Shipping Up To Boston As Titans Visit Boston College In Friday Matinee

Men's Basketball 11.09.22

Shipping Up To Boston As Titans Visit Boston College In Friday Matinee

The Titans will look for a big win at Boston College

DETROIT (11/10/22) – The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will hit the road for the first time this season as the Titans travel to the East Coast to face Jesuit-rival Boston College on Friday.

Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Conte Forum and will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra and ESPN+ with an audio broadcast on the Michigan Sports Network with the Voice of the Titans Dan Hasty on the call.

The Titans lead the all-time series, 4-2, and have won three in a row, but the two squads have not met since Jan. 29, 1972. Detroit Mercy is 1-2 in the match-up on the road.

The game against marks a meeting between two of the 28 Jesuit Universities in the United States with the Titans and Eagles two of the 20 Jesuit programs that are Division I. Detroit Mercy is 208-239 all-time against its fellow Jesuit brothers.

Detroit Mercy got off to a good start with a 93-65 victory over Rochester at home. The Titans almost had four players with double-doubles in the season opener as senior Jordan Phillips tied his career high with 18 points and 10 rebounds and junior Jayden Stone posted a career-high 15 points and 12 rebounds. Graduate senior Antoine Davis had 28 points and nine assists and graduate senior Damezi Anderson tallied a career-best 17 points and nine rebounds

Davis comes into the game with 2,762 career points, tops in school history, second all-time in Horizon League history (152 away from first), 21st in NCAA history (238 away from becoming the 11th player in NCAA history to score 3,000 points) and 905 away from Pete Maravich's NCAA-record 3,667. He nailed four 3-pointers in the game and now has 433 in his career, 10th in NCAA history.

After the game, the Titans will be back at home as they host Ohio on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets start at just $10 and ticket packages are available. For more information, click here.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The Titans lead the all-time series, 4-2, and have won three in a row, but the two squads have not met since Jan. 29, 1972.
Detroit Mercy is 1-2 in the match-up on the road.

All-Time Series
2/20/59 - L, 76-62 (OT) at BC
12/20/59 - W, 94-81 at Detroit Mercy
2/23/69 - L, 99-72 at BC
1/24/70 - W, 80-67 at Detroit Mercy
2/20/71 - W, 80-76 at BC
1/29/72 - W, 76-68 at Detroit Mercy

JESUIT SPOTLIGHT

The game against Boston College marks a meeting between two of the 28 Jesuit Universities in the United States.
The Titans and Eagles are also two of the 20 Jesuit programs that are Division I.
Detroit Mercy is 208-239 all-time against its fellow Jesuit brothers.

THE WORLD IN 1959

The Titans and Eagles first squared off in 1959 and below are some interesting facts about the world in that time.
Motown was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records
Mike Ilitch and his wife Marian opened the first Little Caesars pizza restaurant in Garden City, Michigan
Alaska became state # 49 on Jan. 3, while, Hawaii became the 50th state on Aug. 21
The first Barbie doll went on display at the American Toy Fair in New York
Risk: The Continental Game (now Risk: The Game of Global Domination) was introduced by Parker Brothers
Gas was 31 cents a gallon, milk cost $1.01 a gallon, eggs were 53 cents a dozen and a daily newspaper cost seven cents

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Nothing new for the Titans to have a family connection in the program and this season, Detroit Mercy will once again feature three Davis' in head coach Mike Davis, assistant coach Mike Davis Jr. and graduate senior guard Antoine Davis.
From 2010-13, the Titans had head coach Ray McCallum and star guard Ray McCallum, winning the HL title in 2012 and earning a trip to the NIT in 2013.
Also, the legendary Bob Calihan coached his son, Bob Calihan Jr., for one season as he transferred to U-D from Loyola for his senior season in 1968-69.
The father-son coaching player duo is part of 23 at the Division I level, while the family coaching connection is part of eight in DI.

FROM ALL OVER

The Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will feature student-athletes from six states (Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas) and two countries (Australia, Sudan).

DID YOU KNOW?

The Titans have 43 players in their history who have reached 1,000 career points.
Only 59 other Division I programs have had more than 43 1,000-point scorers to their credit.

HIGHLY THOUGHT OF

Detroit Mercy currently has four players on its roster that were top 100 prospects coming out of high school.

TJ Moss - 26th
Gerald Liddell - 41st
Damezi Anderson - 92nd
A.J. Oliver - 98th

HIGHLY THOUGHT OF #2

Aside from its four top-100 players out of high school, the Titans have seven players that previously played in high-major leagues that generally send multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament.

TJ Moss - South Carolina
Gerald Liddell - Texas
Damezi Anderson - Indiana
A.J. Oliver - Clemson
Arashma Parks - Temple
Jordan Phillips - Arkansas
Buay Koka - Tulane

WE JUST LOVE LEARNING

Detroit Mercy currently has six players on its squad as graduate seniors, tied with Notre Dame for the most in the country.

HIGHEST PRESEASON HONOR

Graduate senior Antoine Davis was named the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year in the coaches' preseason poll.
He was the Co-HL Player of the Year last season, the fifth Titan to be selected the HL Player of the Year, and the first player in conference history to make All-League four times - with every one of those a first-team selection.
He led the HL in scoring at 23.9 points per game, shooting 42.9% from the field, 37.9% from three and 88.2% at the free-throw line to go with 3.6 rebounds per game and 28 steals.
He led the league and was second in the nation in three-point field goals per game (3.90), HL leader and 23rd in the nation in free-throw percentage (88.2%), league leader and 58th in DI in three-point field-goal percentage (37.9%) and third in the league with 4.4 assists.

NATIONAL NOTICE

Antoine Davis was named a Preseason Third Team All-American by Dick Vitale and is also one of the 20 candidates for the 2023 Bob Cousy Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and a top 50 candidate for the Naismith Trophy National Player of the Year.
Named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor, now in its 20th year, recognizes the top point guard in Division I men's college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award include Collin Gillespie, Villanova (2022), Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois (2021), Ja Morant, Murray State (2019), Jalen Brunson, Villanova (2018), Trey Burke, Michigan (2013), Kendall Marshall, North Carolina (2012), Kemba Walker, Connecticut (2011) and Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's (2004).
Last season he earned the Lou Henson Award All-American, First Team USBWA All-District V and NABC First Team All-District 12 selection.

AMONG THE BESTS

Graduate senior Antoine Davis owned the scoring crown in the Horizon League last year at 23.9 points per game, third in the nation, as he became the first player in HL history to top the league in scoring four times, passing Loyola's Alfredrick Hughes, who did it in three-straight seasons (1983, 1984, 1985).
He also finished top-four nationally for the fourth-straight year (26.1 for third in 2019, 24.3 for fourth in 2020 and 24.0 for third in 2021).

RACKING UP THE POINTS

Antoine Davis now has 78 career 20-point games, 26 career 30-point outings and four 40-point contests in 112 collegiate games - reaching at least 17 points in 93 of them.
Davis' 112-straight games in double figures is now tied for third in NCAA history with Danny Ainge (BYU, 1971-88) and three behind Chris Clemons (Campbell, 2015-2019) and Lionel Simmons (La Salle, 1987-90) for the all-time NCAA record.
Last year, he scored in double figures in all 29 games and posted 20 or more points 18 times, second most in the league, with a conference-best six 30-point outings, including a season-high 39 points at home against Milwaukee and on the road at Hofstra, the highest scoring mark in the HL and tied for the 25th best outing in Division I on the year.
As a junior, 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.

DAVIS DISHING IT OUT

Antoine Davis can not only score, but he can get his teammates involved as he is sixth in school history with 483.
The all-time record is 615 by Kevin McAdoo as he is now 132 shy of that mark.
He has 48 games with five or more assists - including nine last season - and is coming off a nine-assist performance in the season opener.
His career-best is 10 at IUPUI and against Western Michigan last season.

ABOUT 2,700 POINTS

Antoine Davis is the highest active scorer in the country in total points with 2,762, 21st in NCAA history.
At the moment, only 27 players have reached 2,700 at the DI level.
It was his 18th point at Robert Morris last season on a three that put him at 2,500 career points, which was just the fourth time that a student-athlete has posted 2,500 with his dad as head coach following Pete Maravich (Press Maravich), Doug McDermott (Greg McDermott) and Allan Houston (Wade Houston).
Only 12 players have reached 2,000 career points in the Horizon League as he is second in conference history in that category, 152 shy of the all-time record by Alfredrick Hughes of Loyola.
Imagine that record with the idea that Davis and the Titans have seen 13 games canceled and not made up in the last two seasons due to the pandemic, at least one game missed due to the Titans not being eligible for the postseason in 2019-20, one game canceled at California in his freshman year due to smoke from wildfires, one contest he sat out against a non-DI as a senior and a game missed as a freshman and sophomore due to an injury.

ONE LETHAL SHOT

Antoine Davis comes into the game fifth all-time in NCAA history with 3.87, three-point field goals per game as he nailed four in the season opener.
He has connected on a 3-pointer in 46-straight games and 108 of his 112 collegiate games. He has 61 career games with four or more triples, 22 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 conference leader and fifth in the country in total 3-pointers (113) last season, third in school history to join his 132 for second in 2019, 101 for fifth in 2020 and 83 for eighth in 2021.
Davis is already the school and career 3-point record holder at 433 career triples as he passed former Titan All-American Rashad Phillips (348) for both records.
He is currently 10th in NCAA history in total 3-pointers at 433, just three away from moving into the top seven and 76 behind Fletcher Magee's NCAA record of 509.

A.J. LOOKING FOR ONE FINAL RUN

Graduate senior A.J. Oliver will look for one more run to the NCAA Tournament in his final collegiate season and he started the year with 12 points and five rebounds in the season opener.
He played in 95 games with 54 starts at Clemson and at Old Dominion from 2017-22 and averaged 6.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, shooting 35.0 % from the field, 37.1% from three and 79.1% at the free-throw line.
Last season at ODU, he saw action in all 32 games with 11 starts and tallied 2.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
In 2020-21, he started all 21 contests he appeared in and ranked third on the team with 9.7 points and led the squad with an 88.6 free-throw percentage and 33 triples.
In his first year at ODU, he played in 22 games with 21 starts and was third on the team with 11.3 points per game, led the team with 51, 3-pointers while also pulling down 4.9 rebounds per game, pouring in a career-high 21 points against FAU and grabbing a career-high 12 boards versus UTSA.
Oliver joined Clemson mid-season in 2016-17 and did not play, but then got in 19 games for the Tigers in 2017-18, posting 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. His best game came in the ACC Tournament against Boston College, as he finished 3-for-4 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3 on three-pointers for a season-best nine points off the bench before netting six points and registering six rebounds against Auburn in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

LIDDELL COMING TO PLAY

Senior Gerald Liddell has one final year of collegiate eligibility after starting his career at Texas before transferring to Alabama State.
Last season at Alabama State, he saw action in 25 games with 19 starts and averaged 10.3 points, a team-high 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists to go with 24 steals and 24 blocks. He shot 43.8 % overall and 37.0 % from three, reaching double figures in 13 games and posting five double-doubles, scoring a career-high 22 points with 11 boards against North Carolina Central and tallying double-doubles in four of his last five games, including netting 13 points with a career-best 14 rebounds against rival Alabama A&M.
In his three years with Texas, he saw action in 35 games with 10 starts and averaged 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds.
His best year was as a sophomore as he played in 15 games with 10 starts until a back injury cut his season short.
Liddell recorded 4.1 points and 3.1 assists and started the year with a then career-best 14 points against No. 23 Purdue.
As a prep at Steele High School in Cibolo, Texas, he was ranked as the No. 41 overall prospect in the nation by 247Sports and No. 47 by ESPN.

MEET MR. MOSS

Graduate senior TJ Moss has joined the Titans after a successful prep career in high school and playing at South Carolina and McNeese State and played 12 minutes in the opener as he is returning from an undisclosed injury.
He has played in 64 college games with eight starts. Last year, he suited up in nine games at McNeese State and averaged 7.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, while collecting eight steals. He scored a career-high 17 points at TCU, where he was 5-of-12 from behind the arc, and had five assists and three steals.
He spent his first three seasons at South Carolina in the SEC, where he played in 55 games for the Gamecocks, posting 3.3 points, 1.8 assists and 1.3 boards with 30 steals in his time.
After playing in just seven games as a freshman before an injury ended his season, he saw action in 30 games and tallied 6.9 points, 5.0 assists and 2.9 rebounds as a sophomore, scoring a season-high 10 points against Kentucky.
He came back the next year to play in 18 games and dropped a season-best 15 points at Tennessee and also had seven assists against Arkansas and six assists in the SEC tournament against Mississippi.
As a prep, was a four-star prospect on ESPN.com and was once hailed as the 26th-best prospect nationally in the Class of 2018 by 247Sports after helping one of the top prep schools in the nation in Nevada's Findlay Prep to a 32-5 overall record in 2017-18, advancing to the semifinal round of the high school national tournament.

HOOSIER IN THE MOTOR CITY

Graduate senior Damezi Anderson had a great start to his Titan career with a career-high 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists, going 6-of-13 from the field and 5-of-12 from behind the arc.
He started his career at Indiana before ending up at fellow Jesuit institution Loyola.
He did not play in 2021-22 at Loyola and saw action in four games the year before. Prior to that, he played for Indiana for two seasons, appearing in 39 games and averaged 2.1 points and 1.6 rebounds, including 2.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 18 games as a sophomore.
Coming out of high school, he was ranked #92 in the country by 247Sports and No. 114 in the nation by Rivals and was the No. 2 player in the state of Indiana as he tallied 2,210 points in his prep career at Riley High School to set a St. Joseph County and South Bend scoring record.

FROM THE LAND DOWN UNDER

Junior Jayden Stone had a massive game in the season opener posting his first double-double with a career-high 15 points and 12 rebounds.
He transferred to Detroit Mercy after playing his first two years at Grand Canyon, where he played in 30 games the past two seasons and averaged 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds to go with 25 assists to just 16 turnovers. He shot 39.3% from the field and 30.2% from behind the arc, along with 82.1% at the free-throw line, scoring a career-high 14 points against Abilene Christian, hitting 5-of-7 from the field.
A native of Perth, Australia, he prepped at Central Park Christian High School in Alabama but then transferred to Sacred Heart High School in Alabama for his junior season and Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas for his senior year.
One of the top prospects in the state of Alabama, he was named 2019 Alabama 2A Player of the Year and First Team All-State as a junior as he tallied 21.2 points and 10.2 rebounds, leading his team to a runner-up appearance in Class 2A. At powerhouse Sunrise Christian, he was a McDonald's All-American nominee.

LONE STAR PHILLIPS IS BACK

Senior Jordan Phillips saw injuries limit him to just three games last year, but he started this season with a bang recording his second career double-double by tying his career high with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go with two steals and an assist.
A native of Fort Worth, Texas, he transferred to the Titans after appearing in 64 games in his three seasons at Arkansas and UT Arlington.
He spent the last two years with the Mavericks and averaged 6.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 47 games, shooting 34.0% from the floor, 33.0% from behind the arc and 76.0% at the free-throw line.
As a sophomore, he tallied 7.4 points and scored in double figures in nine of his 26 games, posting his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Little Rock and had a season-high 17 points versus Louisiana, a game in which he earned #5 on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays on Jan. 15 for an and-one dunk.
In 2019-20, he played in all 32 games with 21 starts and recorded 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds. He netted a career-high 18 points at eventual Sun Belt champion Little Rock, connecting on a career-best four 3-pointers and had 14 points hitting three 3-pointers at #14 Oregon and also had 14 points with a career-best seven boards versus UC Santa Barbara.
As a freshman, he saw limited minutes in seven games at Arkansas and that was after coming out as a prep ranked as the 37th-best shooting guard in the country and just outside the top-100 national rankings.

FAMILY CONNECTIONS

The Titans contain a few family connections that have played college and professional sports.
Junior Kyle LeGreair god's brother is Chris Douglas-Roberts, who played college basketball at Memphis.
Sophomore Jamail Pink's dad played college basketball.
Junior Jayden Stone's dad played college basketball at Cal State Northridge.
Graduate senior Arashma Parks' older brother is Omari Spellman, BIG EAST Freshman of the Year who helped lead Villanova to the 2018 NCAA National Championship before getting drafted into the NBA by the Atlanta Hawks and his sister is Taiyier Parks, a senior on the Michigan State women's basketball team.
Graduate senior A.J. Oliver's dad was captain of the 1992 Virginia NIT Championship team, his mom played on three Final Four teams at Virginia and then served as an assistant coach at her alma mater before earning head coaching jobs at UAB, Clemson and South Carolina State, his sister played volleyball at Clemson and Oklahoma and his uncle played basketball at Richmond.
Tobin Schwannecke's two older brothers who ran track at Wagner and Michigan.