GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Panthers and Rangers, two of the top teams in the GLIAC, battled it out for 40 minutes on the hardwood. Davenport came out on top, holding off Parkside for a 77-74 victory. The Panthers did not shoot well from deep, but forced the Rangers into 24 turnovers and flipped those into 34 points. With the win, Davenport and Ashland are tied at the top of the conference with an 11-3 record, while Parkside falls two games behind with an 9-5 conference record.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Davenport-77 | Parkside-74
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.
POINTS PER HALF
First Half: DU-33 | PU-30
Second Half: DU-44 | PU-44
HOW IT HAPPENED
Parkside came out ready to play in the first half. The Rangers jumped out to an 18-8 lead after a three in transition by Adam Bonk with 13:04 on the clock. Davenport responded with a three of their own from
Avery Hudson and Davenport initiated their comeback. The Panthers kept chipping away at the lead and tied the game at 22-22 with 7:11 left in the half. A three by
Tafari Beckford tied the ball game up and then
Chaz Birchfield proceeded to score back to back buckets to give Davenport a 26-22 lead. The last layup by Birchfield capped off a 20-4 run by the Panthers. Davenport went cold in the final couple minutes of the half, but held a 33-30 lead over the visiting Rangers.
Davenport led by as many as six points early on in the second half. The Panthers held a 42-36 advantage after a layup by
Janeau Joubert with 17:01 to play in the game. Parkside begin to find their stride offensively and tied the game 47-47 just a few minutes later. The Rangers continued to rain it in from three, where they shot 8/16 in the second half alone, building up a nine-point lead with 9:05 to play. Davenport needed an offensive spark and got it from
Dyllon Hudson-Emory and
Chris Rollins. The two combined for eight straight DU points to cut the deficit down to a single point. The lead bounced back and forth between the teams, creating an intense finish to the contest. With 2:05 left on the clock the game was deadlocked at 74-74. Davenport split the tie with a pair of free throws by Rollins with 40 seconds in the game, putting DU up by two. After a few missed field goals by the Rangers, Joubert was fouled and went to the line to shoot two free throws. Joubert made one of the two to give DU a three-point lead with just under five seconds to play. The Rangers had a good look with time running out by Chavares Flanigan, but his shot bounced off the back iron. Davenport held Parkside scoreless for the final 124 seconds of the contest.
STAT LEADERS
Points: Hudson-Emory (28)
Rebounds: Hudson-Emory (7)
Assists: Hudson/Hudson-Emory/Rollins/Joubert (2)
Steals: Hudson (4)
Blocks:
Robbie Bramhill/Hudson-Emory/Rollins (1)
COACHES CORNER
"I am happy for our kids. We truly gutted one out against a very good Parkside team. Give them a lot of credit for making things difficult on us, at both ends we just could not find our rhythm. To be able to shoot 4-22 from three, the other team have 24 assists and shoot nearly 60% from the field and yet we still win? Got to give our kids a lot of credit for continuing to fight and get the necessary stops and scores when things were not going our way." – Head Coach
Burt Paddock
INTERESTING FACTS
-Davenport is now 11-3 in conference and is tied with Ashland for first place in the GLIAC South Division and the GLIAC as a whole.
-Davenport scored 48 points in the paint, 34 points off turnovers, and 18 fast break points.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will take on Purdue Northwest on Saturday, February 9 in the DU Student Center. The game is expected to start around 3:00 p.m.
Story by:
Devin Steiner
Picture credit: Andy Visockis
