GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport had a valiant effort against one of the top teams in all of the NCAA Division II. The Panthers led for the majority of the first half and a good chunk of time in the second half. After 20 minutes of play DU held a nine-point lead over the Bulldogs and forced them into shooting 3/14 from the three-point line. In the second half Davenport led all the way up until 11:49 remained in the game. Ferris State went 8/10 from the charity stripe in the last five minutes of play and outscored DU 16-2. The defense for Davenport allowed 53 points in the second half compared to only 36 points in the first. The final score of the game doesn't appropriately display how close this game was for 35 minutes of play.
 
THE BASICS
Final Score: Davenport-75 | Ferris State University-89
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Records: Davenport 9-6 (3-4) | Ferris State 16-1 (6-1)
 
POINTS PER HALF
First Half: DU-45 | FSU-36
Second Half: DU-30 | FSU-53
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Ferris State scored the first basket of the game from a layup by Noah King on their third offensive possession. The Bulldogs held a slight lead for the opening couple minutes of play. Avery Hudson knocked down a three pointer with 15:02 left on the clock to give Davenport their first lead of the game. With the game tied 18-18 with around 11 minutes to play in the half Janeau Joubert hit a jumpshot to give DU a two points lead. This lead was sustained by Davenport for the remainder of the half. The Panthers held their largest lead of the game with just under one minute to play in the half after a three-point basket from Robbie Bramhill, this basket gave Davenport an 11-point lead.
 
The Bulldogs in the second half steadily chipped away at the Davenport lead. The Panthers led by four or more points up until 12:32 was left in the game. Ferris State's Zach Hankins scored a jumper in the paint to cut the DU lead down to two points. After the Bulldogs took the lead with just under 12 minutes to play Davenport fought back and took a five-point lead with only 7:48 remaining in the game. John McCloud Jr. slammed home a two handed dunk, assisted by Delano Smith. Ferris State scored seven unanswered points and took a two point lead with 6:34 left. Avery Hudson tied the game 73-73 with a clutch three pointer with a little over five minute left in the game. The Bulldogs finished the last five minutes of the game outscoring DU 16-2.
 
McCloud Jr. led the Panthers in scoring on the night with 15 points on 6/9 shooting from the field, he also snagged a team high seven rebounds. Bramhill followed up with 14 points and shot 4/6 from beyond the arc. The only other Davenport player in double digits was Smith with 10 points, Smith also dished out a team high six assists. Davenport shot 10/24 (41.7%) from deep during the game.

UP NEXT
Davenport hosts Northwood University on Thursday for a GLIAC doubleheader with both women's teams. The men's team will have an estimated start time of 7:30 p.m.

Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Picture credit: Tyler Triemstra