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Earlier this year, we saw LeBron James top Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Now, we’re on the verge of seeing the NCAA mark go down, too.
Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis is closing in on the all-time scoring record. The talented guard sits just 26 points shy of becoming college basketball’s all-time points leader.
Many fans probably haven’t heard much of Davis as he plays for a small school in the Horizon League. The Catholic university, which boasts an enrollment of around 5,000 students, is often overshadowed on the basketball court by other conference members.
The Titans have struggled of late, posting just two winning seasons over the last decade. That includes four campaigns under .500 in Antoine Davis’s five years on campus.
This year’s team sits at 14-16, but there’s still a chance to make the NCAA tournament. After wrapping up their regular season last week, a conference tournament championship could help them book their ticket.
That’s obviously an objective the team set forth at the start of the season, but as the year winds down, there’s another goal in mind.
Davis entered this week sitting 64 points behind Pete Maravich’s scoring mark. That means a couple of things needed to happen in Tuesday’s league opener to make the dream attainable.
One, Davis had to pile points onto the scoreboard. Two, Detroit Mercy had to win.
A loss would effectively end the team’s season as they don’t boast a resume to get into the March Madness field. As is the case with many smaller basketball leagues, the only way to keep your season alive is to win out.
Luckily for Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy opened up its conference tourney with an 81-68 win over Purdue-Fort Wayne. In doing so, they kept their star player’s pursuit of the record books alive.
In that matchup, Davis exploded for 38 points on 14-of-27 shooting. The sharpshooter drilled six three-pointers while also leading the team in rebounds, assists, and steals.
He seemed to drill step-back after step-back, putting on a show for everyone in attendance. The performance saw Davis set a number of personal records, including notching his 142nd consecutive contest in double figures.
Davis hits his 2nd 3. He now has 12 points, the 142-straight game with double figures! #DetroitsCollegeTeam #REACHtheHORIZON #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/r3bY3F4eUC
— Detroit Mercy Titans (@detroittitans) March 1, 2023
To put that in perspective, he’s played in 143 games over his career.
He wasn’t done yet, though. He’d later eclipse the 30-point mark for the 40th time, which accounts for more than 25% of the games played throughout his college career.
He hit the mark midway through the second half, and had his team not been up by 20, he more than likely could’ve gotten to the 40-point mark over those final 10 minutes of play.
Davis with the floater. He now has 30 points, just 34 away from breaking Pete Maravich’s NCAA record and he also now has his 40th career 30-point game! #DetroitsCollegeTeam #REACHtheHORIZON #HLMBB pic.twitter.com/U1kfepWIN1
— Detroit Mercy Titans (@detroittitans) March 1, 2023
When all was said and done, Antoine Davis inched closer to history.
Antoine Davis closes in on the NCAA scoring record
Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring mark was set in the 1969-70 season after the guard wrapped up his three-year career at LSU. Pistol Pete averaged more than 40 points a game in each of his three seasons in Baton Rouge, amassing 3,667 points over 83 games.
No one’s come close to touching the record since. That is, until Davis.
While he’s had a bit more time to pad his scoring resume (143 games), his ability to put the ball in the basket has been unrivaled over the last five seasons.
Davis has averaged 25.5 points per game throughout his time at Detroit Mercy, including a career-high 28.4 points a night as a senior. Should he hit that average in his next conference tournament matchup, he’ll surpass Maravich’s mark and sit alone atop the all-time scoring standings.