One of the most memorable and special events for a student-athlete is when he/she competes on his/her home turf for the last time – a.k.a. Senior Day. On Saturday (2/20) at Calihan Hall, Woody Payne, Eulis Stephens, Eugene Blue and Thomas Kennedy laced up one last time and the Titan Student Section sent its seniors out in style.
The match up was a Bracketbusters pairing with in-state rival Eastern Michigan. Pride and bragging rights were certainly on the line as nearly half of EMU's lineup hail from Michigan, including two from Detroit. The Titans emerged victorious, 68-66, having been led by none other than senior captains Payne and Kennedy. Payne recorded his first career double-double, netting 13 points and dishing out 10 assists, while Kennedy paced UDM's offense with 15 points.
The Detroit Student Section, although limited in numbers, generated much of the game's atmosphere. One such coed was Deno Brockert, as this UDM diehard was named Detroit's Student Section representative in the HLN Ultimate Fan Contest (see video below). Brockett received a $50 Speedway gift card and is now entered into a drawing to win two tickets and hotel accommodations to the 2010 Speedway Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship game.
I would also like to show some love to the Titan women's lacrosse team. Their year-long support of Detroit basketball was honorably echoed by numerous UDM staff members and deserves recognition. Although I don't appreciate whoever it was that almost took my head off as the team fired shirts into the crowd using their lacrosse sticks during a timeout. The shirt did however hit a media member sitting behind me, which was hysterical. Nice shot!
One student section left to visit. I'll see you on Saturday, Penguins.
Stay Crazy, Horizon League
-Mike
A note to the reader: Green Bay's HLN Student Section Challenge game was scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 16. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Challenge Tour was unable to attend, leaving the Phoenix without a proper evaluation for the No. 1 Student Section Trophy. However, as a result of some creative thinking by Green Bay personnel and League staff, UWGB will be evaluated using footage from its Jan. 29 game against Butler. ESPNU was on-hand as part of their Campus Connection Week, resulting in great student section involvement and video footage. A sincere thank you goes out to the Green Bay athletic department for being understanding and flexible during this process.
