DETROIT (8/3/2021) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball lost one of its greatest scorers in school history as the Titans are in mourning following the sudden passing of Tony Tolbert, 50, who passed away on Monday, Aug. 2. 

Tolbert played two years with the Titans, leading the team in scoring in both campaigns, and helping the red, white blue to a MCC Tournament Championship in 1994. He was voted First Team All-MCC twice and earned MCC Newcomer of the Year in 1993 along with Honorable Mention All-Region by Basketball Times and Basketball Weekly. 

"He was such a great player and a guy that was full of energy and a joy to watch and coach," said former Titan head coach Perry Watson. "He was a funny guy, full of life and a joy to be around and we will all miss him.

"He was already a great scorer, he had been since his high school days, and when I got there, we talked about improving his game and looked at shots. I told him that, you are a great free-throw shooter and you can get 8-10 free throws a game and then look at more quality shots with his skill level, get in the best shape he has ever been in and get some fast-break baskets and then you only need 10-12 baskets a game to get you 30 or 40 points. Against Xavier, he had 40 and he hit like 19 or 20 free throws and was something like 10-of-15 from the floor and it was so effortless," said Watson. 

In his two years in Titan Territory, Tolbert scored 1,235 points, 16th when he graduated from the University and currently 25th in school history. His 22.1 career scoring average is still third all-time in school history as he tallied 20.4 points as a junior and 23.6 points as a senior, good for ninth in the record books.  He also ranks fifth all-time in 3-point field-goal percentage at 40.9 percent (115-of-281). 

He totaled 11, 30-point scoring efforts as a Titan with a pair of 40-point performances, notching a career-high 41 against Green Bay and 40 versus Xavier as a senior, one of six players in school history with at least two 40-point outings. 

In his first season with the Titans, he finished second in the league and 55th in the nation in scoring at 20.4 points a game, leading the program to a 15-12 record, the first winning season in seven years. The following season in coach Watson's first year, he upped his scoring to a MCC-best 23.6 points per game as the Titans went 16-13 and then shocked the conference by winning the postseason tournament, defeating top-seeded Xavier in the semifinals, 79-75, and second-seeded Evansville in the title game, 72-63, as he went for 21 in that contest. 

Prior to his two-year run with the Titans, he played at Michigan for two seasons, where he averaged 6.2 points a game and shot 44.6 percent from the field.  That came after a decorated high school career at St. Martin DePorres where he was a two-time all-state selection, an Honorable Mention All-American by USA Today and a player who recorded 26.9 points a game as a sophomore, 28.3 as a junior and 40.0 points as a senior. 

"He was such a great high school player and signed with Michigan and then he transferred here a year before I came. When I got here, I challenged him to be a leader and he went on to have just an unbelievable senior season that ended with us winning a championship," added Watson.

Final arrangements will be posted when they are known.