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POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Davenport became the final member of the NAIA National men's basketball tournament fab four tonight with a 68-54 victory over No. 6 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.).  The Panthers avenged an earlier loss to the Wolves this season and will take on No. 2 Oregon Tech on Monday at 9:00 p.m. EST.

The game began in the favor of Cardinal Stritch's slower tempo as they pulled out to a 13-9 lead.  Davenport was able to pick up their defensive pressure and put together a 8-0 run.  JaVontae Ford capped the run with back-to-back field goals forcing a Wolves timeout.

Davenport maintained strong pressure throughout the half leading by as much as 10.  They held on to a seven point lead at the half – 36-29.  The Panthers dominated the paint in the first half outscoring CSU 18-6.  Free throws kept things close as the Wolves hit nine at the charity stripe compared to four by DU.

The second half started off with a quick Stritch bucket cutting the lead to six.  A Davenport free throw would be the only other point scored in the first six minutes of play.  James Nelson found a opening in the lane adding two more followed by a 3-pointer giving DU an 11 point advantage.

Although things never felt comfortable, Davenport would hold onto at least a seven point lead in the second half and finished the game leading by 14 with the score 68-54.  Nelson would lead all scorers with 23.  Seniors Lonnie Fairfax and Damacious White added 15 and 11, respectively.

Post-Game Comments

James Nelson on reaching the fab four – “I'm not even sure how I feel yet.  All I know is that those guys in the locker room, if I had to go to war with anybody that's who I'm going with.  I'm proud of the way we're playing right now.”

Lonnie Fairfax on preparing for Monday – “We have to play better than this.  It's a whole other level and we're going to rely on our defense.”

Head Coach Burt Paddock on avenging an earlier loss to Cardinal Stritch – “I was trying to tone them down than ramping them up for this one.  Our guys hadn't forgotten about that.  Our guys competed hard and I'm just proud of my kids.”

Post-Game Notes

Davenport moves into their first ever Fab Four at the NAIA National Tournament...DU will face Oregon Tech who also won the national title in 2004 and 2008...The Panthers are the second highest scoring team in the tournament averaging 79.8 points per game...Through 3 games, Lonnie Fairfax is leading the tournament with 21 total assists after finishing with 6 tonight...Davenport is now 9-3 this season against teams ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA D2 Top 25 poll