The Last time the University of Detroit Mercy beat a ranked team was in January 2002, when the Titans beat No. 24 Butler 63-54 at home.
Well, it took eight years, but the Titans almost did it again, but it was not in the cards as No. 24 Butler hung on and outlasted a tough UDM squad 64-62 in overtime at Calihan Hall recently.
I’ve been a UDM watcher since my dad used to take me to games to see former Pershing High and Olympian Spencer Haywood break backboards. Well, it’s exciting for the city to have a Division 1 team competing at a high level again.
It took a 10-foot jumper from Shelvin Mack with 59.2 seconds left in overtime for the Bulldogs (12-4, 5-0 in league) to claim the victory and maintain sole possession of first place in the Horizon League. UDM (11-6) fell into a tie with Wisconsin-Green Bay (11-6) for second at 4-2.
Chase Simon led UDM with a career-high 23 points for UDM and Gordon Hayward led Butler with 17.
Simon, who starred at Detroit Community High School, before signing with Central Michigan, said the Titans can take a lot from this game.
“Coach (Ray McCallum) told us we gave a tremendous effort,” Simon told me after the game. “We came back after getting down and fought till the end. This game may be over, but we know we can play with the best teams in this league.”
Although UMD came up short against Butler, with players like 6-foot-6 sophomore guard Simon, 6-foot-10 sophomore center Eli Holman and 6-foot-7 junior forward Xavier Keeling all playing their first full season with the Titans, the program definitely appears to be on the upswing.
“I went to Central Michigan out of high school, but it did not work for me,” said Simon. “I talked to coach McCallum, plus I wanted to come home. I looked at what he is trying to do and the players he was bringing in and I said, ‘I want to help change the program.’ The main thing was I wanted to play for coach. He is a great coach. He wants us to practice like we play and do things the right way on the court and in the classroom. He expects and demands a lot from us.”
Simon noted that his strength as a player is his versatility.
“I try to work on my game to the point where I can drive it to the basket, pull up and handle the ball out in space on the court. The main things I want to do better are the mental things, like not letting the referees or other players get in my head.”
I like Simon’s style on the court. He’s a smooth player and under the tutelage McCallum he will only get better.
McCallum agrees, noting: “I’m proud of Chase and how he is competing. He had to sit out a year, but his love for the game keeps him working hard to improve every week. He’s such a versatile player. One of the areas that I think he will really help this team is on defense. We ask him to check the better players on defense and he is starting to take pride in his defensive effort.”
Simon is glad he transferred to UDM and is excited by the possibilities of how good this team can become.
“The sky is the limit for us if we continue to learn each other and go out on the court and do the things our coaches teach us in practice,” he said. “Plus, we have to get tougher mentally and execute better down the stretch.”
While at Detroit Community High, Simon played for coach Tony Woods and he is very proud of the fact he helped his team to the quarter-finals at the 2007 MHSAA Tournament. For his efforts he earned first-team Class C All-State as a senior.
“We were independent, but we played all the PSL schools,” he said. “That is a tough league and playing them made us a better team.”
Simon says watch out for his Titans, because they have the coaches, players and now the fan support to continue to compete at a high level.
Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@aol.com.