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It was a day of celebration for the Detroit Mercy basketball community.
The legendary Titans team from 1976-77 was on hand to celebrate Terry Duerod’s #42 going up in the rafters, and also to mark the group’s 40-year anniversary of their historic run to the Sweet 16. The whole ’77 made it out to Calihan Hall, save for a couple (including Terry Tyler) that joined via video.
And as the capper, Dick Vitale, the frenetic leader of that team, spent the day on campus, too. Never mind that he had ESPN duties on Thursday and Saturday night. In his words, he “wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
For the first time in a long time, the fans poured into the Detroit Mercy gym, too. There were said to be around 6,000 people in attendance, a nostalgic callback to the types of crowds that used to be the norm during the peak Vitale years. The fan support was fervid back then, with Vitale saying during his halftime address, “We had the city of Detroit in the palm of our hand.”
Dick Vitale and Terry Duerod' (Facebook photo)
Then the Game Started
Everything was all love and laughter inside Calihan -- until the game started.
The Metro Series rivalry took center stage on Friday night, with Greg Kampe’s Oakland Golden Grizzlies still smarting from a stunning loss at their place last month. And while the Titans began the game with a feeling of tightness, maybe even overexcitement from all the surrounding festivities, Oakland went about things in a more clinical fashion.
They grabbed the lead early, kept pushing it from there, and come halftime, had built an 18-point lead that would never seriously be threatened in the final 20 minutes. Martez Walker and Sherron Dorsey-Walker dominated with their outside shooting and free throw accuracy. They combined to can five triples and went 12-16 from the line. In the end, Oakland won 89-80.
Jalen Hayes and Isaiah Brock did just enough this time to prevent Jaleel Hogan from going gangbusters. The big fella for Detroit still had a productive night, putting up 23 points and 9 rebounds, but it paled in comparison to the 39 he dropped during the Titan victory in the first matchup.
The Titans’ typically pesky defense was nowhere to be found. Bacari Alexander had employed different pressing looks over the last month of play, and winning that turnover battle had contributed in large part to the mini-resurgence from his club. But the roles reversed on Friday night. It was Oakland pickpocketing crossovers and going the other way for easy layups. Detroit Mercy was able to force a paltry three turnovers in the entire first half, a major factor in the 52-34 score in favor of OU at the break.
Oakland Delivers as Expected
All told, the night went according to form.
It was very difficult to imagine the 6-18 Titans sweeping the season series from the 18-7 Golden Grizzlies. At some point, water finds its level, and that is precisely what occurred.
But even with the defeat, Alexander was still riding high from the celebration-filled day on campus.
“What a tremendous day here it Titan territory for a couple of reasons. The ’77 Sweet 16 team and Dick Vitale coming back to Calihan Hall generated a lot of buzz and excitement as a result, we saw a crowd in upwards of almost 6,000 fans, which is unlike anything we’ve seen this season or in recent seasons.”
On the court, this night belonged to Oakland, righting their wrong from a month ago.
But in the big picture, it was that star-studded team from 1977 that owned the day. And it didn’t stop when the final horn ended, either.
In an unexpected (and unwanted) turn of events, I trudged out to my trusty 17-year-old automobile in the lot and couldn’t get the darn thing to start. I’d turn the key and the resulting sound was the dreaded clicking.
From over my shoulder, I heard, “You all right, man?” It was none other than Rock-Steady, John Eddie Long, one of the main cogs from the ’77 group and an absolutely deadly shooter from the outside. Turns out the man knows a thing or two about jumping cars, too.
In another stroke of luck, my saintly buddies from the Detroit Sports Podcast (John and Vito) strolled through the lot at the same time and have extra-long jumper cables. A really undesirable situation on a cold winter night (calling for a ride, needing a possible tow) was suddenly starting to feel like it might have a happy ending.
We matched red to red, black to black, and I tried starting it. Nothing. There’s a certain feeling of unease when your car won’t start, and it’s multiplied by ten when you are forcing others to suffer in the cold alongside.
After another cable adjustment, I got back in the driver’s seat and turned the key. Jackpot! The engine fired up and I was to be on my way.
There was no 20-footer to sink at the buzzer or big defensive stop to get in the closing moments, but John Long still managed to come up huge in the clutch.
The day belonged to the 1976-77 Detroit Mercy Titans. Turns out the evening did, too.
