DETROIT (1/27/2021) -- Winners of three of its last four games, the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will close out the month of January with two games at Youngstown State this weekend, Jan. 29-30.

Game times are set for 5:00 p.m. on both days and will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN App. Fans can also listen to the action on the radio on the new home of the Titans WLQV 92.7 FM & 1500 AM FaithTalk Detroit with the Voice of Detroit Mercy basketball Dan Hasty.

Detroit Mercy (4-8, 3-5 HL) and Youngstown State (8-8, 4-8 HL) will be looking for positioning in the league standings as both programs are scheduled to play just eight games the rest of the way.

The Titans swept Green Bay and are coming off a split at Oakland as the offense has picked it up averaging 79.2 points on 50.9% shooting from the field and 46.8% from behind the arc in the last four games. 

Junior Antoine Davis is now second in the Horizon League and 23rd in the nation in scoring at 20.6 points per game as he has turned it on of late, averaging nearly 25 points in his last six outings. 

YSU ended a four-game slide its last time out with an 85-77 victory over UIC to split its home series last week.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Detroit Mercy has dominated the all-time series to the tune of a 38-12 advantage, but Youngstown State has won the last three meetings, which have been decided by a total of eight points. 
• The Titans are 15-7 all-time on the road and have won five of the last six and 10 of the last 12 inside the Beeghly Center.  

CHECK OUT THESE GRADES

• The Titan student-athletes had one of the best semester GPA's in recent history.
• The Titans recorded a 3.45 GPA spanning over 250 student-athletes with over 220 tallying a term GPA of 3.0. All 17 programs were above a 3.0 with four programs over a 3.5 and 10 exceeding 3.4. 
• The men's basketball team registered a 3.09 team GPA, the second-straight semester the program has tallied a 3.0. 

FROM THREE

• The Titans have connected on double-digit 3-pointers in four-straight games and five times this season, actually five times in the last six games.
• They tied a school record with 17 in the first win against Green Bay and are 52-of-111 (46.8%) in the last four games.
• Detroit Mercy is now leading the HL and 29th in DI with 9.3 triples per game.

AT THE TOP

• Detroit Mercy led the HL and was ninth in the NCAA in free-throw percentage at 78.2 percent last season and are currently ninth in the nation and tops in the league again in that category hitting 79.4% on the year (139-of-175).
• The Titans hit all 11 at the charity stripe at Michigan State and were 18-of-20 against Kent State, 16-of-19 at Western Michigan, 15-of-18 in the final game versus Wright State, 15-of-19 in the first home game against Oakland and 15-of-16 in the first game at Oakland.  
• Part of that success is junior Antoine Davis, who is second in the league and 78th in the country hitting 85.4 % (35-of-41) and owns a career 87.7%, second in school history and the sixth highest among all active Division I players. 
• The Titans also have seven other players who are hitting over 70.0% at the line.

KEEPING THE BALL & STAYING OUT OF TROUBLE

• The Titans currently rank 94th in the nation and fourth in the HL averaging just 12.6 turnovers per game. 
• They also rank 31st in the country and third in the league averaging just 15.5 fouls per game. 
• In the first game victory over Green Bay, the Titans were whistled for just eight fouls (four on Willy Isiani) as the Phoenix shot just two free throws in the contest. 
• In fact, in seven of the 12 games on the year, teams have gone to the line 10 or fewer times against the Titans. 

STARTING TO HEAT UP

• Antoine Davis had a slow start to the season averaging just 16.3 points, shooting 31.1 % from the field (37-of-119) and 10.4% from three (5-of-48) in the first six games
• After having one of his shooting games in his career in the second game against Wright State, where he was 3-of-18 from the field and 0-of-7 from three, he has turned it on over his last six contests
• Davis is averaging 24.8 points and 5.0 assists, while shooting 51.5% from the field (52-of-101) and 47.5% from behind the arc (29-of-61) in the last six games.
• He has scored 20 or more in his last four with 26 and 30 in the wins over Green Bay and 30 and 27 last weekend at Oakland. 

DAVIS 2ND LEADING RETURNING SCORER IN D1

• After finishing third in the nation in scoring as a freshman (26.1), Antoine Davis was right back on top of the nation's leaders as a sophomore finishing fourth in the country at 24.3 points per game, trailing only Marquette's Markus Howard (27.8), UTSA's Jhivvan Jackson (26.8) and Hampton's Jermaine Marrow (24.8).
• He entered the season as the second leading returning scoring behind Jackson as Howard and Marrow both graduated. 
• Davis' career 24.4 points per game is tops among all active players and his 1,760 career points are 12th most among active 
• He is currently second in the HL and 23rd in the nation in scoring at 20.6 points and also tops the team and is sixth in the league with 4.2 assists per game.

RACKING UP THE POINTS

• Junior Antoine Davis now has 50 career 20-point games, 17 career 30-point outings and three 40-point contests in just 72 collegiate games and has also scored in double figures in all 72 games - reaching at least 17 points in 57 of them.
• He is now 36th all-time in scoring in the Horizon League at 1,760 points, while his 24.4 points per game is third all-time. 

ONE LETHAL SHOT

• Antoine Davis hit a season-high seven 3-pointers in the second win over Green Bay, going 7-of-11 from behind the arc and had six and five in the two games at Oakland.
• He now has 36 games with four or more triples, 13 with six or more, six times with seven or more and has twice connected on 10 in his young career.
• Davis has 267 career 3-pointers, second in school history, while his career 3.70 triples per game is the second-highest among all active players in DI trailing only Dru Kuxhausen of McNeese State (3.76). 
• The 3.70 mark is also tied for ninth all-time in NCAA history. 
• Earlier this season, he was an uncharacteristic 0-of-9 at Michigan State, 0-of-6 game at Western Michigan and 0-of-7 versus Wright State and that marked just the second, third and fourth time in 72 collegiate games that he failed to hit a three. The other was an 0-of-5 mark against Cleveland State last season.

DAVIS DISHING IT OUT

• Junior Antoine Davis does not just score, but he also does a good job of helping his team and he handed out 4.5 assists per game, fourth in the HL and 89th in the nation, last season. 
• He has 291 career assists, good for 4.0 per game. 
• Davis has at least three assists in 10 of the 12 games, including seven straight, and posted a season-high eight in the first win over Green Bay, one-off his career-best, six in the near comeback at Oakland and seven in the win at OU. 

ROSE RAISING HIS GAME

• Senior Dwayne Rose Jr. is coming off his best weekend of the season at Oakland as he averaged 15.5 points and 3.0 rebounds, while shooting 57.1% from the field. He scored 15 points in the first game and a season-high 16 points in the Titans win. 
• He had a strong game at Notre Dame finishing with six points, six rebounds and three assists and came back with 15 points and four boards against Kent State and netted 10 points with a key 3-pointer late in the game in a win at Western Michigan. 

HIGH WATERMARK

• Redshirt freshman Noah Waterman has really shown his talent for the Titans in his first six games. 
• Last week at Oakland, he posted 12.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists recording 18 points and a career-high eight rebounds with two blocks in the win, hitting 7-of-11 from the field and 4-of-8 from three. In the first game, Waterman scored six points with seven rebounds and three assists.
• Against Green Bay, he scored 15 points in game one on 5-of-8 shooting with four 3-pointers and two steals, and in game two, he grabbed six boards and had just three points, but it was his key triple with less than four minutes left that help put some distance in the second win over the Phoenix, 62-58, at the time. 
• In his Titan debut against Oakland in December, he netted eight points with three rebounds in 23 minutes in his first game, but came back to score a career-high 19 points with three rebounds, three assists and two steals in game two. 
• A transfer from Niagara, Waterman played in seven games with five starts until an injury ended his season last year. 
• He averaged 7.0 points and 3.3 rebounds, shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three. 
• As a prep, he was selected MVP of the Empire State Christian Athletic League in 2017 and 2018. He posted 33.9 points, 12.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.9 blocks in his senior season.
• In high school, he was 6-2 but hit a growth spurt as a junior and is now almost seven feet tall. 
• With the NCAA blanket waiver that was announced in mid-December, Waterman became immediately eligible to play. 

A LONG JOURNEY FOR KUOL

• Graduate senior transfer Bul Kuol has already made a major impact on the team. 
• A native of the Sudan, Kuol has posted double digits in scoring 11 times with three 20-point outings, while also setting career high in points, 3-pointers, blocks and steals. 
• In the win at Oakland, he came close to his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high nine boards and five assists. 
• Against Green Bay, he averaged 20.5 points on 12-of-19 shooting (63.2%), 6-of-9 from three (66.7%) and 11-of-15 (73.3%) at the line, while grabbing 6.0 rebounds. 
• In the series at home against Oakland, in game one, he tallied a career-high 28 points going 7-of-14 from the field, 6-of-12 from three and 8-of-8 at the line against Oakland. 
• Kuol netted a then career-best 21 points - hitting 7-of-15 shots and 4-of-8 from three, against Wright State to go with a high watermark of four thefts.
• He also handed out a career-high five assists in the first game with three swats.  
• He netted 18 points with six caroms at Notre Dame and was active in the season opener on defense, ending the game with 12 points and four boards at MSU. 
• He is now second on the team and 10th in the Horizon League averaging 15.6 points, hitting 43.3% at the field - 11th in the league - and 43.7% from behind the arc.

FRASER DID WHAT?

• Graduate senior Marquell Fraser accomplished something no Titan has done in 24 years and that was post a double-double in his Titan debut.
• Fraser had 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at nationally-ranked Michigan State, the first Titan to record a double-double in their first game since Derrick Hayes notched 14 points and 10 boards against Wayne State on Nov. 23, 1996. 
• It was the third career double-double for Fraser, who came back with an all-around game of 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals at Notre Dame, a season-best 19 points hitting 8-of-12 shots in the first game versus Wright State and 10 points with seven boards and five helpers in the second game.  
• In the second win over Green Bay, he was back in double figures for the first time in four games scoring 10 points and registering nine boards with four assists.
• Last week at Oakland, he scored seven points and had seven boards in game one and then handed out a career-high six assists in the win. 

 
SOMETHING TO PROVE

• A transfer from St. Bonaventure with one year of eligibility, Matt Johnson has been a key factor, scoring in double digits and grabbing at least five rebounds in six of his first 12 games as a Titan. 
• He certainly made a name for himself in his debut tallying a career-high 20 points going 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-6 from three with five rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal at No. 8 Michigan State.
• He came right back to score 15 at Notre Dame with five rebounds and an assist at Notre Dame, pulled down seven rebounds with a career-best five steals against Kent State and tied his career high with 20 points and recorded a collegiate-best eight boards against Wright State. 
• His previous career-high in scoring was just 12 points at George Washington last season as a member of St. Bonaventure, where he scored just 37 points all of last season.

GOING AFTER YOU DAD

• Head coach Mike Davis is quick to point out that Antoine Davis is not the defender that he was in college, but in terms of offense, the son is winning that battle.
• Coach Davis starred at Alabama from 1979 to 1983 and totaled 1,211 points in 121 career games, going 478-of-1003 (47.7%) from the field with 238 assists.
• Antoine now has 1,760 career points, 291assists and 94 steals.  
• For Brad Calipari, he has already surpassed his dad's, John Calipari, point totals at Division I as he has 174 at DI.  
• Coach Cal played three seasons of college ball, one at UNC Wilmington and two at Clarion. At UNC Wilmington in 1978-79, he posted 29 points hitting 4-of-17 from the field and 21-of-25 at the line. 
• At Clarion, Calipari scored 202 points, but ran the offense with 193 assists. 

THE TITANS ADD KOKA TO THE MIX

• The Titans added a big body to their team in mid-December as Buay Koka transferred from Tulane and became immediately eligible as a graduate transfer.
• In his first game against Wright State, the 7-1 Koka scored nine points and blocked two shots. He grabbed a career-high eight rebounds in a home game against Oakland with another two blocks and also had two steals and scored six points with a block in the first game at OU. 
• He played in 34 games with Tulane as a freshman, sophomore and junior, but did not see any action as a senior prior to his transfer to Detroit Mercy
• He was a three-time member of the AAC All-Academic Team.
• Both he and Bul Kuol are believed to be the first Titan players from the Sudan. 

FROM ALL OVER

• The Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will feature student-athletes from seven states (Alabama, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Texas) and four countries (Australia, Canada, Georgia, Sudan).