DETROIT (1/12/2019) -- Freshman Antoine Davis had a game-high 32 points and seven assists, freshman Chris Brandon and junior Harrison Curry each grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team clawed past Milwaukee, 93-84, to earn its fifth Horizon League win Saturday at Calihan Hall.

The Titans (8-10, 5-1 Horizon League) trailed Milwaukee 7-0 and then 13-4 early in the first half, but refused to stay down for long. Graduate student Derrien King hit a triple to give the Titans their first lead of the game with 7:33 remaining in the first half and they never trailed again.

Detroit Mercy is off to its best start in conference play since opening the 1998-1999 campaign with an 8-1 mark. That season, the Titans finished 25-6 overall and 12-2 in conference play and won the conference tournament and defeated UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

After going scoreless in the game's first 16 minutes Saturday, Davis erupted to power the Titans into contention. He shot 7-of-17 overall from the field and 5-of-9 in the second half. Thirteen of the rookie's points came from the charity stripe. 

Davis now has eight 30-point games in 18 career games.

Senior Josh McFolley added 18 points on four 3-pointers and dished four assists. King rounded out Detroit Mercy's scorers in double figures with 16 points.

Senior Gerald Blackshear Jr. was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, finishing with nine points.

Detroit Mercy edged Milwaukee (7-11, 2-3 HL) behind the arc, shooting 12 3-pointers to the visitor's 11. 

Next up for the Titans is #MetroSeries rival Oakland, which comes to Calihan Hall on Saturday Jan. 19. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and tickets are on sale now for just $10 at DetroitTitans.com/tix. 

First Half:

• Milwaukee jumped out to a 7-0 lead and led 13-4 at the 14:32 mark
• The Titans started chipping away and got within three, 13-10, with 12 minutes left
• Detroit Mercy would go on a 13-2 run to jump out in front as the defense forced six turnovers in a four-minute span
• King gave the Titans their first lead at 21-20 drilling a three with 7:21 remaining
• Blackshear Jr. followed that up with back-to-back baskets for a 25-20 advantage at the 5:56 mark
• McFolley would later hit a 3 and a dunk by Blackshear Jr. extended the lead to 30-22 with 4:44 left in the period
• The first three of the game by Davis would push the lead to double digits at 33-23 and the Titans took a 42-35 lead at the half

Second Half:

• Milwaukee opened with a 10-5 run in the first three minutes of the second half, pulling within two points of the Titans, 47-45
• But back-to-back triples by Davis, a free throw by McFolley and four straight makes from the charity stripe by Davis pushed the red, white and blue out in front by 11 points
• The Panthers chipped away at the lead as both teams traded baskets for the next two minutes but the Titans refused to relinquish their lead
• The Titans closed out the game with a 10-6 run to seal the nine point victory
• Detroit Mercy scored 16 of its second-half points from the free-throw line and made nine 3-pointers after halftime

• The Titans ended a three-game slide to Milwaukee, but the Panthers still lead the all-time series, 29-24
• The Titans 5-1 mark in Horizon League play through six games is their best start since going 8-1 in 1998-99
• Detroit Mercy came into the game averaging just 10.9 turnovers per game, tops in the Horizon league and 16th in the country and just recorded its eighth game on the year with less than 10 turnovers 
• Davis now has 13, 20-point games, eight 30+ performances and a pair of 40-point efforts in his first 18 collegiate games, the only freshman in school history with two 40-point outings
• His eight 30-point games on the season are the most since Archie Tullos had 10 in 1987-88
• Davis passed Anton Wilson and is now in fourth place in school history with 90 triples on the season as he chases Stephen Curry's NCAA freshman record of 122 in 2004-05 and Rashad Phillips' school record 136 in 2000-01
• Davis' 13 free throws are the most since Corey Allen made 13 against Youngstown State at home last season
• McFolley's now has 185 career steals, 10 shy of the school record by Jerry Davis
• McFolley now has 1,272 points, 22nd in school history and just 69 behind former assistant coach and Titan Hall of Famer Jermaine Jackson
• King was in double figures in scoring for the seventh-straight game with 16 points, one off his season high of 17 he had against Loyola Maryland
• Blackshear Jr.'s nine points was the most since scoring a career-high 12 at NKU in 2017
• Blackshear Jr. hit all four of his field goals as he came into the game with a 59.3 career field goal percentage
• Brandon now has five or more rebounds in eight games on the year