Box Score | Video Highlights | Paddock Audio Interview

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport used a 15-1 run late in the second half and then held off a pesky Aquinas team to pick up the 62-57 victory and advance to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) semifinals on Saturday. Davenport, now 26-5 on the year, will host their other cross-town rival as the fourth seed Cornerstone will visit the Student Center for a 3 p.m. matchup. The Panthers swept the Golden Eagles in both matchups this season winning by six at home and eight on the road. The other semifinal game in the conference is No. 2 Madonna and No. 3 Lourdes also at 3 p.m. in Livonia.

Dominez Burnett led a trio of Panthers in double-figures as the freshly named WHAC Newcomer of the Year posted a game high 16 points and nine rebounds to go along with five assists and two blocked shots. JaVontae Ford scored nine of Davenport's 10 points during a 10-0 that put the Panthers up 54-48 and finished with 13 points while DeArmond Davis had 11.

In a back and forth opening half, Davenport held its largest lead of five in the early stages but it was Aquinas who stayed within striking distance thanks to some hot shooting from behind the arc and the Saints held a 31-28 lead with just 3:27 to play. The pace of play then turned in Davenport's favor thanks to the full-court presence of Sean Hill as the Panthers scored the final eight points of the half including a layup from Dominez Burnett to put DU up 37-31.

Aquinas recovered quickly from the late burst by DU as they scored 16 of the first 21 points to open the half and grabbed the lead at 44-42 with 13:52 remaining. After trading baskets over the next 1:50, DU started their rally and went on a 10-0 run finished off by a 3-pointer from JaVontae Ford to force the Saints into a timeout with DU leading 54-46. The Panthers continued their spurt out of the break and scored five of the next eight including another clutch three-ball from Burnett which broke the Saints backs.

Aquinas did make it interesting down the stretch thanks to back to back three-pointer from Brett Pfahler but DU hung on to move into the WHAC semifinals for the fourth straight year. Austin Semple led the Saints with 15 points while Pfahler had 14

Derek Brooks chipped in seven points off the bench while Gabe VanderJagt had nine. Dawid Czerniawski finished with six rebounds while Sean Hill had five boards and three assists.

Cornerstone advanced to play DU thanks to a 74-58 win over Indiana Tech.

Post-Game Notes

Davenport improves to 6-3 in the WHAC Tournament under head coach Burt Paddock and 6-6 all-time…The Panthers have now won eight of the last 10 meetings with Aquinas after not beating them in the previous 14 matchups…Dominez Burnett now has led the team in scoring in 14 games this season including two of the last three…In two games at the Student Center this year, AQ's Austin Semple posted 42 points

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