NCAA scoring leader Antoine Davis might have his final chance to break Pete Maravich’s long-held scoring record when Detroit Mercy meets top-seeded Youngstown State in the second round of the Horizon League tournament Thursday night.
Davis, a graduate senior, has 3,642 points, and needs 26 points to break Maravich’s record 3,667. A loss in the tournament likely would end the Titans’ season.
Maravich set the record in three seasons (1968-70) at LSU. He played in the days before the implementation of the 3-point shot and the shot clock, and he reached the mark in just 83 games, averaging 44.2 points per game.
Davis’ point total is the most in Horizon League history. He has played in 143 games for the Titans, who are coached by his father, Mike Davis. The school already has retired Antoine Davis’ jersey.
On Thursday, he also could break the single-season record for most 3-point shots made. Stephen Curry set the record of 162 at Davidson in the 2007-08 season. Davis has made 155 of his 370 attempts, shooting 41.9 percent from long range.
Davis is averaging 28.4 points per game, a full five points better than Jordan Dingle of Penn, who is No. 2 in the NCAA in scoring this season.
In Detroit’s first-round tournament game, Davis scored 38 points in the 81-68 win over Purdue Fort Wayne. He has scored at least 30 points in eight of his past nine games.
Detroit (14-18, 9-11) is the No. 8 seed in the tournament.
Maravich died Jan. 5, 1988 of heart failure at age 40. After LSU, he played 10 seasons in the NBA, averaging 24.2 points per game. He led the NBA in scoring in 1976-77 as a member of the New Orleans Jazz, averaging 31.1 points.
He was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in May 1987, just nine months before his death.
–Field Level Media