GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The top-ranked Davenport men's basketball team got out of the blocks sluggish but used a 19-0 run in the first half and never looked back in a 97-55 win over UM-Dearborn. DU found themselves down 12-7 prompting a timeout at the 14:31 mark to start the game. The message was heard loud and clear as the Panthers scored the next 19 points to take a 26-12 lead with 9:18 left in the opening half. The defense proved several fast-break chances and the Panthers scored at a high rate in the paint during the run.

The lead ballooned to 41-21 with 2:14 left in the half and the DU lead would not get lower than 20 points for the rest of the contest. Davenport led 47-24 at halftime as they had a 24-16 edge in points in the paint and a 14-0 advantage in points off turnovers. The Panthers also had a 17-5 margin off the bench and 10-0 in fast-break points. Davenport shot an even 50 percent in the first half and were 10-of-12 at the free throw line.

The Panthers owned a 32-12 advantage in the paint in the second half and scored 20 points on the fast-break as they had several run-out opportunities that led to lay-ups and dunks. Wayne Bradford in particular read the passing lanes well with a career-high seven steals including five in the second half. He finished with 21 points to lead the team and went 9-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-3 at the charity stripe.

Davenport is now 22-3 overall and 16-1 in the WHAC having won nine straight dating back to Jan. 2. The team also scored their third-most points in a game this season. Dominez Burnett scored 19 points and also put together six assists, five rebounds and three steals in 29 minutes. Jason Jordan scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. Nick Gamble scored eight points to go with six assists in 24 minutes. Kevin Rich scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds in 29 minutes.