Site: Orange City, Iowa (Baltman Center)
Score: No. 10 Davenport 91, Dordt 65
Records: DU (3-0), DC (3-1)
Next DU event: Saturday, Nov. 9 – at No. 15 Northwesten (Iowa) – 5:30 p.m. EST
 
ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Six players finished in double-figures on Friday night but it was the defense that stood out as No. 10 Davenport picked up an impressive 91-65 win over Dordt College in the opening game of the Red Raider Classic hosted by Northwestern College (Iowa). The Panthers, who improve to 3-0 on the season, held the Defenders 41 points below their season average and will be in action again on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. EST when they take on the No. 15 ranked and host Red Raiders.

Dominez Burnett once again led the scoring charge as the sophomore posted 17 points on 6-12 shooting from the field as he helped DU go over the 90-point plateau for the second time in three games. Five other players joined him in double-figures which included John McCloud posting a new career high of 14 points to go along with a pair of rebounds, assists and steals. JaVontae Ford led DU with seven rebounds while Nick Gamble had four assists.

Playing in a hostile environment against one of the most consistent NAIA programs over the past few years had no effect on the Panthers right from the start as they jumped out to a 27-7 lead just 9:28 into the contest. That lead was dwindled down to 10 just before the half but a Dominez Burnett three-ball with 35 seconds to play upped it back to 13 at the break.

Davenport then scored 10 of the first 14 points of the second half to open up a 19 point lead which eventually grew to 27 on a Mike Betcher jumper with 7:03 to play. The night was finished off with some style as John McCloud got a pass from Nick Gamble off a steal and the freshman threw it down with two hands for the exclamation point.

The Panthers finished the night a sizzling 56.9% from the floor (37-65) while holding the Defenders to just 36.7%. Dordt had averaged 106 points per game in their first three contests of the year but were held 41 points below that tonight and the DU defense limited the Defenders' leading scorer, Kyle Lindbergh (21.3 ppg), to just three points.

Davenport will return to the Baltman Center on Saturday evening when they face the host Red Raiders at 5:30 p.m. Northwestern came into the weekend 2-1 overall and ranked No. 15 in the NAIA Top-25 poll.

Post-Game Quotes – Head coach Burt Paddock
 
On holding DC to 41 points below season average - "That was about as good of defense as we have played in the six years I have been here. I am so excited about our team, the energy, the aggressiveness.  This was a great win for our program and we have another really tough one tomorrow."
 
On play of Hai and Gamble – "We have two freshman point guards and most of the time you would have to worry about that, but not these two, they are two of the best players we have"
 
On breakout game by John McCloud – "McCloud can score it, rebound it, defend it, do anything, he was fantastic tonight and he is just scratching the surface of what he can do, he is going to be fun to watch for the next four years"
 
Men's Basketball Contact: Aaron Sagraves | 616-554-5045 | asagraves@davenport.edu
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