DETROIT (2/20/2021) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team shot 57.1% in the second half, scoring 48 points in the final 20 minutes to storm past Robert Morris and earn the home sweep over the Colonials in an 80-61 victory Saturday from Calihan Hall. It was the regular-season finale for both teams.

With the win, the Titans improved to 11-9 and 10-6 in the Horizon League, with the 10 league victories the most since the program went 12-4 in 2012-13. The victory, the 10th in the past 12 contests, also guaranteed the Titans first non-losing season since the 2015-16 season.

Detroit Mercy junior guard Antoine Davis led all scorers for the second-straight game with 29 points, adding eight assists for the second consecutive contest. Sophomore guard Noah Waterman scored a career-high 22 points, making 8-of-11 field goal attempts, adding six boards and two blocks. Davis and Waterman combined to make 10, 3-pointers - each hitting five treys. 

Graduate senior Bul Kuol came on in the second half, scoring 10 of his 17 points after the halftime break, while junior forward Chris Brandon had eight rebounds and graduate senior guard Marquell Fraser added seven points, a game-high nine caroms, three assists and three steals.

The Titans had trouble getting going offensively as Robert Morris led most of the first half, leading 31-20 with 5:41 left in the opening stanza. The Titans used a 10-2 run, however, to pull within three points, 33-30, with 2:32 to go in the half as Davis hit two 3-pointers and senior Dwayne Rose Jr. and Fraser each sank buckets during the stretch.

The Colonials (4-14, 3-12 HL) led 39-32 at the halftime break, but much like Friday's contest, the Titans came out offensively charged in the early part of the second half. The Titans scored 20 points in the first 4:14 of the second half, behind the hot shooting of Waterman and Davis. Waterman scored seven points in the first 80 seconds of the second half, scoring on a rare four-point play, before adding another 3-pointer as the game was suddenly tied, 39-39.

Davis then hit a 3-pointer and after an RMU trey tied the game, 42-42, Waterman sank his third 3-pointer of the early stages of the second half at the 17:46 mark to give the Titans the lead for good. Davis then made yet another triple and before long the Titans were up 10, 56-46, making it a 24-7 run to open the second half.

Robert Morris would get within five points, 64-59, with 6:07 remaining, however, the Titans closed the game on a 16-2 run in the final 6 minutes, with Kuol scoring nine-straight Titan points at one point during that closing stretch. Davis was also effective at the free-throw line again late in the game and went 8-for-8 from the line, making it 18-for-18 on the weekend.

Detroit Mercy held RMU to just 31.0% shooting in the second half. The Titans shot 50.9% (29-for-57) from the floor and 42.9% (12-for-28) from 3-point range, also hitting 10-of-11 free throws (90.9%). The red, white and blue also won the rebounding battle, 31-29, and had seven steals and three blocks. The Titans committed just eight turnovers.

The Titans will now await their seeding for the upcoming 2021 Horizon League Championship. Detroit Mercy, the sixth seed entering the weekend, is ensured of hosting a first-round matchup in the tournament with the quarterfinals that follow being played at the top-four seeds. The first round of the tournament is set for Thursday, Feb. 25, with the quarterfinals to be played on March 2.

The semifinals and championship game are set to be played at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis from March 8-9.

First Half:

• RMU scored the first four points of the contest before Kuol scored on a driving lay-up, off-glass.
• Davis connected on a 3-pointer and then Waterman followed with a driving lay-up off an offensive board.
• The teams traded buckets with Waterman hitting a 3-pointer and then RMU hitting a triple.
• The action continued to be back-and-forth and fast-paced with RMU leading 16-12 at the first media timeout at 12:36.
• Isiani ended a RMU run with a bucket down low to cut the Colonial lead to 19-14 midway through the stanza.
• Davis found a wide-open Kuol, who buried a 3-pointer, but RMU followed with another bucket.
• Frasier grabbed an offensive board and finished on the put-back and the Colonials followed with a 3-pointer to lead 26-19.
• The Colonials continued their strong shooting, hitting their fourth triple to go up 29-19 at the 7-minute mark.
• RMU led 31-20, before Rose Jr. hit a lay-up at the 4:43 mark of the opening half.
• Davis hit his second trey with 3:55 left and then Frasier scored for a 5-0 run as the Titans were within six, 33-27.
• Off an offensive board, Davis hit another triple and RMU followed with a 3-pointer of its own.
• Brandon scored inside 2 minutes, but RMU hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to lead 39-32 at the break.
• The Colonials shot 62.5% (15-of-24) in the first half, while the Titans shot 44.8% (13-of-29) from the floor.
• Davis had nine points, hitting three 3-pointers in the opening half to lead the Titans.

Second Half:

• Like Friday, the Titans came out with a flurry of points in the second stanza, starting the half on a 10-0 run.
• Waterman hit a 3-pointer and was fouled, turning it into a four-point play for the first points of the second half.
• He then connected on another trey and Davis followed with a triple as the Titans took a 42-39 lead.
• After an RMU triple, Waterman and Davis both connected on 3-pointers again as the Titans led 48-44.
• Davis found Frasier for a lay-up and the Titans led 50-46 at 16:24, scoring 18 points in the first 4:36 of the half.
• Davis scored the next four points on a pair of free throws and an easy lay-in as the Titans led by eight, 54-46.
• The strong defensive effort continued as the Titans expanded their lead to 10, 56-46, at the 13-minute mark.
• Waterman then connected on his fifth 3-pointer of the contest at 11:41 as the Titans went up 13, 59-46.
• Davis attacked the rim, made the lay-up and ensuing free throw after he was fouled as the Titans led 62-50.
• After two RMU buckets, Waterman scored again on a floater at the 7:51 mark and the Titans held a 64-55 lead.
• RMU again scored two-straight, but Kuol answered by knocking down a triple with 5:40 to go.
• Kuol scored the next two buckets as he alone went on a 7-0 run to give the Titans a 12-point advantage, 71-59.
• Kuol continued his big stretch with another bucket followed by a pair of free throws by Davis with 2:22 left.
• Davis was fouled on a trey and made all three free throws as the Titans led 78-60 with just 1:20 remaining.
• Davis made a jumper in the final minute to close the scoring and a 48-point second half for the Titans.
• The Titans were hot shooting in the second half, making 57.1%, also holding RMU to 31.0% shooting.

Game Notes:

• The Titans now lead the overall series, 3-0
• The 10 conference wins are the most since going 12-4 in 2012-13
• Detroit Mercy has tallied at least 50.0% shooting from the field in six of the last nine games and eight of the last 13, reaching as high as 66.0% in the win against Green Bay 
• Detroit Mercy had two guys score 20 points for the seventh time this season
• Davis has now reached at least 24 points in 12th-straight games, the most by a Titan since Spencer Haywood's 16th-straight in 1968-69 
• Davis has now made 45-straight free throws, a new career-high eclipsing the 38 in a row he made last year
• Davis now has 1,978 points, tied for 14th in Horizon League history with Cleveland State's Norris Cole and just seven points behind Dave DeBusschere for third in school history (1,985)
• Waterman has hit at least three 3-pointers in six of his 13 games and has been in double digits in scoring seven times, with his previous career-high of 19 in the game yesterday and against Oakland at home
• Kuol has now been in double figures in 17 of the 20 games this season
• In the last six games, Brandon is averaging 7.8 rebounds after tallying just 4.3 in his first nine contests