DETROIT (2/18/2022) -- A hot-shooting Titan team rebounded from a rough shooting first half to catch fire in the second half as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team swept the season series with NKU downing the Norse, 60-52, on Dick Vitale Court on Friday night.

All eight Titans (11-13, 8-6 HL) that saw the court scored and grabbed at least two rebounds, while seven handed out an assist and six registered a steal in the contest. 

The win was the 13th in a row at home dating back to last season, the longest home winning streak since the red, white and blue won 17 in a row with between the end of the 2011-12 and the start of the 2012-13 season. 

Senior Antoine Davis led the way with 20 points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior Noah Waterman netted 18 points with five rebounds and two assists, while graduate senior Kevin McAdoo had eight points, season-tying five rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Senior Matt Johnson scored four points and pulled down a team-high six boards, while junior Mohamed Sylla netted four points with a season-high four caroms. 

It was an ugly first half as both teams shot under 23.0% from the field, but a steal and layup from Davis and a three from Waterman had the Titans up 20-13 with just over two minutes left. NKU (15-11, 11-6 HL) would end the half on a 7-0 run to knot it at 20-all at the break.

In the second half, both teams started to play better offensively as the Titans hit six of their first 11 shots and had a 34-30 lead with 12:18 to go. That is when the red, white and blue took over going on a 17-4 spurt over the next six minutes to open a 17-point lead, 51-34. Detroit Mercy was 5-of-9, all 3-pointers, in that run, while the defense held the Norse to 2-of-8 shooting. 

After back-to-back triples from Davis and Waterman made it a 51-34 score, NKU answered with a 12-2 run to trim the lead to 53-46 with 2:21 left. Waterman stopped that run with a three, but the Norse pushed back and cut it to 56-52 with under 30 seconds to go. A basket by Davis and two free throws from McAdoo would then seal the win. 

The Titans shot 38.9% overall and were 10-of-34 from three, but in the second half, Detroit Mercy was 14-of-28 from the field and 8-of-19 from distance. The Titans committed only eight turnovers - two shy of their season low - and held NKU to 39.2% shooting and 7-of-25 (28.0%) from behind the arc. 

Detroit Mercy will get right back on the court on Sunday as the Titans host Wright State in a 1:00 p.m. tip. 

First Half:

• Senior Willy Isiani started the defense by taking his 18th charge of the season against former teammate Chris Brandon and would later have a layup for the first Titan score
• Davis started an 8-0 run by knocking down a three to knot it at 5-5 just four minutes in
• Harvey hit a jumper and Sylla was fouled going strong to the rim and hit the free throw for his three-point play and a 10-5 lead at 13:37
• After nKU, cut it to 12-11, Sylla had a free throw and Davis hit a jumper for a 15-11 lead with 7:50 on the clock
• Davis had a steal and went all the way down the other court for a layup to make it 17-13 and then Waterman buried a three from the corner for a 20-13 advantage with 2:22 left
• NKU then ended the half with seven-straight points for a 20-20 game at the break

Second Half:

• Both teams traded baskets to start the half and then Waterman added a layup off an offensive rebound and Johnson hit a jumper for a 26-22 lead
• McAdoo would drain one from distance for a 29-24 lead and sophomore Kyle LeGreair went to the rim for a layup and another five-point lead at 31-26 with 14:54 left
• Davis put the Titans ahead again by five, 34-29, with his 404th career triple with 14:25 on the clock
• Two free throws from Johnson and then off a strong defensive stand, McAdoo found Waterman and he connected on another triple for a 39-30 advantage with 11:49 to go
• McAdoo and Waterman then made back-to-back triples for a 45-32 advantage with 7:44 left
• Back-to-back 3-pointers by Davis then ran the Titan lead to 17, 51-34, with  6:18 on the clock
• NKU went on a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to trim the lead to 53-46, but Waterman ended that with a trey
• Davis had a jumper and McAdoo hit two free throws with under 30 seconds to preserve the lead

Game Notes:

• The Titans are now 4-10 all-time against NKU and 2-4 at home
• The Titans began the season with nine-straight road games and, due to cancellations, played 13 of their first 16 and 18 of their first 23 on the road
• The Titans have connected on at least nine 3-pointers in 15 games this season and currently ranks 11th in Division I in 3-point field goals per game (10.3) and 44th in three-point field-goal percentage (36.7%), tops in the HL in both statistics
• Davis now has 72 career 20-point games, 24 career 30-point outings and four 40-point contests in 1054 collegiate games and has also scored in double figures in all 105 games - reaching at least 17 points in 86 of them
• Davis was in double figures for the 105th straight game is now sixth in NCAA history in that category, three in back of former Arizona standout Sean Elliott (1985-89) with the NCAA record of 115 held by La Salle's Lionel Simmons (1986-90) and Campbell's Chris Clemons at 115 (2015-19)
• Davis now has 2,574 career points and is now tied for 44th in NCAA history
• Davis now has 407 career triples, 18th in NCAA history and six outside of the top 15
• Davis came into the game fifth all-time in NCAA history with 3.88, three-point field goals per game and has connected on a 3-pointer in 39-straight games and 101 of his 105 collegiate games with 56 career games with four or more triples, 21 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
• Waterman netted 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting (5-of-7 from three) in last year's tournament game, but missed the first game this year with an injury 
• Waterman has now been in double figures six times in his last nine games, tallying 10.9 points on 47.7% (32-of-67), including 21-of-48 (43.7%) from three in that span
• McAdoo's five rebounds tied his season-high with the five against Michigan-Dearborn
• Johnson posted at least five rebounds for the eighth time this season
• Sylla's career-high in points was three and two rebounds at Robert Morris