Box Score  | Video Highlights | Paddock Audio Interview

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport overcame a sluggish first half from the field and a late second half deficit to post a 68-56 win over visiting Concordia to wrap up at least a share of their second straight WHAC title. The victory puts Davenport at 24-5 overall and 17-4 in league play which is one game clear of second place Madonna and Lourdes with one game to play as the Panthers travel to Indiana Tech on Saturday for a 3pm matchup with the Warriors.

The Panthers got 23 points from freshman Dominez Burnett and 15 from senior Gabe VanderJagt as they overcame a 4-point deficit with 7:47 remaining to pick up their 11^th win at the Student Center this year. DeArmond Davis pitched in 10 points and five rebounds off the bench while Dawid Czerniawkski joined VanderJagt with a team high four assists.

Concordia, which handed the Panthers one of their five losses with a 66-63 win in Ann Arbor back on January 9, overcame a slow start and used a 14-0 run to go up 18-9 with 7:29 remaining in the opening half. CUAA sharp-shooter John Schaeffer hit three triples in part of his Student Center record eight during the run forcing DU into a timeout. DU however got the pace going late and used a 16-4 run to end the half including a banked in 3-pointer from Dominez Burnett to lead 25-22 at the break.

When it looked as if DU would roll to another win on their home floor, the Cardinals had other ideas and continued to battle but they fell behind by five at 47-42 when Dawid Czerniawski converted a 5-point play. Out of the media timeout, CUAA got two more 3-pointers from Schaeffer, a free-throw and a layup for a 9-0 run which put them up 51-47 with just under eight minutes to play.

After DU head coach Burt Paddock called a timeout, it was all Davenport after that as they went on a 12-2 spurt that covered 2:17 of clock to go up 59-51. The run was ended by another 3-pointer from Burnett and then fellow freshman Kyle Stidom hit his only field goal of the night but he made it count as the Panthers went up 11 with 2:07 to play.

Davenport, which had come into the game shooting over 50% over their last four games, overcame a sluggish first half to finish at 52.2% (24-46) on the night while holding the Cardinals to 41.3%. DU posted 16 assists on their 24 made baskets and committed only 11 turnovers on the night.

DU will head to Fort Wayne on Saturday to face Indiana Tech and with a win would clinch the WHAC title outright and it would also grab the No. 1 seed in the WHAC tournament as well as clinch a berth in the 2013 NAIA National Tournament.

Post-Game Notes

Davenport set a new WHAC record for conference wins in a single season with 17, breaking their own record that they set last season (16)…Dominez Burnett has led the Panthers in scoring in four of the last six games and has gone over 20 twice…CUAA's John Schaeffer set a Student Center record with 8 3-pointers which is two more than a group of six players tied at 6

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