POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – After the Davenport men's basketball team battled to a two-point victory over Briar Cliff on Thursday night, the Panthers found themselves in another tight battle against Mount Mercy on Friday night. Bishop Robinson scored 31 points to lead Davenport to a 70-67 win over the Mustangs. Davenport will make their second consecutive appearance in the NAIA Division II National Championship on Saturday night, when they face the number one overall seed in the tournament in Indiana Wesleyan, at 8 p.m. EDT in Point Lookout, Mo.
 
Robinson set a new career-high point total with 31 points, with 20 of his points coming in the first half, and he also chipped in with seven rebounds. Dominez Burnett was the only other player for Davenport in double figures with 13 points in the game, while he led the team with nine rebounds.
 
To start the game, the Panthers came out scoring the first four points, but the Mustangs countered with a 10-1 run to take a 10-5 lead with 16:09 left in the first half. Mount Mercy was able to hang on to the lead for most of the first half, until Davenport was able to take a 31-28 lead with 4:27 left in the first half, and the Panthers led 35-34 at halftime.
 
In the second half, both teams battled back-and-forth as the lead changed hands six times and the score was tied six times in the second half. Both team's jockeyed for position as neither team could take a lead larger than five in the second half. For the game, Davenport shot 46.8 percent from the field, while Mount Mercy shot 41.5 percent, as Davenport won the game 70-67.
 
The Panthers will be playing their third game in as many days, as they face the number one overall seed in the tournament, Indiana Wesleyan, who is the defending National Champion. Tipoff between Davenport and Indiana Wesleyan is slated for 8 p.m. EDT at the Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Mo.
 
Post-Game Notes
Davenport is making their second straight appearance in the quarterfinal of the NAIA Division II National Championship, and this will be the third time in program history that they play in the tournament quarterfinals… After Dominez Burnett set a program high in the NAIA tournament on Thursday with 30 points, Bishop Robinson set a new high on Friday night with 31 points… This is the 11th game at the NAIA DII National Championships for Davenport where the game was decided by five points or less, and Davenport is 6-5 all-time in those games.
 
Men's Basketball Contact: David Gerhart | 616-554-5045 | dgerhart@davenport.edu
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