DETROIT (1/14/2022) -- After a tough start to a four-game road swing with a close loss at Purdue Fort Wayne, the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will close out this week's action by heading to Cleveland State on Saturday. 

Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. at the Wolstein Center will be broadcast live on ESPN+, while fans can also listen to all the action on WLQV 92.7 FM & 1500 AM FaithTalk Detroit with the Voice of Detroit Mercy basketball Dan Hasty.

The Titans (5-8, 3-1 HL) have won five of the last seven games and 11 of their last 13 regular season Horizon League contests, but dropped a nailbiter at Purdie Fort Wayne, 62-60, their last time out. 

Junior Madut Akec had a monster game with 15 points and a career-best 15 rebounds along with four steals. He now ranks second in rebounding at 9.1 per game and his six double-doubles are tied for third in the conference.

Senior Antoine Davis had a game-high 17 points and is second in the nation in scoring at 23.1 points per game. He has a school-record 2,340 career points and is just eight behind former Valparaiso standout Alec Peters (2,348) for third place in Horizon League history.

After the game, the Titans will be on the road next week at Milwaukee and at Green Bay.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• The teams have split the last 10 meetings, but the Titans still lead the series, 45-27.
• The teams split last year's match-up on the road as the Titans captured an 89-83 victory in an ESPNU game in game one before falling 71-64 in game two. 
• Detroit Mercy is 14-20 on the road in the series and has dropped nine of the last 12 (2016, 2018, 2021) at the Wolstein Center.

AGAINST THE VIKINGS

• Senior Antoine Davis has struggled a bit in his career against Cleveland State averaging 22.7 points on 32.3% overall shooting and 22.0% from three (13-of-59), although he did score 35 in the win and 23 in the loss last season.
• At the Wolstein Center, he has averaged 23.0 points connecting on 31-of-86 (36.0%) from the field and 8-of-36 (22.2%) from three in four career games and his 0-of-5 effort from three as a sophomore in 2000 is one of just four times in 95 career games that he failed to nail a 3-pointer. Junior Noah Waterman averaged 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds last season on 50.0% shooting (7-of-14, 7-of-13 from three) as he had a big game in the win scoring 17 points and hitting some key 3-pointers late.

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT

• The Titans are averaging 79.2 points in their last four games, having reached at least 83 points three times and scoring a season-high 89 points in the win over Central Michigan, the most points since they tallied 89 in their ESPNU victory at Cleveland State last season.
• In the last four games, the Titans are shooting 44.2% overall, 41.4% from three and 80.8% at the line, while outrebounding their opponents 39.8-31.0 and posting more assists than turnovers (61-49). 

LONG RANGE TITANS

• The Titans have connected on at least nine 3-pointers in eight games this season and connected on 18 against Milwaukee, tying a school record and tied for the sixth most this season against Division I competition. 
• Detroit Mercy also had 18 triples against Milwaukee in 2000. 
• The team currently ranks 17th in Division I in 3-point field goals per game (10.2), 63rd in three-point field-goal percentage (36.5%).

AMONG THE BESTS

• Senior Antoine Davis ended last year leading the Horizon League and ranking third in the country in scoring at 24.0 points per game, marking the third-straight season he finished in the top four nationally in scoring (26.1 for third in 2019 and 24.3 for fourth in 2020).
• He also became just the second player in HL history to lead the conference three times joining Loyola's Alfredrick Hughes (1983-85) as he could put just himself on that pedestal if he were to lead the league again this year as he currently sits on top again and second in the country at 23.1 ppg. 
• Davis trails only Iowa's Keegan Murray (23.9) for the nation's lead at the moment. 

STAT RANKINGS

• The Titans currently rank 14th in free throw percentage (78.4%), 17th in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (10.2) and 63rd in three-point field-goal percentage (36.5%).
• Individually, senior Antoine Davis leads the nation in 3-point field goals per game (4.62) and is second in scoring (23.1) and minutes played per game (38:09), fifth in total 3-pointers (60), 11th in free-throw percentage (91.7%), 30th in total points (300), 30th in assists (5.3) and 57th in three-point field goal percentage (40.8%), while his 39 points at Hofstra and against Milwaukee is a conference-high and tied for the fifth-most in the country and the eight triples he made in both contests is tied for the seventh most. 
• Junior Madut Akec is third in the HL and 28th nationally in double-doubles (6), second in the league and 45th in the country in rebounding (9.1) and sixth in the league and 100th in the nation in offensive rebounding (2.69). 

CASHING IN ON THE FREE ONES

• Senior Antoine Davis, who claimed fourth in DI in free-throw percentage with a league-best and school-record 91.7% (88-of-96) last season, currently owns the school record at 89.2% (412-of-462).
• He is 11th in the nation in free-throw percentage at 91.7% (44-of-48) on the year. 
• Going back to last season after he was just 3-of-6 in the second game against Wright State, he has made 105 of his last 111 attempts (94.5%), spanning 28 games. He saw his school record and active NCAA-best 57-straight free throw streak come to an end at Louisville. As a sophomore, he had a streak of 37 in a row at one point. 
• His career 89.2% is also tied for the third-highest among active returning players in the nation and 19th all-time in NCAA history. 

RACKING UP THE POINTS

• Senior Antoine Davis now has 66 career 20-point games, 22 career 30-point outings and four 40-point contests in just 95 collegiate games and has also scored in double figures in all 95 games - reaching at least 17 points in 77 of them.
• Davis was in double figures for the 95th straight game with 17 points at Purdue Fort Wayne as he is now just one behind Oregon State's Tres Trinkle (2016-20) for sixth place as he entered the season with a chance at the NCAA record, held by La Salle's Lionel Simmons (1986-90) and Campbell's Chris Clemons at 115 (2015-19). 
• Last year, he recorded a HL-best 15, 20-point games, five 30-point outings and a conference high-tying 46 points, just two off his career-high and a HL Tournament record with his 46 coming against Robert Morris in the first round of the playoffs. 
• The 46 points was tied for the league and nation high with Cleveland State's D'Moi Hodge (vs. Purdue Fort Wayne). 
• Last season he reached at least 23 points in 13-straight, the best 20-point streak by a Titan since Spencer Haywood's 16-straight in 1968-69 - but to Haywood's resume, most of those were 30-point games.

AD THE QUICKEST TO 1,000 & 2,000 & NOW OWNS THE SCHOOL RECORD

• With his 39 points against Milwaukee, senior Antoine Davis became the Titans all-time leading scorer passing Rashad Phillips (2,319) with his 36th point and now has 2,340, fourth in Horizon League history. 
• Davis scored 27 points at Notre Dame in the 2019-20 season, but it was his free throw for 26 that made history giving him 1,000 career points in just 39 games, passing the great Dave DeBusschere as the fastest Titan to reach 1,000.
• DeBusschere accomplished the feat in his 43rd collegiate game.
• Davis became the 43rd player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points and just the third second-year player joining DeBusschere (who did it as a junior as freshmen could not play) and sophomore Ray McCallum in 2010-11.
• Last year, he passed DeBusschere again (1,978) for third in Titan history as he crossed the 2,000-point plateau in his 81st game, quicker than the other two 2,000-point scorers in John Long (2,167 total - 2,000 in game 102) and Rashad Phillips (2,319 total - 2,000 in game 116). 

ABOUT 2,000 POINTS

• Senior Antoine Davis has 2,340 career points, the highest active scorer in the country in total points.
• At the moment, 608 NCAA players have amassed over 2,000 career points at the DI level and if he is able to get to 2,500, only 73 players have achieved that mark.
• Only 12 players have reached 2,000 career points in the Horizon League as he is sixth in conference history in that category, 574 shy of the all-time mark.

ONE LETHAL SHOT

• Antoine Davis comes into the year fifth all-time in NCAA history with 3.95, three-point field goals per game.
• He has connected on a 3-pointer in 29-straight games and 91 of his 95 collegiate games. He has 52 career games with four or more triples, 20 with six or more, 10 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. 
• He was the league leader and second in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (3.77) last season, and that marked the third-straight year that he has been top 10 nationally in 3-point field goals per game. 
• Davis is already the school and career 3-point record holder at 376 career triples as he passed former Titan All-American Rashad Phillips (348) for both records with his second trey at UIC.
• The NCAA record book registers the top 30 for all-time 3-pointers and No. 31 stands at 379 by a familiar name to head coach Mike Davis in Robert Vaden, who was recruited and played for coach Davis at Indiana and at UAB. 

DAVIS DISHING IT OUT

• Antoine Davis can not only score, but he can get his teammates involved as he is now ninth in school history with 415 assists. 
• He has 43 games with five or more assists - including eight this season - and as he set his career-best with 10 at IUPUI and against Western Michigan.

MADUT DOING IT ALL

• Junior Madet Akec is having a breakout season averaging 15.3 points and team-highs with 9.1 rebounds, 23 steals, four blocks and shooting 49.0% overall.
• He is second in rebounding, sixth in field goal percentage, free-throw percentage (81.4%) and steals and ninth in scoring in the Horizon League.  
• He has also scored in double figures in 11 games and is tied for third in the HL with six double-doubles and seven 10+ rebounding outings.  
• Akec just posted 15 points and a career-high 15 boards with four steals and two assists at Purdue Fort Wayne. 
• He netted a career-high 25 points - 20 in the second half - with 10 rebounds against Central Michigan for his fifth double-double of the year, where he was 7-of-12 from the field and a career-best 10-of-11 at the free-throw line. 
• Akec had a double-double with 18 points and a team-high 12 rebounds against WMU the week before.  
• He scored a then career-high 20 points with seven rebounds at IUPUI and added 19 points - 17 in the second half and 10 in a row at one point - and eight boards at UIC.  
• He made an immediate impact with the Titans at Wyoming, posting his first career double-double with a then career-high 14 points and then career-best 13 rebounds.
• He came back upping his then career-high to 15 points with seven boards, two assists, two blocks and a steal at Toledo and exceeded his career-high with 19 points and five steals to go with a team-high 10 boards at Louisville. 
• He competed in 33 games at USF the past two seasons, redshirting as a freshman, and tallied 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds, while shooting nearly 50.0% (14-of-31).  
• A native of Tonj, South Sudan, he grew up in Melbourne, Australia, before prepping at Victory Rock in Florida.
• His brother, Deng Adel, played basketball at Louisville and played in the NBA with Toronto, Cleveland and Brooklyn and is currently playing overseas in Wales.

HL'S SIXTH MAN RETURNS 

• Matt Johnson was selected the HL Sixth Man of the Year last season and returns to the Titans for another year. 
• He has been a steady contributor again netting seven points with four rebounds, two assists and a steal against Central Michigan and a season-high 11 points with five rebounds, two assists and two steals versus Western Michigan. 
• He started the season with nine points and five boards at Wyoming and tied for the team-high with four assists at Mississippi State before scoring 10 points with five rebounds, two assists and two steals at Louisville
• He added 10 points at Hofstra and seven points, four rebounds and two assists at Northeastern and 10 points at UIC.  
• He saw action in all 22 games with eight starts last season and averaged 8.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists, while shooting 43.2% from the field, 39.2% from three and 94.4% at the free-throw line (17-of-18).
• He ended the year fourth on the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals, scoring in double-digits eight times with three 20-point performances.
• Johnson posted a then career-high 20 points (7-14 FG, 4-6 3FG) along with five rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in his Titan debut at Michigan State and followed that up with 15 points and five boards at Notre Dame. 
• He grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and scored 10 points against Wright State in game one and then tied his then career-best with 20 points with six caroms in game two. 
• Later in the season, he recorded a career-high 24 points on a career-best 9-of-14 from the field with six 3-pointers to go with six rebounds against Purdue Fort Wayne.
• Prior to Detroit Mercy, he played at St. Bonaventure and also at two junior colleges, Pensacola State and Howard College. 

HIGH WATERMARK

• Junior Noah Waterman - who missed four-straight games after the opener with an undisclosed injury at Northeastern - was a great addition to the Titans last year.
• He has started to regain his form scoring 12 points with four boards against Milwaukee and coming back with 12 points, five boards and two blocks at Purdue Fort Wayne. 
• That was after netting six against Central Michigan.
• He has connected on 16 field goals this season with 10 from distance.
• He became eligible mid-season last year and played in 15 games with 12 starts and was third on the team in scoring (11.9), fourth in rebounding (4.5) and tied for the team lead with 10 blocks. 
• He shot 55.5% from the field and 52.8% from the outside (38-of-72), scoring in double figures in eight games.
• In the second meeting with Oakland on the road, he posted 12.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game recording 18 points and a career-high eight rebounds and two blocks in the win, hitting 7-of-11 shots and 4-of-8 from three.
• He netted 17 points with five rebounds and two blocks in the win at HL champions Cleveland State, going a career-best 5-of-7 from three with three of those in the final three minutes to seal the win and ended the regular season against Robert Morris netting 19 points in game one and a career-high 22 in game two, where he was a career-best 8-of-11 from the field with a career-tying five triples. 
• He then had 19 points and pulled down five rebounds in the Horizon League Championship quarterfinals at NKU. 
• A transfer from Niagara, Waterman played in seven games with five starts until an injury ended his freshman year.
• In high school, he was 6-2 but hit a growth spurt and is now almost seven feet allowing him to play as a guard with his shooting skills.