DETROIT (2/5/2021) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team shot over 50% again as junior guard Antoine Davis tied his season-high with 30 points, while graduate senior Bul Kuol tallied his career-high with 29 points as the Titans downed Purdue Fort Wayne, 82-72, on Friday night from Calihan Hall.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Titans, which improved to 7-8 overall and 6-5 in the Horizon League, while the Mastodons fell to 6-10, 5-10 in league play. Detroit Mercy has now won six of their last seven games, their best seven-game stretch since the 2015-16 season.

Detroit Mercy shot 54.9% (28-of-51) for the game, 55.2% from three (16-of-29) and made 10-of-14 (71.4%) at the line. The Titans registered 15 assists against just seven turnovers and were whistled for just six fouls in the contest. 

Davis was 9-of-17 shooting and hit a season-best 8-of-11 from 3-point range to go with three assists and two rebounds. Kuol was a career-best 12-of-21 from the field with five triples along with three rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Both teams started the game on an offensive tear, hitting 3-pointers from all over as both the Titans and Mastodons shot over 50% in the first half. There were six ties and seven lead changes in the first 20 minutes of play as Davis and Kuol were matching 3-pointers with the Mastodons.

Purdue Fort Wayne grabbed a 31-26 lead with 6:39 left in the first half when a layup by Kuol and a triple from Davis had the team up, 34-33, a lead they would never relinquish. Senior Matt Johnson then nailed a 3-pointer extend the lead to four, 37-33, with 4:13 on the clock and Davis drained his sixth triple of the first half to give the Titans a 44-38 lead at the halftime break.

In the second half, Detroit Mercy increased its lead to double digits at 52-42 as Davis hit another from distance just four minutes in. The Titans would raise that lead to 11 on a few occasions, thanks to baskets by sophomore Noah Waterman and graduate senior Marquell Fraser. The Mastodons cut that down to six, but a 6-0 run followed as Davis and Kuol had back-to-back baskets and Fraser went to the lane for a score to make it 70-58 with 3:43 remaining and the Titans cruised the rest of the way. 

Johnson ended with eight points, two rebounds and two steals, while junior Chris Brandon tied his season-high with eight boards and came away with two steals. Fraser posted six points, a career-high seven assists and five rebounds. 

The two teams will meet Saturday at 5:00 p.m. at Calihan Hall. 

First Half:

• Both teams came out hot from the field and a pair of Kuol 3-pointers and one from Davis had the Titans up 11-6 just three minutes in
• Purdue Fort Wayne took a 14-11 lead when Davis tied it with a triple at the 14:31 mark, while giving the Titans the lead back with another trifecta at 13:20
• The Mastodons surged ahead again, but Kuol hit from the outside again for a 21-18 lead midway through the period
• Purdue Fort Wayne hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take the lead, but Davis would knot it at 26-26 with another from distance with 7:58 left
• The Titans fell behind again, but a layup from Kuol and another trey from Davis had the team up 34-33 with 4:50 left 
• Johnson then connected on one from downtown and it was 37-33 with 4:13 left
• Fraser and Johnson would hit a pair of free throws and the lead was six, 41-35, with 2:15 to go
• Davis would end the half with his sixth 3-pointer of the game and the Titans led 44-38 at the break
• The Titans shot 56.0% in the first half (14-of-25), while making 11-of-17 from three (64.7%)

Second Half:

• Davis started the Titan scoring with his seventh 3-pointer of the game for a 47-40 lead
• A jumper by Kuol would extend the lead to nine, 49-40, at the 18:34 mark and later to 10, 52-42, as Davis made his eighth triple with 16:11 left in the first half
• The lead would surge to 11, 55-44, as Waterman knocked down a 3-pointer with 13:35 on the clock
• Baskets by Fraser and Kuol kept the lead at 11, the latest at 62-51, with 10 minutes to go
• Both teams started to cool down on offense, but a jumper by Davis and another basket by Kuol pushed the advantage back to double digits, 68-58 with 5:21 remaining
• Fraser drove to the rim and scored to make it a 6-0 run and raise the lead to 12, 70-58, with 3:43 left
• The Mastodons started chipping away, but Davis found Johnson in the corner and he hit the team's 16th 3-pointer of the contest, one shy of tying the school record

Game Notes:

• The Titans trail the all-time series, 2-1
• The four-game winning streak is the most since the 2015-16 campaign (that was all non-conference), while the last time the Titans won four-straight HL games was in 2012-13
• The Titans have now shot over 50.0% in four-straight games and six of the last seven
• The Titans have connected on double-digit 3-pointers in five of their last six games and six times this season, as well as six times in the last eight games
• The Titans school record for 3-pointers is 18 against Milwaukee in 2000, while their season-high is 17 against Green Bay
• The Titans came into the game 65th in the nation and third in the HL averaging just 11.9 turnovers per game and had just nine today, their third-straight game with less than 10
• They also rank 25th in the country and third in the league averaging just 15.3 fouls per game and had a season-low six in the game
• It was the seventh game of the year with at least 15 assists
• Davis has now scored 20 or more in his last seven games and has 53 career 20-point games
• Davis now has connected on seven or more 3-pointers seven times in his career and has 284 in his career
• Davis passed Oakland's Jalen Hayes to move into 24th place in Horizon League history with 1,839 points
• Kuol's previous career high was 28 at home against Oakland as he now has four 20-point games on the year
• Brandon's eight rebounds were the most since he had eight against Green Bay earlier in the season
• Fraser's seven assists surpassed his career high of six he had at Oakland