By Canadian Press on February 20, 2025.
Cleveland State Vikings (18-9, 12-4 Horizon League) at Detroit Mercy Titans (8-20, 4-13 Horizon League) Detroit; Friday, 7 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Detroit Mercy hosts Cleveland State after Orlando Lovejoy scored 22 points in Detroit Mercy’s 80-71 loss to the IU Indianapolis Jaguars. The Titans have gone 6-6 at home. Detroit Mercy has a 2-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points. The Vikings have gone 12-4 against Horizon League opponents. Cleveland State is third in the Horizon League scoring 34.7 points per game in the paint led by Dylan Arnett averaging 7.7. Detroit Mercy averages 66.7 points per game, 1.4 more points than the 65.3 Cleveland State gives up. Cleveland State has shot at a 45.0% clip from the field this season, 2.2 percentage points above the 42.8% shooting opponents of Detroit Mercy have averaged. TOP PERFORMERS: Lovejoy is averaging 16.6 points, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals for the Titans. TJ Nadeau is averaging 10.9 points over the last 10 games. Tevin Smith is scoring 14.1 points per game with 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists for the Vikings. Tahj Staveskie is averaging 13.5 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 39.3% over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Titans: 2-8, averaging 64.3 points, 33.4 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 5.1 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 40.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.2 points per game. Vikings: 7-3, averaging 71.4 points, 31.1 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 6.6 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.7 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. The Associated Press 15