Antoine Davis was a three-pointer at the horn short of matching “Pistol” Pete Maravich for the all-time NCAA points record.
In their quarterfinal matchup against Youngstown State, Detroit-Mercy’s star guard Antoine Davis saw double teams for essentially the entirety of the game. He struggled throughout the night, as it was apparent Youngstown State was willing to allow someone else to send them home.
An underdog in the game, the Titans held the lead for much of the game, even leading by seven with ten minutes to go. Only scoring 7 points in the first half, Davis would eventually see some shots fall in the second half, finishing the game with 22 points on 7-25 shooting.
Throughout the season, Davis has been very grateful for his position in college basketball history. He echoed similar sentiments tonight. “It’s just a special feeling. I don’t take any of this for granted at all. I’m thankful for this. Blessed. I still feel like I’m the best scorer of my generation. Nobody can take that from me.”
Also, notably, Davis fell three three-point field goals short of Steph Curry’s single-season record. (Liberty’s Darius McGhee is still a threat to break this record, sitting at 148, 14 behind Curry’s record.)
Can Antoine Davis still break this longstanding record?
Davis’s hopes are not entirely dead yet. The College Basketball Invitational, or CBI, could extend an invite to Detroit-Mercy. “I would love to play in the CBI, NIT, something,” Davis said. “Not even for the record, just to go out on a better note.” His coach and father, Mike Davis, said, “If they want to play, we’ll play. If they don’t want to play and it’s time to move on, we won’t play.”
Although falling short of the record tonight, Antoine Davis’s incredible career should be celebrated. He has had his number retired by Detroit-Mercy, after his final regular season game. He will likely be enshrined as a college basketball Hall of Famer. When asked about his basketball career at Detroit-Mercy, Davis commented how special it was. “I had the opportunity to play for my dad. I was a couple of points short of the record. God knows what he’s doing.”
The discourse around Davis’s march to the all-time scoring record has detractors. Some quickly point out that the extra COVID year Davis received gave him an advantage. Also, Maravich set his career total in a ridiculous three seasons. However, Maravich averaged almost eighteen more shots per game in his career than Davis.
Davis has his eyes set on the NBA. When asked what he can provide at the next level, Davis said, “They will get a great shooter, and in my opinion, a scorer, and just somebody that listens and knows the game. Most importantly, I am someone with a chip on their shoulder.”
Regardless of where Davis ends up next, he has left his mark on the sport as one of the best scorers in history.
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