FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Panthers snagged an important road win to finish off their regular season schedule against Indiana Tech 78-66. With the win the Panthers secured the second seed for the upcoming conference tournament, Davenport finished 23-7 and 17-5 in conference play. Senior
Nick Gamble had one heck of a homecoming with his double double performance.
THE BASICS
Final Score: #10 Davenport-78 | Indiana Tech-66
Location: Fort Wayne, Ind.
Records: Davenport 23-7 (17-5) | Indiana Tech 20-10 (15-7)
POINTS PER HALF
First Half: DU-42 | Indiana Tech-23
Second Half: DU-36 | Indiana Tech-43
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Warriors of Indiana Tech had their senior presentations prior to the game and the atmosphere was electric inside the Schaefer Center. Davenport didn't let the presentations distract them and came out ready to play in the first half as Gamble scored the opening points of the game. The teams traded a couple buckets during the first four minutes of play before DU started their first half onslaught.
The Panthers notched a double digit lead with 7:04 remaining in the first half after a fast break lay-up by
Javon Haines. The score was 25-15 in DU's favor with 7:04 left and Davenport went on a 17-8 run to end the half. The most significant stretch during this run was three consecutive buckets by the Panthers in the last 90 seconds.
Dawid Czerniawski hit two jumpers in the paint, both assisted by Gamble, and
Robbie Bramhill spotted up in the corner for a deep trey ball that was also assisted by Gamble. At half
Wes Webbert led all scorers with 11 points, he was 3/4 from the three-point line. Gamble had seven points and nine assists, his nine assists in the first half was more than the Indiana Tech team had for the whole game.
Davenport withstood a couple Warrior comeback attempts during the second half. The lead was kept in double digits all the way up until the last two minutes of regulation. The Warriors strung together a couple buckets to make it a few possession game, but
Cameron Burns hit a three in the right corner with 1:03 remaining to eliminate the chances of a comeback.
Four players scored in double digits,
Khadim Dieng (12), Gamble (13), Rich (13) and Webbert (15). Dieng was an efficient 6/8 from the field and is 11/15 over the last two games from the field. Haines and Rich led the team in rebounding, Rich grabbed eight while Haines snagged six. The bench for DU, Czerniawski, Burns, Bramhill and
Thomas Hood, put together a solid combined stat line. They scored 19 points, shot a perfect 8/8 from the field, grabbed eight rebounds and only committed two turnovers.
Gamble was the man of the night as he showed out for his home town of Fort Wayne. He had a fan section of 15-20 fans cheering him and the rest of the team on. Gamble scored 13 points, dished out 15 assists and had four rebounds. His 15 assist performance is the second best single game individual effort in program history, the record is 18 assists set by Lonnie Fairfax. He is also currently at 475 assists for his career, which is one behind Lonnie's record of 476.
UP NEXT
The Panthers secured the second seed for the conference tournament and will await to see who receives the seventh seed. The game will take place on Thursday, February 23
rd, the start time is yet to be decided.
Photo by: Kelsey Crockett
