GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Panthers hosted the Pride of Purdue University-Northwest in their first-ever GLIAC game and rolled to a 40-point victory. Davenport was just one field goal shy of scoring in triple figures and held the opposing Pride to only 58 points on the night. The starting lineup for DU combined for 64 points and shot 26/40 on the night. Senior Nick Malonga scored a season high 23 points, while shooting 8/11 from the field.
 
THE BASICS
Final Score: Davenport-98 | Purdue University-Northwest-58
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Records: Davenport 6-2 (1-0) | Purdue Northwest 0-6 (0-1)
 
POINTS PER HALF
First Half: DU-44 | PNW-23
Second Half: DU-54 | PNW-35


 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pride hung in the game during the first half, as both teams swapped leads for about 10 minutes. Purdue University-Northwest scored a layup with 9:38 in the game to tie the score 21-21. Davenport went on a 23-2 run over the remaining part of the half. The only bucket for the Pride came on a layup with 2:31 left in the half. The Panthers defense held PNW scoreless for seven minutes and seven seconds during a stretch in that 23-2 run. Davenport led 44-23 at halftime and were led by the Panthers backcourt. Delano Smith and Malonga combined for 25 points on 10/15 shooting from the field.
 
Purdue University-Northwest opened the second half scoring back to back buckets and cutting the lead down to 16 points. This would be the lowest the Panthers led by during the whole second half of play. After the Pride hit a trio of free throws Davenport went on a 16-3 run to take a 31-point lead with 9:28 left in the game. A couple free throws during the last minute of play by Zack Nieuwkoop gave DU the 40-point lead and eventual victory.
 
Malonga and Smith led the way offensively for Davenport during the game. Malonga scored a game high 23 points, shot 8/11 from the field and 4/6 from deep. Smith had 19 points and shot 9/11 from the field, all while leading the Panthers in rebounding with eight boards. Braima Hai and Nieuwkoop each snagged seven rebounds respectively. Avery Hudson led the team in assists with five and chipped in eight points.
 
UP NEXT
Davenport hosts nearby GLIAC opponent Grand Valley State University on Saturday for their second conference game of the season. This will be the first time that the Panthers welcome the Lakers into the DU Student Center for a men's basketball game.

Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Picture credit: Tyler Triemstra