CHICAGO (12/5/2021) -- Senior Antoine Davis broke the school and Horizon League record for career 3-pointers and the Titans used an explosive 22-4 offensive charge in the second half to win their second-straight game as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team defeated UIC on the road, 64-56, on Sunday afternoon. 

Davis finished with a game-high 19 points and five assists and his three 3-pointers gave him 350 in his career, besting the school and HL record of 348 by former Titan All-American Rashad Phillips (348).

Junior Madut Akec had 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Graduate senior Kevin McAdoo scored 10 points and senior Matt Johnson added nine points and five boards. 

Detroit Mercy (2-6, 2-0 HL) had an early 9-3 lead but UIC (2-6, 0-2 HL) went on an 11-0 run and was in front for the rest of the half, taking a 27-21 advantage at the break. 

In the second half, the Flames came out with six in a row to open a double-digit lead at 33-21 with 18:43 left, but that is when the Titans caught fire going on a 22-4 spurt over the next nine minutes to jump out in front, 43-37.  During that run, the Titans were 7-of-10 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, while holding UIC to 2-of-9 from the field with five turnovers.

Akec was the catalyst in that spurt scoring 12 points, including the last nine points in the run as his jumper put the team ahead 38-37 at the 11:15 mark and a free throw was the final point in the charge for a 43-37 lead with 9:45 left.

A 3-pointer and a layup from Davis followed by two free throws from Akec had the red, white and blue ahead, 50-41, with 6:50 remaining and the Titans would open a double-digit lead themselves in the final minute as they hit free throws down the stretch to seal the win. 

The Titans shot 39.6% in the game, but were 17-of-20 (85.0%) at the free-throw line and had just 10 turnovers. The defense held UIC to 35.7% shooting and just 7-of-32 from the outside, while forcing 12 turnovers. 

Detroit Mercy will now step back outside of conference play as the Titans head to Kent State on Thursday in the final game of a season-opening nine-game road trip. 

First Half:

• Davis started the game with career 3-pointer No. 348 to tie the Titan and HL record
• Another basket by Davis had the team up 7-3 at the first media timeout
• McAdoo had a basket, but UIC scored 11 in a row to take a 14-9 lead at the 10:08 mark
• Senior Prince Oduro broke that run with a free throw and a layup by Johnson had the team down 17-12 with 8:38 remaining
• Junior Noah Waterman had back-to-back baskets, the second getting the team within five, 21-16, with 4:56 on the clock
• A jumper from McAdoo had the deficit at five again, 23-18, with 2:39 left
• With time winding down, Johnson hit a three to send the Titans into the half down by six, 27-21

Second Half: 

• UIC scored the first six points for a 33-21 advantage, but the Titans came back with a 22-4 run over the next eight minutes to take the lead
• The Titans ended the UIC spurt with two free throws by Davis and then Shaw got inside for a bucket and a foul and his three-point play made it 33-26 at the 18:02 mark
• Davis then broke the school and Horizon League three-point record as his triple made it 33-29 at the 14:54 mark
• Akec and McAdoo had back-to-back scores after a UIC basket and after the Flames scored, a 3-pointer and a field goal by Akec gave the red, white and blue a 38-37 lead with 10:55 left
• Akec continued to stay hot with two free throws and another basket had the Titans up 42-37 with 9:55 to go
• More Akec on the offense led to a free throw and a 43-37 lead at the 9:31 mark
• A three by Davis had the Titans up 46-39 with 7:55 left
• Two more free throws by Akec gave the Titans their biggest lead of nine, 50-41, with 6:30 remaining
• McAdoo got to the rim for a score and a foul and his three-point play had the team up 54-47 with 4:10 on the clock
• The Titans sealed the game away with two free throws from Davis and four from Johnson down the stretch

Game Notes:

• UIC had won seven of the last eight, but the Titans lead the overall series, 33-22, and are 14-13 all-time on the road in the match-up
• The last time Detroit Mercy started 2-0 in league play with two road wins was in 2018-19 as the Titans downed Youngstown State and Cleveland State
• The last time the Titans held a team under 60 points in two-straight games was in 2014-15 when they beat Aquinas 109-59 and South Florida 67-59, while the last time they did it in two true road games was in 2009-10 when they defeated Cleveland State 65-54 and Youngstown State 62-54
• Detroit Mercy came into the game 65th in the nation in free throw percentage (74.7%).
• Davis has scored in double figures in all 90 of his collegiate games - reaching at least 17 points in 72 of them - and is now eighth in NCAA history in consecutive games in double figures, just one behind 91 Ike Diogu (Arizona State, 2002-05) for seventh place
• Davis now has 2,220 career points and is now 99 in back of Rashad Phillips for the all-time school mark
• Davis came into the game fifth all-time in NCAA history with 3.90, three-point field goals per game as he has now connected on a 3-pointer in 86 of his 90 collegiate games 
• Akec was in double figures for the eighth time this season as his career-high is 20 points, which he posted at IUPUI on Thursday
• Akec has grabbed at least seven rebounds in six of the Titans' eight games
• McAdoo was back in double figures for the first time since netting 13 at Mississippi State