KINGSPORT, Tenn. - On paper it looked like a marquee matchup in the first game for No. 3 Davenport (8-0) at the NAIA DII Showcase. They were facing undefeated Milligan (7-0) averaging over 80 points per game coming into the contest. The defense for DU was formidable on Saturday on a neutral court as they ran away with a 78-44 victory.

Davenport leading scorer Dominez Burnett was held to a season-low 11 points but the Panthers got contributions from Jason Jordan and Wayne Bradford on the offensive end. Jordan scored a career-high 17 points going 6-of-8 from the floor including 4-of-6 from behind the arc. He also led the team with four steals on the defensive end. Bradford scored 15 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists.

The Panthers got out of the gate fast leading 14-2 in the first five minutes. Milligan went 1-for-6 with three turnovers in that stretch. The lead ballooned to 23-4 at the 13:02 mark on a jumper by Burnett and the Buffaloes never recovered.

Davenport led by as many as 30 points twice in the first half and were up 44-17 at the break. DU scored 18 points off turnovers in the opening half and had 13 bench points. The lead was never less than 24 points in the second half for the Panthers. Milligan shot just 21.1 percent which was the best defensive effort for the season by the Panthers. They also allowed the fewest points this season and the lowest total since Jan. 14, 2015 against Lourdes.