarod Williams and senior center Ugochukwu Njoku pitched in eight points, respectively. Williams also dished out four assists in the game, while junior forward Patrick Onwenu covered every part of the stat line with seven points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocked shots.

Detroit finished shooting 43.5 percent (27-of-62) overall, including 51.7 percent (15-of-29) in the second half, while URI shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) overall. The Titans only made 2-of-7 from the charity stripe in the first half, but responded by making 13-of-15 in the second half to finish 15-of-22, while the Rams only made 8-of-19.

ABOUT THE WOLFPACK
NC State (6-2) won its fourth consecutive game on Saturday (Dec. 7), besting Long Beach State by the score of 76-66 at PNC Arena.

Sophomore forward T.J. Warren, the ACC's leading scorer, totaled a game-high 23 points to lead the Wolfpack scoring attack. Freshman guard Anthony 'Cat' Barber added 19 points, while junior guard Desmond Lee scored 15.

Freshman forward Lennard Freeman pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, besting his previous career-high set in NC State's last game versus Northwestern.

SERIES WITH NC STATE
This will be the second meeting between Detroit and NC State, with the Wolfpack leading the all-time series 1-0. NC State won the first meeting 84-77 in the Quarterfinals of the 1978 National Invitational Tournament at Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack made it all the way to the championship game that year before losing to Georgetown 101-93.

DID YOU KNOW?
That NC State head coach Mark Gottfried and the Titans run to the 2001 NIT Final Four have something in common. After Detroit inked three road wins to advance to the Final Four at Madison Square Garden the Titans had to face Alabama, who at the time was coached by Mark Gottfried. The Tide ended Detroit's run with a 74-63 win to advance to the championship game, before losing to Tulsa 79-66.

GRANT NAMED HL FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Detroit freshman guard Matthew Grant was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week following strong performances against Toledo and Rhode Island.

Grant recorded back-to-back double figure scoring efforts for the second time in his career, posting 10 points at Toledo before an 11-point outing against Rhode Island. In 10 games, Grant has reached the 10-point mark six times, making him the first Detroit freshman since Ray McCallum to achieve the feat.

BRUINSMA NOMINATED FOR 2014 NABC GOOD WORKS TEAM
Detroit senior forward Evan Bruinsma has been nominated for the 2014 Allstate National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Good Works Team. The Titan co-captain has demonstrated great leadership, dedication and character both on the basketball court as well as in the classroom and around the community. Bruinsma is one of 75 Division I male student-athletes to be nominated, while just one of four from the Horizon League.

The 2014 nominees uphold impressive service resumes detailing unique and inspiring stories of servitude. From volunteering with sick and underprivileged children to lobbying state legislature for new laws that could help save lives, this exceptional group of young men and women demonstrate the positive impact student-athletes can have on and off the court. The 20 recipients will be announced in late February and recognized at the 2014 NABC National Convention.

TITAN CHARITY
Entering Saturday's game the Titans lead the Horizon League and rank eighth in the nation in free throw shooting percentage. Detroit is shooting 78.2 percent (194-of-248) as a team from the charity stripe including a whopping 83.4 percent (116-of-139) over the last five games.

BLOCK PARTY
The Titans have recorded 56 blocked shots through their first 10 games and are averaging 5.6 blocked shots per game which ranks 41st in the nation. Detroit recorded a season-high 13 blocks against U-M Dearborn, which were the most for the Titans since swatting 17 against Western Michigan in 1978.

Senior center Ugochukwu Njoku leads Detroit with 16 blocked shots and has recorded at least two blocks in four games this year, including a career-high five against U-M Dearborn.

ROUNDBALL LUNCHEON
The Titans second Roundball Luncheon of the year will be held on Monday, Dec. 16 from 12-1:30 p.m. at the Dino's Lounge in Ferndale.

For just $10, family, friends and all fans of Detroit basketball are welcome to enjoy food at Dino's Lounge in Ferndale. UDM men's basketball head coach Ray McCallum will talk about this year's team and answer basketball questions.

Reserve your spot today and RSVP to Clay Shaw at Clay.Shaw@udmercy.edu or call 313-993-1705.

UP NEXT
Detroit will stay on the road as it visits Akron on Wednesday, Dec. 18. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena and can be listened to live on 1270 AM with Dan Leach the new voice of Titan Basketball.