Box Score Box Score

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Despite giving up 81 points and having key players in foul trouble, the Davenport men's basketball team won their opening round game at the NAIA National Tournament over William Penn University 85-81.  The win puts the Panthers in the round of 16 against No. 14 IU Southeast on Friday at 8:30 p.m.

The first half remained very tight with five ties between both squads.  Davenport broke away putting together a 11-0 run, which was capped off by a James Humphrey layup giving the Panthers a 30-18 lead.  The Statesmen then returned the favor with a 9-0 run of their own to pull within three at 30-27. 

Another trey from William Penn and two Panther baskets would make the score 34-33 in favor at DU at the break.  Big factors in the first half were the Panthers ice cold shooting from 3-point range (0-9) and multiple players in foul trouble.

The second half would continue with much of the same back and forth play until JaVontae Ford scored the first 3-pointer for DU at the 14:46 mark.  That would spark a 13-0 run, which was capped off by another Ford trey putting the Panthers up 57-45.

The Statesmen would pull as close as five on a few occasions and was able to finish with a final deficit of four points making a shot at the end of regulation.  It would not be enough as Davenport closed out the 85-81 victory to move their season record to 30-4.

Nelson had a big offensive game with 24 points, while Lonnie Fairfax added 23 along with seven rebounds and eight assists.  Ford was the third player in double figures with 14 points.

Post-Game Comments

James Nelson on how the team fought – “They got some easy buckets in transition and got a little run on us and they got some confidence going, but we stuck with it and we fought.  We could've easily folded.  I'm happy with how we fought today and held on.”

Coach Burt Paddock on the team's defense – “We wanted to key in on their two 3-point shooters, we held one scoreless and the other to nine.  We feel good about that.  You never feel good about someone getting 36 points on you, but he's a good player.”

Coach Burt Paddock on how the team will refocus for tomorrow – “It's tough when you only have a one-day turnaround, especially since we are such a high energy group.  It's going to be a mental challenge, but we'll have a few hours of rest on the other team since they play after us so they'll be no complaints.”

Post-Game Notes

The Panthers are now 3-2 all-time at the national tournament…This was the second game in a row that DU has shot below 30% from 3-point range…William Penn is only the third team to score more than 80 points against Davenport…Next up for the Panthers will be No. 14 Indiana Southeast who defeated St. Mary (Kan.) 77-67…The game will be at 8:30 p.m. EST and will feature live audio on the DAN