GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After defeating Briar Cliff (Iowa) on Thursday night, the Davenport men's basketball team will be back in action on Friday night as they face their second school from Iowa in as many days in Mount Mercy, who won the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament to earn their spot in the NAIA National Championships. Both team will be playing their second game in as many as days, as the tipoff between Davenport and Mount Mercy is slated for 10:15 p.m. EDT in Point Lookout, Mo., where Rick Berkey will have the call live on the DAN.
 
Vs. Mount Mercy (Iowa) (NAIA Division II National Championship – Second Round)
Date: Friday, March 13, 2015
Tipoff: 10:15 p.m. EDT
Location: Point Lookout, Mo. (Keeter Gymnasium)
Internet Coverage: NAIA Network (Live Stats and Video) | The DAN
Prices: NAIA Network (Live Video) - 28 games; $20 championship pass / $75 all-season pass | The DAN Audio (Audio) – Free
 
A Quick Look at Mount Mercy – 27-4, 13-1 MCC – Head Coach Paul Gavin
Mount Mercy is making their third appearance in the NAIA DII National Championships and is making their first appearance in the tournament since 2013. The Mustangs received the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament Champion bid into the tournament and started the tournament with a 64-61 victory of Cal Maritime. The leading scorer for the Mustangs is Dondre Osborne who averages 14.6 point per game, while James Boonstoppel and Kyle Lamaak average 12.0 and 10.6 points per game, mainly coming off the bench. As a team, Mount Mercy scores an average of 80.2 points per game.
 
Last Time out for the Mustangs
In the last game for Mount Mercy, the Mustangs led the majority of the game as they held the lead for 36:14 in the game. Mount Mercy took a 36-26 lead into the half, and the Mustangs were able to stretch their lead to 14 points with 18:32 left in the game, which was the largest lead for either team in the game. Cal Maritime was able to chip away at the lead as they cut the lead to five with 44-39 left in the second half. After the Mustangs took another 14 point lead with less than eight minutes left in the game, but Cal Maritime cut the lead to 59-58 with 2:58 left in the game. Mount Mercy were able to hold off Cal Maritime to win 64-61
 
Recapping the First Round
In the first round of the NAIA DII National Championships, the bracket has 12 of the 16 seeded teams in the tournament still alive. The host College of the Ozarks was the only seeded team to lose on Wednesday as they lost to Cardinal Stritch, 78-65. On Thursday, Grace defeated seventh seeded Bellevue, while tenth-ranked Midland lost to Southern Oregon and Ashford upset 12th-seed Bethel.
 
Last Time Out for the Panthers
In the last game for Davenport, the Panthers face No. 25 Briar Cliff, who earned the final at-large bid into the NAIA tournament. In the matchup between the Panthers and Chargers, the game was tied 12 times and the lead changed hands 15 times. After trailing at the half, Davenport was able to rebound to win the game 68-66 as they held off Briar Cliff down the stretch. Dominez Burnett led all scorers with 30 points as the Davenport starters score 60 of the teams 68 points.
 
Men's Basketball Contact: David Gerhart | 616-554-5045 | dgerhart@davenport.edu
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