GAMEDAY CENTRAL

DETROIT (12/16/13) – The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will continue its three game road swing with a visit to 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.

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
A late second half rally came up short as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team fell to NC State, 82-79, Saturday night at Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack led by 18 with eight minutes left in regulation before the Titans closed the game with a 32-17 run. But a deep three-pointer to tie the game and force overtime from freshman guard Jarod Williams rattled in and out at the buzzer.

Detroit (5-6) was led by junior forward Juwan Howard Jr. who finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals, while senior co-captain Evan Bruinsma added 16 points and six rebounds. Senior center Ugochukwu Njoku scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, while the freshman backcourt of Williams and Matthew Grant scored 10 and nine points, respectively. Williams also dished out a team-high four assists in the game.

Detroit finished shooting 45.8 percent (27-of-59) overall, including 56.7 percent (17-of-30) in the second half, while NC State shot 50 percent (25-of-50) overall. The Titans only made 1-of-9 from deep in the first half, but responded by making 5-of-11 in the second half, while the Wolfpack finished 10-of-21 from beyond the arc. Detroit won the battle on the boards 36-31 and forced 15 turnovers.

ABOUT THE ZIPS
Quincy Diggs and Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell led three Akron players in double figure points as the Zips topped visiting Oral Roberts 74-64 on Monday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Diggs finished with a team-high 19 points to go with seven rebounds, while Treadwell tallied his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 boards. Treadwell, who made 7-of-15 shots from the field, also had two blocks and two steals in 34 minutes as starter. Diggs, who was 8-of-10 from the line, amassed his point total in 28 minutes off the bench.

Reggie McAdams finished the game with an important eight points of his own, sinking back-to-back 3-pointers to help Akron (4-2) break a 52-all tie with 9:18 left to play.

SERIES WITH AKRON
This will be the ninth meeting between Detroit and Akron, with the series tied at four games apiece. Detroit took the last meeting 80-73 last year at Calhian Hall.

BRUINSMA NAMED HL SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE MONTH
Detroit senior forward Evan Bruinsma has been named the Horizon League's Male Scholar-Athlete of the Month for November.

Bruinsma carries a 3.8 GPA as a business administration major and was a member of the Horizon League Honor Roll in the Fall and Spring of 2012-13. He was also named to the 2013 UDM Athletic Director's Honor Roll and nominated for the 2014 NABC Good Works Team.

Bruinsma led the Titans on the court with a career-high 32 points, 14 rebounds and set the Horizon League record for free throws in a game with 20 against Stony Brook. He has scored in double digits in four-straight games and is averaging 20.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game over that stretch.

TITAN CHARITY
Entering Wednesday's game the Titans lead the Horizon League and rank 10th in the nation in free throw shooting percentage. Detroit is shooting 77.2 percent (213-of-276) 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 59 blocked shots through their first 11 games and are averaging 5.4 blocked shots per game which ranks 47th 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.

UP NEXT
Detroit will conclude its three game road trip with a visit to Bowling Green on Sunday, Dec. 22. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 2:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center and can be listened to live on 97.1 The Ticket's live stream online with Dan Leach the new voice of Titan Basketball.