INDIANAPOLIS (12/2/2021) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team started the game on an 11-0 run and the defense played a major part in holding IUPUI down all game long as the Titans began Horizon League play with a 69-45 victory over the Jaguars on Thursday night. 

The Titans (1-6, 1-0 HL) held IUPUI to just 4-of-22 from the field with 12 turnovers in the first half and forced 21 turnovers in the game.

Senior Antoine Davis tallied his first collegiate double-double with 19 points and a career-high 10 assists to go with four rebounds and a pair of steals. He also made five 3-pointers to push his career total to 347, two shy of the school and Horizon League mark, as he reached 2,201 career points.

Junior Madut Akec scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds with a pair of steals. Junior Noah Waterman had eight points and five rebounds and senior Willy Isiani scored a season-high eight points.

The Titans raced out to an early 11-0 lead and never looked back as Isiani and Waterman started the game with back-to-back triples. A three later on by Davis had the team up 14-1 just six minutes in. 

Detroit Mercy would go on a 13-0 run midway through the half for a 31-7 lead and increased that to 26 as Davis found Akec for a dunk as time was expiring for a 38-12 lead at the break.  

In the second half, two free throws from Akec gave the team its largest lead at 28, 40-12, and the Titans would keep the pressure on the rest of the game with Davis nailing four 3-pointers in the second stanza.

The Titans shot 47.1% from the field and were 10-of-26 from three. Detroit Mercy had nine steals and was able to halve the battle of the boards at 32-32.

The red, white and blue will now look for a sweep of opening conference weekend as they head to UIC on Sunday in a 2:00 p.m. tip. 

First Half: 

• The Titans started the game on an 11-0 run as Isiani and Waterman nailed 3-pointers to start the spurt
• Shaw came up with a steal and a slam and then off a defensive stop, Isiani connected on another three for an 11-0 score with 16:32 on the clock
• Davis would get on the board with a 3-pointer to make it 14-1 at the 14:06 mark
• A fortunate hop off the rim gave the Titans an offensive rebound as Davis corralled the ball and then found Akec going to the rim for a score and it was 18-6 with 11 minutes left
• The Titans then went on a 13-0 spurt to increase their lead to 31-7 with 4:10 left
• Waterman started that run with a three and then Davis connected on two free throws before McAdoo had a layup
• McAdoo then had another basket and that was followed by a drunk from Akec and two free throws from Isiani
• After a three from IUPUI, junior Jeramy Shaw drove to the rim for a score and a foul and his free throw made it 34-13 with 3:47 remaining
• Davis earned his eighth assist as the buzzer sounded with a pass to Akec for a slam and a 38-12 lead at the break
• Detroit Mercy held IUPUI to just 4-of-22 from the field with 12 turnovers, while shooting 13-of-28 with five triples  

Second Half:

• Akec was fouled and started the half with two free throws for a 40-12 advantage
• Akec was at it again as Isiani found him inside and his dunk had the Titans on top 44-17 at the 16:37 mark
• Davis drilled a three and senior Prince Oduro followed with a basket inside for a 49-22 lead with 13:22 on the clock
• After seven-straight points from IUPUI, Davis had back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup from Alec had the Titan lead at 28, 57-29, with 8:20 left
• Davis' fifth three of the game gave the red, white and blue a 60-36 lead with 6:31 remaining
• Davis handed out his career-high 10th assist as he fed graduate senior Kevin McAdoo and he buried a three for a 67-41 lead with 3:01 on the clock

Game Notes:

• Detroit Mercy now leads the series, 4-2, and is 2-2 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, the home court for the 2022 Horizon League men's and women's basketball championships
• IUPUI graduate senior BJ Maxwell was a Titan, wearing the red, white and blue during the 2019-20 campaign, starting two games before suffering a season-ending hand injury
• The 12 points allowed in the first half was the fewest Detroit Mercy has ever given up in HL play, besting the 14 it allowed in the first half of a 98-47 victory over UIC in 2013
• The 21 forced turnovers were the most since they forced 21 against Ohio in 2018
• Detroit Mercy connected on at least nine 3-pointers for the fifth time this season
• The Titans are 17-25 all-time in Horizon League openers and 13-29 in Horizon League road openers
• Detroit Mercy came into the game ranking 60th in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (9.3), 100th in 3-point field-goal percentage (35.9%) and 81st in free throw percentage (73.9%)
• Davis is the only active player at the Division I level to have at least 1,500 points and 350 assists
• Davis was in double figures for the 89th consecutive game, the eighth-longest streak in NCAA history
• Davis now has 2,201 career points just 118 in back of former Titan great Rashad Phillips for the all-time school mark and fifth in school history as only 12 players have reached 2,000 career points in the Horizon League
• Davis has connected on a 3-pointer in 85 of his 89 collegiate games and also has 49 career games with four or more triples, 17 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 378 career assists, 10th in school history as his previous high in helpers was nine at Wright State in 2020 
• Akec has scored in double figures in all six games and came into the game shooting 48.5% overall
• Waterman had not made a basket in his first two games, but shot 55.5% from the field and 52.8% from the outside (38-of-72) last season
• Isiani has now connected on the three ball on 72 of his 105 career field goals.