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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport dug themselves a 17-point halftime margin only to erase it in the first seven minutes of the second half and led by as many as nine but visiting Aquinas hung together to rally for an 84-79 win in overtime. The win is the second in a row for the Saints over a Top-25 ranked opponent as it sends Davenport to just its third loss of the season and second in WHAC play as they stand at 14-3 overall and 7-2 in league games. DU will travel to Concordia for an 8:00pm contest on Wednesday.

JaVontae Ford led a trio of Panthers in double-figures as the red-shirt junior posted 19 points but it was not enough as the Panthers saw Aquinas score nine out of the last 11 points in the extra period to escape with the upset win. DeArmond Davis went for a career high 16 points on 7-9 shooting from the field while Ryan Dame chipped in 10 points and a team high six rebounds.

After Davenport jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead, the remainder of the first half was dominated by the Saints and junior sharp-shooter Austin Semple who posted 16 points and made four of his five attempts from behind the arc to help the Saints post a commanding 39-22 lead. Looking at their largest deficit at the break since Paddock has been at Davenport, the Panthers quickly came out of their shell to start the second and with 13:17 on the clock, a Ryan Dame layup tied the score at 39. The 17-0 run to cover the first 6:43 of game clock came with DU receiving points from four different players.

With the momentum clearly on their side, Davenport would continue to push and took their first lead since 20-19 of the opening half with a three-pointer by Derek Brooks with 11:17 remaining. The lead for the Panthers would grow to nine (54-45) but the Saints continued to battle back to get within two (69-67) with just under 45 seconds to play. After a missed jumped by DU, the Saints then got a pair of free-throws after a loose ball foul and that would send the game to overtime.

Playing in their first overtime game since March of 2011, the Panthers scored the first four points of the extra session only to see Semple come up huge again with a banked 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to get within one. After DU posted a 77-75 lead on a jumper by JaVontae Ford, the Saints then scored nine out of the last 11 points to escape with the win.

Aquinas, who made 57% of their shots in the opening half, finished the game at 50% (26-52) while Davenport recovered from a slow first half and finished at 44% (25-57). The Panthers won the battle of the glass (32-29) but Aquinas used a deadly touch from behind the arc as they made 12-26 shots which is six above their season average of six per game.

Davenport will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Concordia for an 8:00pm contest against the Cardinals.

Post-Game Notes
Davenport falls for just the seventh time in 68 games played at the Student Center but it was their second loss this season…The Panthers are now 4-2 in overtime games under Head Coach Burt Paddock with both losses coming on their home floor…Aquinas' Austin Semple tied a Student Center record with six made 3-pointers and connected on the second best % (85.7%)…Davenport is now 61-7 at the Student Center and three of those losses have come against Aquinas
 
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