Box Score

Quick Box 1st 2nd OT Final BU 29 36 -- 65 DU 31 36 -- 67 Team Stats DU BU Rebounds 29 26 Assists 8 5 Steals 9 7 Blocks 2 2 FG % 55.3 43.8 3-Pt FG % 00.0 11.1 FT % 60.0 77.8 Leaders DU BU Points    24 - Burnett 17 - Young Rebounds 8 - Ford 5 - Kalipinde Assists 2 - 2-tied 2 - Ames Steals 4 - Hai 2 - 2-tied Blocks 1 - 2-tied 2 - Worthen-Harris

Site: Point Lookout, Mo. (Keeter Gymnaisum)
Score: No. 9 Davenport 67, No. 8 Bellevue 65
Records: DU (29-6), BU (25-10)
Next DU event: Saturday, Mar. 15 – vs. TBA – 2 p.m. EST
 
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – The Davenport men's basketball team punched their ticket into the quarterfinals with a thrilling 67-65 win over No. 8 Bellevue (Neb.). The appearance in the third round is the third in the last four years for the Panthers as they will take a 29-6 record into a matchup with either No. 1 Cardinal Stritch or No. 18 Southeastern (Fla.) at 2 p.m. EST on Saturday.

Dominez Burnett posted a game high 24 points while he was followed in double figures by JaVontae Ford (15) and DeArmond Davis (12) to help the Panthers avenge an earlier season setback to the Bruins. Taylor Young finished with 17 off the bench for the Bruins, who see their season come to a close with an overall record of 25-10.

After trailing 4-2 early, Davenport used an 11-2 run finished off by a 3-point play from Ford to take a 13-6 lead with 15:32 to play in the first half. The lead grew to as many as 10 on three different occasions but the Bruins scored 10 of the last 12 points of the half to cut the margin to just two at 31-29.

Bellevue, who averaged 89.4 points per game entering the contest, came out and stayed within close distance of the Panthers, but what turned into somewhat of a free-throw shooting contest, Davenport pulled away halfway through to up their lead back into double-figures at 52-42. The Bruins, behind the play of Alex Worthen-Harris and Given Kalipinde as well as Young, slowly started to chip away and had the margin down to just one (66-65) with 24 seconds to play.

After a steal and free-throw by the Panthers to make it 67-65 with 1.7 seconds to play, a late heave from just inside half-court was off the mark and Davenport finished with the victory.

The Bruins were held 25 points below their season average while struggling from behind the arc, as they finished just 2-18 (11.1%). On the flip side, Davenport did not make a single shot from long-range but connected on 26-37 (70.2%) inside the arc.

Davenport advances to their third Elite 8 in the last four years as they will play the winner of No. 1 Cardinal Stritch and No. 18 Southeastern (Fla.).

Post-Game Notes
Davenport is the only team in the country to now have appeared in three out of the last four quarterfinal rounds at the NAIA National Tournament…Through two games, Dominez Burnett is averaging 26 points per game…The win is the first for Davenport over an NAIA Top-10 ranked team since they defeated No. 6 Cardinal Stritch back on March 10, 2012
 
Men's Basketball Contact: Aaron Sagraves | 616-554-5045 | asagraves@davenport.edu
DU Athletics: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
Men's Basketball: Twitter | Facebook