Sports

Detroit Mercy Titans Stumble Against Valpo; Motor City Madness Starts March 3

February 19, 2017, 9:40 PM by  Joey Yashinsky

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Year one of the Bacari Alexander era at Detroit Mercy has had its share of bumps in the road.  His team is capable of fighting hard for a full 40 minutes, as they did in taking down defending Horizon League champion Green Bay at the end of January.  And they can even hang with the best, in this case perennial conference powerhouse Valparaiso, for a half. 

But then there are those occasions when the dam breaks and you see just how wide the current gap is between the haves and have-nots.

The polished Crusaders from Valparaiso patiently waited the Titans out on Sunday.  They spent the better part of the opening half missing free throws and committing silly fouls.  With just a few minutes to play before intermission, the Valpo advantage was just two, 31-29. 

Then they put on a mini-burst to end the half, continued that momentum right into the second frame, and before you knew it, Calihan Hall was silent and the visitors led by 24.  (The final score was 83-63.) 

Such is the challenge when trying to squeeze out two full halves of quality basketball from a team that was already short on depth before versatile senior Chris Jenkins hit the injured list this month. Oftentimes, the Titans have just one true frontcourt player in the game.  Even in the smallish Horizon League, you can get punished trying to survive with such a glaring absence of height.

Detroit Mercy has three games left on its regular schedule before Motor City Madness starts March 3 at Joe Louis Arena.  Unfortunately, as the season nears a close, they appear to be limping to the finish line. 

The irreplaceable Jaleel Hogan walked gingerly off the court after the game, and sixth man Jarod Williams was sporting a bulky knee brace more commonly seen in your local B’nai B’rith league.  Detroit’s College Team has seen better days. 

This rookie campaign for Bacari Alexander was never going to be judged on wins and losses. The roster he inherited had noticeable holes in critical places. No matter what pressing defense he whipped up or offensive sets he put in place, the Titans were not going to be a 20-victory team this year.  The fairest way to assess Alexander’s performance is in the overall effort of his group.

And for the great majority of the time, it’s been there. They don’t begin games with a lifelessness that sometimes paralyzes losing teams.  They've defeated Oakland and Green Bay, two of the more respected teams in the conference. The Titans play as hard as they can for as long as they can; but then there are instances like this - a hoops clinic at the hands of Valpo - where the game just starts to feel excessively long for the underdog crew from Detroit. 

Hang around for a half?  No problem. 

But hang around for the full forty?  The Titans might be a year away from that.



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