Feb. 17, 2010

Box Score

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - In their first double-overtime game in school history, the #18 ranked Panthers escaped Fort Wayne with an 85-83 win over Indiana Tech. The win, combined with a Cornerstone loss on Wednesday, makes Saturday's game for the WHAC regular season title at 3:00 PM.

Needing a win to keep pace with WHAC leader Cornerstone, the Panthers came back from last second deficits in regulation and both overtimes to overtake the Warriors by two (10-8) in the second overtime to win 85-83.

Both teams struggled from the field in the opening minutes as DU held a lead of no larger than four points for the first 7:56. Holding an 8-7 advantage after a free-throw from Nathan Cox (Flushing, Mich.), the Panthers then went on a cold streak that saw the Warriors go on a 20-10 run over a span of just over seven minutes to go up by nine (27-18).

The deficit was the largest of the game for DU but they battled back behind a balanced lineup that saw five different players score over the final 4:23 of the half to bring the margin to just three (31-28) at the break.

Lorenzo Ecford (Chicago, Ill.) and Nathan Cox led the Panthers with 8 points each as they shot 41% from the field which was their best showing in the last five games.

The Panthers opened the second half with three straight buckets from Ecford and Mike Tilmon (Detroit, Mich.) to grab their first lead since the 11:32 mark of the first half.

The two teams then battled their way down to the wire with the lead never growing higher than six points for either team and the game saw six ties over the last 17:25. With just over 10 minutes to play, the Panthers got a free-throw from Max Prendergast (Grand Rapids, Mich.) to lead 49-43 but the Warriors closed in to tie the game with an 8-2 run.

Indiana Tech then pushed their lead to three (63-60) with less than a minute to play but a Nathan Cox three ball tied the game and after a last second gasp by the Panthers fell short the two teams headed into the first overtime.

Free-throws dominated the story for the home team as Tech either led or was tied the whole extra period until Cox hit a base line jumper with 1:01 to play. The Warriors grabbed the lead right back with a jumper of their own and after a free throw from IT made the score 75-73, DU got a big shot from Ecford with less than 10 seconds remaining sending the game into a second overtime.

Davenport controlled most of the play in the second extra frame as they held an 82-80 lead with 2:20 to play. Tech tied the score with two free-throws and then took the lead on another free-throw with 33 seconds remaining. On the next possession DU got a great drive from James Nelson (New Haven, Mich.) in which he was fouled and the sophomore stepped to the line and knocked down both giving the Panthers a slim 84-83 lead.

After Tech was unable to convert a last second jumper, Mario Scott (Grand Rapids, Mich.) came away with the rebound and nailed one of two foul shots giving DU the 85-83 win!

Lorenzo Ecford led the Panthers with 22 points and Nathan Cox was just behind him with 21. DU forced the host Warriors into 20 turnovers and limited them to only 39% shooting.

Davenport and Cornerstone will meet on Saturday with the winner taking the regular season WHAC Championship outright. Game time is set for 3:00 PM inside the Student Center and it can be heard live on the DAN and WBBL 107.3 FM.