ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Panthers had an extremely tough task on their hands. The team had to go to Grand Valley, our cross-town rival, for the regular-season finale and play a GV team that had won four straight games and on their senior night. Davenport brushed that all aside and walked off the court with a three-point victory, as well as a regular-season sweep of the Lakers. Balanced scoring was the recipe for success for Davenport, with three players scoring 14 points and another two scoring 11. The Panthers made some key defensive stops down the stretch, resulting in the 70-67 win that put them at 25-3 overall and 17-3 in conference play.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Davenport-70 | Grand Valley State-67
Location: Allendale, Mich.


 
POINTS PER HALF
First Half: DU-33 | GVSU-36
Second Half: DU-37 | GVSU-31
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The whole first half was comprised of small runs from both teams. The Lakers opened the game scoring four straight and then Davenport responded with four of their own to tie the game 4-4. The game was then tied at 11 each, and 18 each before DU made a run. Chris Rollins and Zach Pangborn each drilled a three, within 30 seconds of each other, to give Davenport a 24-18 advantage. The Lakers would wipe away the lead and tie the game 29-29 after going on a 11-5 run. Grand Valley ended the half on a 7-4 run and held a three-point lead at halftime.
 
In the second half Davenport made two major runs. The first run started when Grand Valley led by a score of 40-37. Dyllon Hudson-Emory threw down a two-handed dunk off a dump down pass by Avery Hudson, the dunk sparked a 14-point run. The run concluded with a pair of free throws by Hudson that gave Davenport a 51-40 lead with 13:43 on the clock. The Lakers started to get the home crowd behind them and over the next seven minutes took the lead 58-57. Shortly after Grand Valley took the lead Davenport went on a pivotal run. The Panthers went on a 9-3 run and led 66-61 with 3:57 remaining in the game. Robbie Bramhill hit a three that gave DU a major boost when the Panthers were down by two points, after a steal by Rollins Joubert grabbed a missed layup by Hudson-Emory and put the ball in for two points. The quick five points forced a Grand Valley timeout. The Lakers had a chance to tie the game late. Grand Valley hit a jumper with 16 seconds on the clock, cutting the DU lead down to 68-67. Rollins was fouled with 12 seconds to play and he was sent to the free throw line to shoot a pair. He cashed both of them, giving DU a three-point lead. Grand Valley came down and missed a jumped with a couple seconds on the clock and Davenport gained possession of the rebound as time expired.

STAT LEADERS
Points: Joubert/Rollins/Bramhill (14)
Rebounds: Hudson-Emory (9)
Assists: Hudson (4)
Steals: Hudson/Joubert/Rollins/Bramhill (2)
Blocks: N/A
 
INTERESTING FACTS
-The 12 game win streak is the longest of the season.
-Davenport finished the regular season with a 25-3 record and 17-3 GLIAC record.
-All five of the DU starters scored in double digits.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers will host their first-ever GLIAC basketball tournament game on Tuesday, March 5. Davenport will take on Northwood University, who is the eighth seed in the tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in the DU Student Center.
 
Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Picture credit: Andy Visockis