The Varsity News

Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Michael Martinez Titan forward Thomas Kennedy looks on as another player shoots a free throw during the home opener. Kennedy finished with 12 points.

Media Credit: Michael Martinez The UDM men's basketball team won its home opener in an exciting fashion, coming back from a halftime deficit to beat the Eastern Michigan Eagles in front of many enthusiastic fans.

Media Credit: Michael Martinez

The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will look to improve on its 2-3 record when it travels to Wisconsin to begin a three-game road trip this week.
Playing in front of a hostile crowd is nothing new to the Titans, who are scheduled to play eight of their first 11 games on the road.
The Titans will face the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 8 p.m. as they look for their first road win. The team's only victories have come at Calihan Hall, the most recent over Thanksgiving break against St. Louis University.
Thanks to career highs by both Xavier Keeling and Woody Payne, the Titans were able to hold off a late surge by the Billikens to win 62-57. Along with his 21 points, Keeling also grabbed nine rebounds in a game that saw UDM out rebound its opponent for the fifth game in a row.
The other victory came on Saturday, Nov. 22, as head coach Ray McCallum recorded his first win at UDM in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. The Titans used a second half rally to coast to a 62-47 victory over the Eastern Michigan University Eagles.
Eulis Stephens scored a game-high 13 points in a contest that saw three Titans reach double figures. According to McCallum, this type of scoring balance is a key to success.
"We want balance," McCallum said. "We don't have an all-conference player right now but we have a lot of guys that can score double figures when they are taking their shot."
In an otherwise memorable game, the Titans were able to suffer through a forgettable first half in which they shot 30 percent from the field and managed to score only 18 points. They went into the locker room at the break with a three-point deficit, but came out refreshed and reenergized, putting together a 32-12 run over an 11-minute span.
"All credit goes to U of D," said EMU head coach Charles Ramsey. "In the second half they really did a great job of taking it up a notch and we didn't answer."
According to McCallum, the Titans surge was due to good ball movement and increased offensive intensity. This led to a 6-12 shooting effort from three-point range in the second half.
"Our intensity in the second half was huge; we came out and got stops," he said. "Offensively, we were able to get down the floor and move the ball inside, back out and around the perimeter. More guys got more touches and we started to get in a flow."
Another big factor in the win was Detroit's 26-6 advantage in bench points. Eulis Stephens scored his 13 points coming off the bench, and Nemanja Jokic added eight, including two key three-pointers.
The Titans took advantage of a bench and a starting lineup that is still in flux. In the first three games, eight different players have started.
The constant changes do not seem to bother Thomas Kennedy, who has started in the last two games since coming off the bench in the opener. "(McCallum) is going to play the players that play the hardest," he said. "Different days it will be different people, but we are getting it together."
The spirit and energy of the 2,638 in attendance also helped in the winning effort, according to McCallum and Stephens. "The crowd was great," said Stephens. "They really boosted us tonight."
"I've heard we have a great fan base and I felt like we had a home court (advantage) tonight," said McCallum, after witnessing the student section for the first time. "The fans' energy really helped us tonight and the players really responded to that."

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