Monday, May 6, 2013

Detroit Mercy to play Notre Dame in NCAA lacrosse tournament


Bring on the Fighting Irish.
The University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team, the 2013 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion, will play at No. 2-seeded Notre Dame in the NCAA first round. The Titans and Irish play Saturday, May 11 at 5 p.m. at Arlotta Stadium.Detroit (5-9) is making its first trip to the NCAA tournament, in just the fifth year of the program's existence, after earning its first conference title on Sunday.
Detroit defeated top-seeded Marist, 7-6, in the MAAC semifinals before posting an 11-10 overtime victory against third-seeded Siena to win the title. Notre Dame enters the NCAA Tournament with a 10-4 record after losing to top-seeded Syracuse, 9-3, in the Big East semifinals on Thursday.
The Titans and Irish have never met in men's lacrosse. The game can be seen live on ESPNU and WatchESPN.com.
The winner  will advance to the NCAA quarterfinal that will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, May 19.

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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Detroit Titans star Ray McCallum enters NBA draft

Detroit Mercy junior guard Ray McCallum Jr. said Saturday he will forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for entry into the NBA draft, a spokesman for the university said.
McCallum, the 2013 Horizon League Player of the Year and Lute Olson All-American, helped lead Detroit to its second straight postseason appearance with a trip to the NIT, along with recording its second-straight 20 win season finishing 20-13 overall. 
This past season he led the Titans in points (18.7), assists (4.5) and steals (1.9) for the third-straight season as well as minutes played (36.6). He also led the Horizon League in scoring and steals, while finishing second in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) and minutes played. McCallum was also sixth in field goal percentage (49.1) and had at least one steal in all but six games, while scoring in double figures in all but five games on the season.
“I want to thank the University of Detroit Mercy, my coaching staff and my teammates. I’ve enjoyed my three years with them,” said McCallum. “It has been very special playing for my father and helping to build the basketball program to a championship level.”
“It has been an outstanding experience coaching Ray. I am proud to see his growth over the last three years,” stated coach Ray McCallum. “As his coach and father I am supporting him in his pursuit to becoming a professional basketball player.”

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Detroit Grand Prix to again feature 'Free Prix Day'


Free Prix Day is coming back to Belle Isle.
Fans can watch on-track activity free of charge Friday, May 31, as drivers and teams prepare  for the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.
The day's schedule includes IZOD IndyCar Series practice and qualifying, plus practice and qualifying for the GRAND-AM Rolex Series and the Pirelli World Challenge Series.
Fans also can visit the paddock and garage areas.
Dwele, an R&B singer from Detroit, will give a concert starting at 5:45 p.m.
Free Prix Day will be sponsored by Comerica Bank.

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Monday, April 22, 2013

Robert Mireles defeats Sterling Heights bowler in MMBA championship match

Robert Mireles won the Michigan Majors Bowling Association tournament at Wayne Bowl in Wayne on Sunday when the Lansing resident defeated Rick Gregor of Sterling Heights, three games to two in the championship match. Mireles won $1,500, and Gregor won $700.
Justin Nieman of Warren and Mike Lucente of Warren won $125 apiece.
Gregor was the 12th seed for match play. He defeated Hofmeister and Adam Dee of Birmingham, and then defeated Mike Norris of Melvindale in a semifinal match.
Mireles was the seventh seed.
In the final, Gregor won the first two games, 193-129 and 209-184. But for the third game, Mireles changed balls and took a 248-232 victory. Mireles won the fourth and fifth games, 244-185 and 200-178.

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Friday, April 19, 2013

Slain MIT officer was brother of NASCAR team employee


Sean Collier, the MIT campus police officer who was murdered Thursday night, was the brother of Andrew Collier, an employee of Hendrick Motorsports, a prominent NASCAR racing team.
"It's sad," Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick car, said following qualifying at Kansas Speedway on Friday. "It's been really crazy. It's sad that it has come to this. We are trying to race, but I was up (Thursday night) until 2-something in the morning, just watching the news, seeing how things were going. It's been sad to pay attention to and to watch. Definitely, thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved."
Sean Collier, police said, was shot by Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother, Dzhokhar.

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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Detroit Titans sign Patrick Onwenu to basketball letter of intent


Detroit Mercy believes it has found a player who will help compensate for the departures of Doug Anderson and Nick Minnerath.
The Titans have signed 6-foot-8 Patrick Onwenu of Highland Park Community College. Onwenu went to Southfield High.
“He is a very athletic player who can score, rebound, and block shots and comes from a winning program,” Titans coach Ray McCallum said. “He is also local student of the game that is capable of stepping out to the perimeter to make 3s, which is a big asset in this league.”
Onwenu earned NJCAA Division I All-America Honorable Mention for the 2012-13 season after averaging 17.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.2 blocked shots per game to help the Cougars to the regular season Arrowhead Conference title with a 23-7 overall record and to the Region IV semifinals. He was also named the All-Arrowhead Conference and Region IV Player of the Year along with finishing fourth in the nation in blocked shots. 
“We are losing two of the most athletic players in the Horizon League in Doug Anderson and Nick Minnerath and he definitely brings both an offensive and defensive presence to the floor,” McCallum said.

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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Ray McCallum Jr. named Detroit Titans MVP; Bruinsma, Howard Jr. among other team honorees


University of Detroit Mercy 2012-2013 men's basketball post-season awards:

Ray McCallum Jr. won the Robert Calihan Most Valuable Player Award after a standout junior campaign. The point guard led the team in scoring, assists and steals for the third straight season and became just the 11th Titan to surpass 1,600 points in a career. McCallum was named the Horizon League Player of the Year along with earning All-First Team recognition after averaging 18.7 points per game, which ranked 35th nationally. McCallum also earned Lute Olson All-America Team honors and a place on the NABC District 12 First Team. The junior was the first Titan to earn All-American honors since Willie Green in 2003.

Junior Evans Bruinsma won the Dave DeBusschere Most Improved Award. The forward averaged 21.5 minutes per game off the bench while averaging 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Bruinsma started the last six games of the season for the Titans and averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, including 15 points against Wright State in the Horizon League semifinals. 

Bruinsma was also tapped the William Ebben Academic and Athletic Excellence Award winner for the second straight season, while Ugochukwu Njoku earned the Frank R. Gerbig, Sr. Sportsmanship Award honors. Njoku played in every game in his first season with the Titans and finished tied for the team lead with 20 blocked shots.

Sophomore forward Juwan Howard Jr. collected the Norm Swanson Top Newcomer Award. Howard started the first 27 games of the season and averaged 10.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, before an injury sidelined him for the final two weeks. The Western Michigan transfer finished fifth on the team in scoring and scored a season-high 18 points against then-No. 3 and eventual Final Four finalist Syracuse. Howard also scored the Titans first 11 points against Toledo, before finishing with 16 points and six rebounds.

The Larry Doyle Most Dedicated Titan Award went to senior Nick Minnerath for a second straight year. He returned from a season-ending knee injury to have his best season. The senior forward was named to the All-Horizon League First Team and finished fifth in the league in scoring with 14.6 points while also leading the Titans on the boards with 5.9 rebounds per game. 

The Most Courageous Award went to junior guard Jason Calliste, who led the Titans in 3-point field goals made (73) and free throw shooting percentage (83.4), while finishing second on the team with 44 steals and third in scoring with 14.4 points per game. 

Year-end award winners:

Robert Calihan MVP: Ray McCallum
John R. Kirwan Leading Scorer: Ray McCallum
Dave DeBusschere Most Improved: Evan Bruinsma
Frank R. Gerbig, Sr. Sportsmanship: Ugochukwu Njoku
William Ebben Academic and Athletic Excellence: Evan Bruinsma
Norm Swanson Top Newcomer: Juwan Howard, Jr.
Larry Doyle Most Dedicated Titan: Nick Minnerath
Most Courageous Award: Jason Calliste

Most Assists:  Ray McCallum
Most Deflections: Ray McCallum
Most Charges:  Nick Minnerath
Top Defensive Player:  Nick Minnerath
Highest FG percentage: Doug Anderson
Highest FT Percentage: Jason Calliste

1,000-Point Recognition: Ray McCallum (1,618) and Jason Calliste (1,107)

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