Box Score

MARION, Ind. – Davenport dug themselves into a 12 point halftime deficit and had the lead down to just three with 2:30 to play, but the host and No. 4 ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats escaped with a 65-55 win. The setback is the first of the year for the Panthers as the Wildcats claimed their own Caleb Dimmich Memorial Tournament. Next up for the Panthers is another tough road trip as they will face No. 23 Southern Oregon in the semifinals of a tournament hosted by Embry Riddle (Fla.) in Daytona Beach next Friday.

Senior Gabe VanderJagt led a trio of Panthers in double-figures with 16 points on 5-11 shooting from the field including three triples but a late second half comeback fell short as Indiana Wesleyan hit some clutch shots down the stretch to improve to 3-0 on the year. Derek Brooks chipped in with 13 and Dominez Burnett 10 but a dismal 37% shooting from the field including just 25% in the first was too much to overcome for DU.

Woeful shooting by the Panthers and some solid inside play from the host Wildcats helped IWU race out to a 32-20 halftime lead. Through the first eight minutes, the teams played almost even but an 8-0 run that spanned 2:13 gave the Wildcats an 18-8 lead and they would increase it to 12 at the break. Davenport made almost as many free-throws (5) in the opening 20 minutes that they did field goals (7) while IWU was 12-24 from the field.

Davenport's defensive pressure turned up in the second half and the Panthers' offense also started to get some good looks as they slowly chipped away at the lead. After IWU held their largest lead of 13 (54-41) with just under 10 to play, the Panthers used a 12-2 run to get within three with 2:36 remaining. On the next possession, IWU was able to grab three offensive rebounds and got a pair of free-throws after the last one to go back up by five and they never were threatened again especially after a 25+ foot three pointer as the shot clock expired by DKJ Bettinger put the lead at 10 with 36 seconds to play.

The Panthers (2-1) will travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. next weekend to participate in a tournament hosted by Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. On Friday, DU will take on No. 23 Southern Oregon with the consolation and championship games to be played on Saturday. DU could meet their third NAI Top-25 program within the first two weeks of the season as Embry Riddle is currently No. 16.

Post-Game Notes
Davenport falls to 3-2 under Burt Paddock against teams from the Crossroads League (formerly MCC) and 12-9 against teams in the NAIA Top-25…DU is now just 12-18 under Paddock when trailing at halftime and Paddock has only 28 losses in his four plus years at Davenport

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