GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – An early run in the second half by Indiana Tech propelled the visiting Warriors to a 69-50 win over Davenport in the 2011 WHAC Tournament Semifinals.  The loss is the first for Davenport in their last 10 games as they drop to 27-5 on the year and will await their NAIA National Tournament fate when the at-large bids are announced Wednesday.

A three-pointer that fell as the buzzer sounded in the first half gave Indiana Tech the momentum and they never let up coming out of halftime, outscoring the No. 9 Panthers 42-22 in the second half in route to a 69-50 win to advance to the WHAC Championship game on Tuesday vs. Cornerstone.

Indiana Tech opened the game with a 6-0 run forcing the Panthers into a rare early timeout and the home team responded by scoring 16 of the next 25 points to take their first lead of the game on a field goal by Jamie Canty (Chicago, Ill.) with 8:37 remaining.

The lead grew to four at 28-24 late in the half but a desperation three-pointer went down for Tech at the buzzer to bring the margin to just one heading into the locker room.  It marked the third straight game that Tech has hit a buzzer beater against Davenport.

Indiana Tech used the momentum from the late three-ball and opened the second half on a 26-6 run to take a commanding 53-34 lead with just over ten minutes gone by.  During the run, Davenport made just three of their 13 shots from the field on offense and committed four turnovers. 

The Warriors on the other hand caught fire making 11 of their first 17 shots which also included grabbing seven offensive rebounds during the run. 

The Panthers got the lead down to 14 with an 8-2 run highlighted by a steal and layup from Lonnie Fairfax (Detroit, Mich.) but that would be as close as they would get eventually falling by 19 as Tech made their fare share of free-throws down the stretch.

The loss breaks a 9-game winning streak for the Panthers and drops their overall record to 27-5.  Davenport will find out Wednesday if they will get an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament held in Point Lookout, Mo. from March 9-15.

JaVontae Ford (Grand Rapids, Mich.) led the Panthers with a team high 12 points on 5-9 shooting from the field and was joined in double-figures by Fairfax with 11 and James Humphrey (Fort Wayne, Ind.) with 10.  The Panthers finished 37.5% from the field and made just 5 of 8 from the foul line.

The Warriors, despite the hot start to the second half, finished 43% from the field and made 18 of their 25 attempts from the charity stripe.

You can listen in LIVE to the NAIA Selection Show on Wednesday beginning at 6:00 with the women's announcement and 7:00 for the men.  The Davenport Athletics Network will carry a broadcast from the Sneden Center on campus.