DETROIT (2/24/2022) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team stayed alive for a first-round bye in the upcoming Keeps Horizon League men's basketball championship by beating the current top seed and defending HL champion Cleveland State Vikings, 74-67, on Thursday evening at Calihan Hall.

The win moved the Titans to 13-13 on the season and 10-6 in the Horizon League, where they moved to fifth place in the standings with their 15th-straight win at home dating back to last season. Detroit Mercy can get in the top four and earn that bye with a win on Saturday against Purdue Fort Wayne and a Robert Morris victory at Wright State on Saturday night.

Senior Antoine Davis led the way with a game-high 24 points - 16 in the second half - along with a team-high five assists as he now has  2,629 career points for 33rd in NCAA history, while his 414 career triples is now tied for 14th in NCAA history with former Davidson standout and Golden State star Stephen Curry and just three away from sole possession of 13th place in NCAA history.

Graduate senior DJ Harvey had 15 points, four rebounds and two assists, while junior Noah Waterman scored 15 points - 13 in the first half - with four boards, two assists and a career-high three blocks. Senior Matt Johnson added 12 points, three rebounds and two helpers and senior Willy Isiani grabbed a game-best eight rebounds.

The Titans were on fire early as they opened a 14-point lead, 20-6, eight minutes into the game as Waterman and graduate senior Kevin McAdoo hit back-to-back 3-pointers. 

Cleveland State (19-8, 15-5 HL) made a run at the end of the half to get within three, but Harvey ended a run with a three and Johnson beat the clock just as the half was ending to send the red, white and blue into the locker room up 39-33.

In the second half, the Vikings scored six straight to tie the game at 39-39, five minutes in and even took a brief lead, 43-42, but a Johnson jumper started an 8-0 run put the Titans in front for good. 

The Titans then led by six, 52-46, midway through the half when the Titans went up by 12, 61-49, thanks to five-point from Davis on a three-point play and a jumper. Johnson would give the Titans a 13-point lead again with a basket from behind the arc and a bucket by Harvey had the team up 66-53 with 4:33 left. 

The red, white and blue had to hold off one more charge from the Vikings as Harvey nailed a three with 1:31 left to go up 69-62 and then Davis drilled one from three for a 72-64 lead with 49 ticks on the clock.

The Titans shot 50.0% from the field and were 12-of-29 (41.4%) from three, while forcing 17 CSU turnovers and registered 25 points off them.

Detroit Mercy will end the regular season on Saturday as the Titans host the Mastodons in Calihan Hall at 1:00 p.m. It will be Senior Day as the Titans honor their three-member class in Davis, Isiani and Johnson prior to the game. 

First Half:

• An offensive rebound by Isiani led to a three by Waterman and then Isiani hit a jumper for a 5-2 early lead
• Detroit Mercy then went on a 9-0 run to open a 14-4 lead with 14:24 left
• Davis connected on a contested jumper and Waterman got inside for a score and a 9-4 score and that was followed by a three from Waterman and a basket from Harvey
• Waterman and McAdoo hot back-to-back 3-pointers for a 20-6 lead at the 12:07 mark
• Davis' first triple had the red, white and blue in front, 25-11, with 10:11 left
• After a 9-0 Cleveland State run, Harvey got to the free-throw line on two possessions, hitting 3-of-4 and it was a 28-20 lead with 4:34 left
• CSU kept chipping getting away pulling within three, 30-27, when Harvey connected on a three with 2:29 on the clock
• Davis would hit from distance as well and the Titans were in front 36-31 and Johnson would nail a trey as time was winding down sending the Titans into the half up 39-33 

Second Half:

• The Vikings tied the game at 39-all, but McAdoo nailed a three to give the Titans the lead back at 15:16
• The Titans then went on an 8-0 run to open a 50-43 lead with 11:25 on the clock
• Johnson and Waterman started with back-to-back jumpers and then Johnson hit another for a 48-43 advantage
• Davis was then able to get by his defender and put in a floater for the 50-43 lead
• CSU got to within six, 52-46, midway through the period when Davis went inside for a layup
• Sophomore Kyle LeGreair got an offensive board off a missed free throw and that led to a layup and a foul for Davis and he connected on a free throw and the next time down the court, he hit a jumper for a 61-49 advantage with 7:30 left
• The Titans then led by 13 twice, first off a Johnson three with 5:21 left for a 64-51 lead, and then Harvey went inside for a layup at the 4:33 mark to go up 66-53
• The Vikings went on another 9-0 run over the next three minutes to make it a four-point game, 66-62, but Harvey ended all chances of a comeback with a trey with 1:31 left to put the red, white and blue up 69-62
• Davis then put in the final dagger with a three with under a minute to go for a 72-64 advantage and Johnson finished it off with free throws

Game Notes:

• The Titans split the season series with Cleveland State - the defending champions - for the second-straight season and lead the overall series, 46-28, including 30-5 all-time at home, capturing six of the last seven
• 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.
• In fact, Detroit Mercy will play just nine of their 27 overall games at home as well as six of their 17 HL games 
• The Titans have now held 14 opponents under 70 points this year
• The Titans have connected on at least nine 3-pointers in 17 games, including four-straight in double digits 
• The Titans came into the game second in the league and 17th in the nation in free throw percentage (77.5%). 
• Davis now has 74 career 20-point games, 25 career 30-point outings and four 40-point contests in 1076 collegiate games and has also scored in double figures in all 107 games - reaching at least 17 points in 88 of them
• Davis was in double figures for the 107th straight game and is fifth in NCAA history in that category, one in back of former Arizona standout Sean Elliott (1985-89) and trailing the all-time leaders in La Salle's Lionel Simmons (1986-90) and Campbell's Chris Clemons by just eight (115)
• Davis is the highest active scorer in the country in total points with 2,629 as he passed the likes of McNeese State standout Joe Dumars, Temple great Marc Macon, and Indiana's Calbert Cheaney to move to 33rd in NCAA history
• Davis has now connected on a 3-pointer in 41-straight games and 103 of his 107 collegiate games
• In his last 11 games, Harvey is averaging 11.3 points and 5.2 rebounds, shooting 48.9% (46-of-94) overall and 37.2% from three (19-of-51), going in double figures eight times, and that was after tallying just 4.8 points and 5.0 rebounds on 32.1% shooting and just 9-of-27 (33.3%) from distance to start the season
• Harvey had 14 points with four rebounds and two steals in the first meeting with the Vikings this season
• Johnson was in double figures for the first time since netting 15 against Michigan Dearborn (eight games) and has been in double figures 15 times in his collegiate career
• Waterman has now been in double figures eight times in his last 11 games and is tallying 11.2 points on 48.2% (41-of-85), including 27-of-61 (44.2%) from three in that span
• Isiani now has five games with five or more rebounds this year and his career-high in boards is 12 at Western Michigan last season