DETROIT (1/14/14) – The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will continue Horizon League play when the Titans host Valparaiso on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Calihan Hall and will be televised live on Comcast 900. The game can also be heard on 1270 AM with Dan Leach the 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
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies used a late run and were able to hold off the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team Saturday night for a 77-69 win in front of the third largest crowd in Calihan Hall since the 1999-00 season. The Titans had three players score in double figures led by 15 from Juwan Howard, Jr.

Detroit (8-10, 1-2 HL) held a 59-47 lead with 8:15 remaining in regulation before the Grizzlies closed the game with a 30-10 run. The score was tied 68-68, before Travis Bader made a three-pointer with 1:28 left to give Oakland its first lead since the score was 21-20 with 6:13 left in the first half.

Freshman guard Matthew Grant split a pair of free throws after being fouled on the Titans next possession, to make the score 71-69 with 21 seconds left, before Oakland made free throws down the stretch.

Howard finished the night with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, while co-captain Evan Bruinsma recorded 14 points with six boards, two blocked shots and two steals. Grant pitched in 12 points, while classmate Jarod Williams finished with six points and three assists.

Detroit shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) overall, while Oakland finished shooting 41.7 percent (25-of-60). The Titans also dished out 19 assists, while recording six blocked shots and forcing six steals, but lost the battle on the boards 40-29, including 13-6 on the offensive glass.

ABOUT THE CRUSADERS
Valparaiso (9-9, 1-2) erased all but one point of a 15-point halftime deficit less than nine minutes into the second half of a nationally televised contest Friday night against Wright State, but could never get over the hump, as the Crusaders fell by a 62-45 final score to the Raiders.

Valpo opened the second half with a 16-2 run, coming within 39-38 on a basket from Vashil Fernandez with 11:11 left in the half. But the Crusaders managed just one more field goal the rest of the game as Wright State pulled away.

The Crusaders, who shot just 31.9% (15-of-47) from the floor and 3-of-11 (27.3%) from 3-point range on Friday, were led by 10 points from Jordan Coleman to go along with nine points and six rebounds from Alec Peters.  Moussa Gueye chipped in seven points and seven rebounds, while Fernandez made his presence felt on both ends with six points, seven rebounds and a career-best five blocked shots.

SERIES WITH VALPO
This will be the 22nd meeting between Detroit and Valparaiso, with the Crusaders leading the all-time series 12-9. The two teams split last year in the regular season, with both winning on the road. Valpo struck first with a late second half rally to snap the Titans 17-game home winning streak at Calihan Hall with an 89-88 win. Detroit then returned the favor with a second half comeback of its own at the ARC to walk away with a 84-74 win.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Detroit co-captains Juwan Howard, Jr. and Evan Bruinsma are definitely leading the Titans and it shows on the court as they both sit atop of the charts in a couple of categories. In scoring Howard and Bruinsma rank first and second with 16.7 and 12.1 points per game, respectively, while Bruinsma leads the team on the glass with 8.3 rebounds per game and Howard is right behind him with 5.8 boards per game.

In the Horizon League Howard ranks fifth in scoring and 10th in rebounds, while Bruinsma ranks 18th in scoring and third on the glass.

FUTURE IS BRIGHT
Following Saturday's loss to Oakland the Titans record fell to 8-10 overall and 1-2 in Horizon League play. But did you know the last time Detroit had an 8-10 record it also won the Horizon League Tournament Championship in 2012. The Titans had a 1-4 mark in League play at the time before finishing the regular season by winning 10 of its next 13 games.

UP NEXT
Detroit will continue Horizon League play when it travels to Youngstown State on Saturday, Jan. 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and will be streamed live online through HLN Detroit.