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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Through three games this season, Madonna connected on 31 of their 64 shots from behind the arc including a 10-19 performance tonight as the Crusaders posted a 72-58 upset in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference title game. The loss drops the Panthers' record to 27-6 on the year as they will now prepare for the NAIA National Tournament beginning on March 6 in Point Lookout, Mo. Both Madonna and Davenport will represent the conference as the brackets will be announced Wednesday night around 8:00 p.m. EST and the DAN will carry a live broadcast from the NAIA national office.

Dominez Burnett led a group of three Davenport players in double-figures as the WHAC Newcomer of the Year finished with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds a pair of assists. JaVontae Ford came off the bench to post 12 points and 12 rebounds (8 offensive) while Derek Brooks matched Ford with 12 as the sophomore connected on three shots from behind the arc.

For the second straight year, Davenport got off to a flying start in the WHAC championship game in which they hosted as Derek Brooks used a personal 8-2 run to get the Panthers out in front. Unfortunately for DU, the Madonna shooters were just starting to heat up as they used a 10-0 run over the next 2:43 to take a 12-8 lead.  A 6-2 spurt by DU followed finished by a 3-point play by JaVontae Ford but it would be the last time DU would lead for the remainder of the game.

Madonna finished the half leading 37-32 as they hit a layup as time expired and they held the five point margin despite WHAC Player of the Year Bobby Naubert shooting 1-7 from the field as he was picked up by MU's bench going 9-10 from the floor in the opening half.

Davenport, looking to repeat as the conference tournament champion, came out with some energy in the second and used a 7-2 run to tie the game at 39 on a layup from Burnett but just three possessions later, after a few missed by DU, the Crusaders took the lead for good on one of six triples from Travis Schuba. The lead grew to as many as 14 but DU continued to fight back getting it to within seven on three different occasions but could not get the big shot to fall as the Panthers finished the second half just 6-35 (17.1%) from the floor including 1-14 from behind the arc.
Madonna iced the game thanks to some free-throws to grab their first WHAC tournament title in school history as the Crusaders finished the night 27-54 (50%) from the field. DU led in almost every statistical category as they out-rebounded MU 46-35, had fewer turnovers (11-9) and made eight more free-throws (16-8) but it was not enough to overcome another great shooting performance from Madonna.
DU will find out its NAIA National Tournament opponent on Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. EST when the brackets are released. Rick Berkey and Ken Clemens will be holding a live DAN broadcast beginning around 7:45. Tune in to find the road to the national title!
Post-Game Notes
Davenport has six losses heading into the national tournament and three of them have come against one team marking the first time since 2006-07 that DU has been beaten three time by a single school in the same year…DU is now 86-7 under Burt Paddock when making more free-throws than their opponent…JaVontae Ford set a Student Center record with eight offensive rebounds
 
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