QUINCY, Ill. - Playing in its final non-conference game of the regular season, the Davenport University men's basketball team faced Quincy for the first time in program history on Sunday inside the Hawks' Pepsi Arena.
Chris Rollins gave Davenport the lead, 75-73, with just over five minutes to play before Quincy responded with an 11-0 run and didn't look back. After that, the Panthers could never get closer than five, 84-79, before dropping the matinee by 10, 91-81.
Davenport and Quincy both sit at 7-4 overall now while the Panthers have dropped two of their last three and the Hawks have been on the right side in three straight.
Chris Rollins (team-high 17 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist) and
Luke Maranka (12 points, 5 rebounds) were two of five student-athletes named to the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic All-Tournament Team. Also scoring in double-figures for Davenport were
Noble Cooper and
Jarrin Randall, each with 12.
Jakub Dombek (11 rebounds) came within two points of his second double-double of the season,
Jairus Stevens dished out a pair of assists,
Samm Jones notched the team's lone block, and Randall tacked on a steal.
Davenport couldn't have asked for a better start as it scored 13 of the game's first 16 points and went 5-for-9 from the field in those six-plus minutes. Quincy then began to battle back and tied the game up for the first time at 17-17. Following another deadlock at 22-22 and four lead changes, the home team took the advantage back, 24-23, and pushed the margin to as many as nine at 36-27 and 38-29. The visitors trailed by seven, 38-31, at the break and headed into the locker room with a halftime deficit for the sixth time this season (3-3 record).
Quincy would go on to lead by nine again, 49-40, early in the second half, but Davenport never let the deficit get to double-digits. Eventually, at the 6:10 mark, Randle hit a triple to give the Panthers their first lead, 72-71, since the 6:44 mark of the first half. The Hawks' Malik Hardmon gave his team the one-point lead, 73-72, thanks to a pair of free throws before the Rollins' trey mentioned above and then the hosts took the game over.
Next up on the schedule, Davenport will get back to GLIAC play on Jan. 8 at Northwood (3-7, 1-3 GLIAC) at 6 p.m. That contest will be the first of 16 straight in league play for the Panthers to round out the regular season.
Story by:
Cooper Weidenthaler
Â
