Raiders roughed up

DETROIT—Detroit Mercy's 3-point shooting has been its biggest weakness this season.

Saturday at Calihan Hall, it carried the Titans to a 69-53 win against Wright State on Homecoming.

            UDM shot 45 percent from beyond the arc, a vast improvement from its average, 28.5 percent. Chase Simon led the Titans (10-11, 4-5 Horizon) with 16 points and a season-high four triples.

            "We got a tremendous effort," Coach Ray McCallum said. "We had a very good week of practice and I really think it carried over into the game."

            The Titans wasted no time taking advantage of the league's worst offensive team. Two-straight triples gave UDM an early 10-7 lead. McCallum said the hot shooting is crucial to his team's success.

"It seems to get us going," McCallum said. "We've been working a lot on shooting in practice."

McCallum said when his team makes shots it carries over to its defensive effort.

That was the case against Wright State as Detroit forced 15 Raider turnovers and scored 21 points off their miscues.

"They did a great job of being active and making plays," McCallum said of his team.

The Raiders played without leading scorer Julius Mays (achilles) but McCallum said he's happy with Detroit's focus.

"We've challenged our guys to mature, grow and focus one game at a time no matter who the opponent is," he said.

The Titans led by just two halfway through the first half before an 8-0 run broke the game open. The Raiders cut the lead to nine early in the second half, but the Titans maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Sophomore Evan Bruinsma added 10 points for Detroit off the bench. McCallum said the second unit's play was important.

"Our bench has been a big key when we win and they were really good today," he said.

Bruinsma said his effort in the game is a reflection of his practices.

"You get a feel for the guys competing every day in practice," he said. "When the game comes around, you have that experience. I just tried to be in a position to help the team and guys hit me today."

Despite a slow start to the season, Detroit is just one game under .500 and knows it still has time to make a mark.

"We take it one game at a time but we know there is that end goal of being on top of the league," Bruinsma said.