GAMEDAY CENTRAL

DETROIT (10/29/14) –The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will take to Dick Vitale Court for the first time on Saturday, Nov. 1, when the Titans host Siena Heights in the first of two exhibition contests set for the 2014-15 season. The match-up is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m., at historic Calihan Hall and all fans receive FREE ADMISSION.

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Fans can follow every Detroit 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 YEAR IN EXHIBITIONS
The Titans won both of their exhibition contests last year in convincing fashion as they topped Lawrence Tech (93-51) and Concordia (89-50) by a combined total of 81 points.

The Titans opened their first game with a 13-3 run in the first five minutes of action, led by four points from Juwan Howard, Jr. and never looked back. Howard then continued his stellar start from floor with five more points, including a 3-pointer to put the Titans up 28-8 with 6:43 left in the first half. Howard finished the first half with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-3 from downtown, while Jarod Williams added seven as Detroit took a 45-24 lead into the locker room.
 
Howard led the Titans with 28 points, including 19 in the first half, while Williams pitched in 16 points and Carlton Brundidge added 12.

The Titans then finished their preseason with an 89-50 win over Concordia. Detroit closed the first half with a 27-15 run and opened the second stanza with a 22-6 run to put the game away. Howard led Detroit in scoring with 23 points, while Anton Wilson pitched in 13 and Matthew Grant added 11.
 
TITANS PICKED THIRD
Detroit was picked to finish third in the Horizon League preseason poll - voted on by the league's coaches, sports information directors and media members – while senior forward Juwan Howard Jr. was named to the preseason first team on Wednesday at the Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont.
 
Both Howard and head coach Ray McCallum attended the 2014 Media Day in the Windy City.

Green Bay was selected as the favorite to win the league with 32 first place votes and 357 points overall, while Cleveland State was picked to finish second with 335 points, including nine first place votes. Detroit was slated to place third with 239 points, while Valparaiso was picked fourth with 228 points.
 
Wright State is projected to finish fifth totaling 186 points, ahead of sixth-place and defending Horizon League Tournament Champion Milwaukee's 182 points. Metro Series rival Oakland was picked seventh (178), followed by Youngstown State (95) and UIC (45).

The last time Detroit was picked among the top-three of the Horizon League preseason poll was the 2012-13 season when the Titans finished second in Horizon League play with a 12-4 mark, 20-13 overall with a trip to the NIT.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW
The Titans welcome an impressive group of new faces to court this season as Patrick Ackerman, Paris Bass and Chris Jenkins will be eligible for competition after sitting out last year. Newcomers Aaron Foster-Smith, Jaleel Hogan and Youssoupha Kane as well as Brandan Kearney, who transferred from Arizona State, will also look to make an impact.

MOVING FORWARD
Detroit returns a core of student-athletes who saw playing time in 30 or more games last season including Howard, who was named to All-Horizon League Second Team last year after averaging 18.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Also returning up front with Howard will be senior forward Patrick Onwenu who played in all 32 games for the Titans last year where he averaged 4.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. During the Titans 2014 Summer Trip to Vancouver Onwenu emerged to lead the team with 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
 
Sophomore guard Jarod Williams also earned All-League honors by being named to the Rookie Team after starting 28 games in which he averaged 7.7 points and 2.0 assists per game. Returning to the back court with Williams will be his classmate Matthew Grant, who played in all 32 games last year – starting 12 – as a true freshman, while averaging 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
 
A pair of junior guards will also be competing for playing time the backcourt as Carlton Brundidge and Anton Wilson both averaged more than seven points per game last year. Brundidge played in 32 games – starting 20 – as a sophomore where he averaged 7.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, while his classmate Wilson also played in all 32 games last season averaging 7.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
 
Between Howard, Williams, Grant, Brundidge, Wilson and Onwenu the Titans return 75 percent of their scoring from last season along with 52 percent of their work on the boards.

UP NEXT
Detroit will conclude its exhibition season when it hosts Marygrove on Saturday, Nov. 8. The game is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m., following the women's exhibition game against Salem International at 12 p.m. at Calihan Hall. Live stats will be available on the GAMEDAY CENTRAL page for both games.