Box Score
DEARBORN, Mich. – In their conference opener, the Davenport men's basketball team trekked to the University of Michigan – Dearborn and stormed to an 83-41 victory. The No. 3 Panthers remained undefeated on the year and started WHAC play 1-0.
Davenport started the game on a 9-0 run.
JaVontae Ford got things rolling with his first of 11 field goals.
James Nelson and
James Humphrey added on a field goal and two free throws, respectively, before Ford capped the run with a 3-pointer. Despite shooting 44% in the first half, Davenport led by 14 at the half – 39-25.
After the break, Davenport raised their defensive pressure holding the Wolves to only 16 points. The Panthers were also more efficient on offense as they shot 73% in the last stanza. DU led 52-33 at the 14:51 mark. From there DU's defensive quickness didn't allow a field goal for over six minutes. Dearborn finally scored again at the 6:50 mark on a free throw from Doug Sielski.
The Wolves didn't make much more progress from there as Davenport finished the game just like they started with a 9-0 run. The final push was highlighted by a
Mario Redmond dunk.
Ford earned top scorer honors for the night with 31 points. He also nabbed 9 of the team's 20 steals. Redmond and Nelson also reached double digits with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Demacious White was the leading rebounder with six.
Post-Game Comments – Head Coach Burt Paddock
On adjustments made at halftime – “Our guys were disappointed in how they played in the first half. They came out and started to play smarter and rebound better. Those were huge factors in helping us limit them to just 41 points.”
On preparation for Indiana Tech – “It's going to be a good match-up on Saturday as they have two of the best post players in our conference. Our guards are going to have to finish plays for our guys and we need to be tough on the boards.”
Post-Game Comments – JaVontae Ford
On scoring 31 points tonight - “It feels great to score that many points, but I couldn't do it without my team. Lonnie Fairfax was finding me a lot of open lanes and we were rebounding well, I just had to do the dirty work by putting the ball inside the rim.”
On starting the conference 1-0 - “It's really great, it puts us at the top of the conference right now. We know we don't have to come back here, they have to come to us and we protect out house.”
Post-Game Notes
Davenport remains undefeated on the season raising their record to 9-0…the Panthers are 11-7 all-time against Dearborn…Ford's 9 steals is a new school record…Indiana Tech lost their first conference match to Madonna, but bring a No. 7 ranking into Saturday's game…DU hosts the Warriors at 3:00 PM on Saturday.
