Box Score
WASHINGTON, Pa. - James Nelson earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors as he led the No. 3 ranked Panthers to a convincing 100-47 win over host Washington & Jefferson to earn the Tip-off Tournament title. Davenport scored 45 points in the first half and 55 in the second as they improved to 7-0 with the win. The Panthers host future WHAC-foe Marygrove College on Tuesday in the DU Student Center.
James Nelson continued his standout play as the senior guard scored 16 points to go along with three rebounds, three assists and five steals. Fellow senior James Humphrey scored a game high 18 points on 5-7 shooting from the field and also pulled down five rebounds to help DU remain perfect on the season.
The game was immediately controlled by the Panthers as they scored 21 of the first 23 points as six different players posted points led by six consecutive points by Damacious White who also made the All-Tourney team with Nelson. After a 15-4 spurt by the Presidents narrowed the gap to just 8, Davenport ended the first half on a 20-4 run to lead 45-21 at the break.
The 24 point halftime margin grew to as many as 40 in the opening 10 minutes of the second half as the Davenport defense would eventually force the home team into 30 turnovers of which they scored 43 points off of. Only one of the 10 Panthers that appeared in the game scored points with six of them finding double-digits including White's 13 and Gabe VanderJagt's 11 off the bench.
The offense, which had struggled on Saturday night in scoring only 54 points, got back on track as they shot 59% from the fieldand 36% from behind the arc.
Post-Game Quotes - Head Coach Burt Paddock
On posting two wins over un-known opponents -“ It is always great to play well against opponents you have never seen before. Our kids made a lasting impression on several in attendance that raved about our competitiveness. “
On continued strong play from defense - “Once again, our defense was our calling card…We forced 30 TO's that translated into easy buckets on the other end. The guys are really starting to mesh defensively and they are doing some things on their own that is creating confusion for the other team.”
Post-Game Notes
In all three “tournaments” that Davenport has played in this year, the Panthers have taken home the MVP honors and it has been by three different players…The 100 points is the most scored by DU since November 13, 2010 when they defeated Ohio Christian 111-65…DU has gone over the century mark five times under Paddock in three plus years and only did it once in the previous five years
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