HOLLAND, Mich. – Davenport tipped off their preseason action with a charity exhibition match against local NCAA Division III school Calvin College. The Panthers used their speed and strength to run away with a 19-point victory. Davenport held the Knights to 14.3% from behind the arc and only gave up 49 points. Over 1,000 people attended the games last night and all the proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross to help hurricane relief.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Davenport-68 | Calvin College-49
Location: Holland, Mich.
Records: Davenport 0-0 | Calvin College 0-0
POINTS PER HALF
First Half: DU-40 | CC-21
Second Half: DU-28 | CC-28
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first points for Davenport came from a
John McCloud Jr. dunk from the left block, which was assisted by
Janeau Joubert. Both teams were feeling out the speed of an actual contest for the opening five minutes. After a three-point shot by Calvin College player Carlos Amoros Davenport fell behind 8-9. This sparked an 11-0 run by the Panthers over the next five minutes of play. During that time
Braima Hai hit a three, McCloud Jr. scored in the paint, Joubert hit a jumper,
Delano Smith made a layup in transition and
Nick Malonga scored in the paint. Calvin ended the run by hitting a three-pointer of their own with 9:02 left in the half. Davenport went another large run by scoring 12 unanswered points to take a 31-12 lead late in the half.
Robbie Bramhill hit two shots from deep and added a bucket in the paint during the run. Davenport took a 40-21 lead at halftime and held the Knights to 26.9% shooting from the field.
Davenport continued the high energy on defense throughout the second half, holding the Knights to under 50 points for the game. The largest lead for DU came with just over eight minutes to go in the half as
Orlando Little completed a euro-step in transition for a made layup and the foul. Davenport held a 26-point lead at that point in the game and the lowest their lead ever got in the half was 16-points with just under four minutes to play.
Malonga led the Panthers in scoring with 14 points on 4/10 shooting from the field. He was a solid three of six from long range and played 26 minutes. Little grabbed the most amount of rebounds for DU and was just short of a double double. He snagged nine boards and scored nine points on 4/8 from the field. The starting lineup for Davenport went a solid 15/31 shooting from the field, scoring a combined 39 of the teams 68 points. The Panthers defense held Calvin to 31.6% shooting from the field for the game and forced 18 turnovers by the Knights.
UP NEXT
Davenport will play one more exhibition before they start regular season play. The Panthers travel to Rochester, Michigan on Monday, November 6 to play NCAA Division I opponent Oakland University. The game will start at 7:00 p.m. in the Athletics Center O'Rena.
Story by:
Devin Steiner
Picture credit: Tyler Triemstra
