Detroit Mercy star Antoine Davis scored a season-best 42 points on Saturday to pass Freeman Williams and move into second place on the all-time Division I scoring list.
Davis’ total sits at 3,274 points after the 89-77 road win over IUPUI. Williams, who played at Portland State from 1974-78 before a six-year NBA career, had 3,249 career points in 106 college games.
Davis, who was playing in his 131st career game, passed Williams by sinking a 3-pointer with 5:43 left in the first half.
Antoine Davis is now the No. 2 leading scorer in Division I history! ??@DetroitMBB pic.twitter.com/qTiniV4cD1
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 21, 2023
Legendary Pete Maravich of LSU is the record-holder with 3,667 career points. He achieved that in 83 games over a three-season span, averaging 44.2 points from 1967-70 in an era that didn’t have 3-point shots.
“Yeah, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t (think about Maravich’s record),” Davis told ESPN. “It’s a big accomplishment. At the end of the day, No. 2 with 3,274 points is something that’s never been done either, so I’m just playing and having fun and enjoying this.”
Davis has at least 12 more games — 11 regular season plus the Horizon League tournament — to make a run at overtaking “Pistol Pete.” He would need to average 32.8 points in those dozen games to exceed Maravich’s total.
“That record is untouchable from the standpoint of wanting to win and do it the right way,” Davis said. “I can always go out and score points but if I go out there and we’re losing, it’s not worth it.”
Davis also became the all-time Division I leader in 3-point baskets earlier this month. He made eight against IUPUI to raise that total to 521.
Davis is the son of Titans coach Mike Davis, whose best known for his coaching stint at Indiana from 2000-06.
Antoine Davis considered transferring during the offseason before choosing to return for a fifth season at Detroit Mercy.
Williams, who also played before the 3-point line, died in April at age 65.
–Field Level Media
