Feb. 6, 2010

Box Score

LIVONIA, Mich. - A poor start and dismal shooting doomed the #13 ranked Panthers on Saturday as they were upset by Madonna by the score of 51-44. The loss drops DU to 20-6 on the year and 9-1 in the WHAC.

Shooting was a huge factor in the opening half as DU struggled for the first 18 minutes before finally getting a few shots to fall to cut the lead to two heading into the locker room. The Panthers shot just 19% from the field in the opening half but the defense that has carried them all season long kept them in the game as they gave up only 21 points.

The 13th ranked Panthers then started the second half with a flurry as David Thompson (Grandville, Mich.) connected on two straight three-pointers which gave them a 25-21 lead forcing the Crusaders into a timeout.

The defense continued to play solid and the offense slowly put points on the board as the Panthers started to pull away. After three free throws from Nathan Cox (Flushing, Mich.) and a free-throw from Thompson with 12:30 to play, DU had pushed their lead to double-digits as Madonna still had not scored in the second half.

Madonna finally got on the board with 11:31 on two free-throws and got their first field goal of the half almost a full 10 minutes in when they hit a three-pointer to get within six (34-28). The Crusaders then scored seven of the next nine points over the next three minutes to climb within one.

After a bucket by Darryl Nobles (Detroit, Mich.) ended the Crusaders run, MU struck back with two straight three pointers as DU got only an inside shot from Lorenzo Ecford (Chicago) as Madonna took a 41-40 lead with 5:30 to play

The lead would grow to three after two straight misses from the Panthers and two free-throws from Madonna and then DU again went cold from the field as the Crusaders slowly pulled ahead by seven (49-42). Lonnie Fairfax (Livonia, Mich.) got DU to within five with a layup but MU hit their free-throws down the stretch to post the 51-44 upset.

Leading the way offensively for DU was David Thompson who finished the game with 14 points and he was followed in double-figures by Nathan Cox who finished with 11.

Davenport continued to struggle from the field in the second half as they made only 15 of their 66 shots (22.7%). Davenport also shot a dismal 44% from the free-throw line as they connected on only 11 for 25.

The loss is the first in league action for Davenport as they fall into a first place tie with Cornerstone at 9-1 in the WHAC while the Panthers are 20-6 overall.