GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Panthers hosted Purdue Northwest, who they historically have had great success against, and continued the narrative. Davenport cruised to an 86-69 victory over the Pride and had some historic marks in the process. With the win, plus an Ashland loss, the Panthers moved into sole possession of first place in the GLIAC! In addition, Davenport earned their 20^th win of the season, which is the 10^th time in the last 11 seasons. The Panthers were flying all over on defense and forced the Pride into 25 turnovers in the game.
 
THE BASICS
Final Score: Davenport-86 | Purdue Northwest-69
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.


 
POINTS PER HALF
First Half: DU-45 | PNW-29
Second Half: DU-41 | PNW-40
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Davenport scored the opening points of the game and never looked back. Chris Rollins, on the first offensive possession of the game, drove the ball and got fouled in the act of shooting. He stepped to the free throw line and nailed his two free throws. Davenport quickly built upon their lead, going up 10-2 after a layup by Rollins. After a couple three balls by Purdue Northwest, the DU lead was down to only four points. Davenport went on an 11-2 shortly after to earn their first double digit lead of the contest. A successful lob from Janeau Joubert to Tafari Beckford sent a buzz through the crowd with 7:13 to play in the half. Davenport continued to grow their lead and hit a 20-point lead after a free throw by Beckford with 2:53 to play. A couple turnovers down the stretch helped the Pride get some easy baskets and Davenport went into halftime with a 16-point lead.
 
The Panthers started the second half with a double digit lead and led by 10 or more throughout the remainder of the game. The Pride cut the lead down to 10 with 12:09 on the clock, but five straight points by Avery Hudson quickly bumped the lead back up to 15-points. Davenport had too much speed and athleticism for the Pride to handle, forcing them into 25 turnovers and creating 28 points out of those. Davenport didn't shoot well from three during the game, but cashed in 24 free throws and tallied 17 steals as a team.

STAT LEADERS
Points: Hudson (22)
Rebounds: Dyllon Hudson-Emory (11)
Assists: Joubert (7)
Steals: Joubert (7)
Blocks: Hudson-Emory (3)

COACHES CORNER
"I thought our defensive effort was outstanding. We had very active hands in the first 16-17 minutes of the game. Janeau really got us flying around with seven steals! That pressure caused several live ball turnovers, that allowed us to get in transition and get easy buckets.
 
As we go down the stretch, it's incredibly important for us to continue to get good efforts from all our kids. I was very pleased with many efforts today, but felt really good about Zach Pangborn and Tafari. Those two gave us terrific energy off the bench with many positive plays on both ends, including a couple big dunks by Tafari that seemed to really energize our team!" – Head Coach Burt Paddock
 
INTERESTING FACTS
-Davenport moves into sole possession of first place in the GLIAC with the win.
-The Panthers earn win number 20 on the season, the 10^th time winning 20 games in the last 11 seasons.
-Hudson made his 100^th three of his career…he is 100/237 over the last two seasons (42.7%).
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Hudson-Emory: 13 points & 11 rebounds
 
UP NEXT
Davenport will be back in action on Thursday, February 14 when they host Northwood for a 7:30 p.m. game.
 
Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Picture credit: Andy Visockis