DETROIT (12/19/2021) -- Senior Antoine Davis and junior Madut Akec each scored a game-high 25 points - a career-high for Akec - and the Titans scored 50-second half points to put away Central Michigan as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team downed the Chippewas, 89-75, on Sunday afternoon.

The win was the second-straight for the Titans over an in-state rival - they beat Western Michigan last week - as Detroit Mercy heads back into conference play at 4-7 overall and 2-0 in the Horizon League. 

Davis was 8-of-17 from the field and 6-of-12 from three to go with five rebounds and three assists. Akec scored 25 on 7-of-12 shooting and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line as he added 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals, while graduate senior DJ Harvey posted a season-high 14 points and a career-best 12 boards and four assists.

The Titans started the game with five-straight points and later used a 13-0 run to take a 35-27 lead late in the first and held a 39-34 advantage at the break.

Akec caught fire in the second half, scoring 20 of his 25 points, as Detroit Mercy stayed in front of Central Michigan (1-10) the rest of the way, upping its lead and led by as many as 14 points.

Senior Matt Johnson added seven points, four rebounds and two assists. Senior Willy Isiani and junior Noah Waterman each finished with six points and senior Jordan Phillips had four points and two boards in his Titan debut

Detroit Mercy shot 46.8 % in the contest, including 53.3% in the second half, hitting 12 triples and 19-of-24 at the free-throw line. The Titans also outrebounded the Chippewas, 41-35, with 13 offensive rebounds and had a 19-9 edge in second-chance points. 

The red, white and blue will now enjoy a few days off for Christmas break and will get back into Horizon League action at home next week as the Titans host Youngstown State on Dec. 30 at 7:00 p.m. and Robert Morris on New Year's at 3:00 p.m. 

First Half:

• Akec went inside for a layup and Johnson hit a three for a quick 5-0 lead
• A triple by Harvey had the Titans back in front 10-9, five minutes in 
• Waterman nailed a three for a 14-11 lead at the 13:30 mark
• Central Michigan scored eight in a row for a 19-14 lead, but off a Harvey offensive rebound, Waterman ended that with a three and Johnson followed with a basket and it was tied at 19-19 with 9:34 left
• Davis got on the board with his first triple to make it 22-22 with 8:56 remaining 
• Harvey picked up his sixth rebound of the game to start a 13-0 run over the next five minutes as a Davis trey made it 27-25 CMU with seven minutes left 
• Two free throws by Akec knotted it at 27-27 with 6:31 on the clock and he hit another pair at 5:52 to give the Titans the lead 29-27
• Davis connected on another three for a 32-27 advantage with five minutes to go and another by him had the red, white and blue up 35-27 with 3:01 left
• Isiani has a layup as time was expiring and the Titans led at the break 39-34

Second Half:

• Akec hit a three and then had a layup to stop a 4-0 spurt by Central for a 44-38 lead at the 17:59 mark
• A 7-0 run by the Titans ensued as Davis nailed his fifth 3-pointer of the game for a 47-42 advantage and two free throws from Akec had the red, white and blue up 49-42 with 15:45 left
• A basket and a foul with Akec hitting the bonus for a three-point play had the Titans up 52-42 with 15:19 to go
• McAdoo went inside for a layup and a 56-50 advantage with 11:10 on the clock
• Davis crossed the 20-point plateau with his sixth triple of the game to make it a 59-52 score with 10:22 remaining 
• Back-to-back layups from Akec and Johnson had the team up 63-55 with 8:17 left 
• A layup from Akec made it 69-62 with 6:47 to go
• A 6-0 spurt had the Titans ahead 77-68 with 3:23 left 
• Akec's jumper gave him 25 points and the Titans were up 87-73 and Phillips' dunk closed things out for an 89-75 score

Game Notes:

• These two programs had not met since 2010, but the Titans have now won four in a row and nine of the last 10 and lead the series, 21-11, including 13-3 all-time at Calihan Hall, winning seven of the last eight
• The Titans have now won nine in a row at home dating back to last season
• Former Titan Jermaine Jackson Jr. - a member of the HL All-Freshman Team in 2017-18, is a graduate senior for CMU and leads the team averaging 11.7 points per game
• He is the son of former Titan assistant coach and Horizon League Player of the Year Jermaine Jackson '99, who helped the team to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and wins in back-to-back years over St. John's (1998) and UCLA (1999)
• The Titans came into the game ranked 46th in total 3-pointers (94) and 49th in the nation in 3-point field goals 
• The Titans have connected on at least nine 3-pointers in seven games this season, tying a season-high with 15 at Hofstra and against Western Michigan
• It was the second-straight game the Titans had two players register double-doubles
• The last time the Titans had every player that saw action score was nine players against Oakland last season
• Akec came into the contest 29th in the nation in double-doubles
• Akec's previous career-high was 20 points at IUPUI
• Akec has scored in double figures in 10 of the 11 games and is tied for second in the HL with five double-doubles and five 10+ rebounding outings
• Harvey's season-high was eight points at Kent State and career-high was nine rebounds at Toledo
• Davis came into the game leading the nation in total 3-pointers, third in 3-point field goals per game, fourth in scoring and free-throw percentage 
• Davis now has 65 career 20-point games, 21 career 30-point outings and four 40-point contests in all 93 collegiate games and has also scored in double figures in all 93 games - reaching at least 17 points in 75 of them
• Davis has connected on a 3-pointer in 89 of his 93 collegiate games and also has 51 career games with four or more triples, 19 with six or more, nine games with seven or more, and has thrice connected on 10 in his career, tying a school record as well as breaking a conference tournament record
• Davis now has 365 career 3-pointers, just 14 shy of top-30 in NCAA history, held by a familiar name to head coach Mike Davis in Robert Vaden, who was recruited and played for coach Davis at Indiana and at UAB
• Davis now has  2,284 career points and is now just 35 in back of Rashad Phillips for the all-time school mark