GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Currently riding a four-game winning streak, the Davenport University men's basketball team will hit the road in GLIAC play for the first time this season. The Panthers will travel to Kenosha, Wis. for a second time this season (Nov. 19-20), but to face Parkside this time, before heading to Indiana to face Purdue Northwest. Davenport is looking for its first ever 4-0 start to GLIAC play.

•  Davenport 71, Wayne State 59: The halftime adjustments worked on Thursday night in the GLIAC opener as Davenport outscored Wayne State, 40-26, in the second half en route to a 71-59 victory inside the DU Student Center. The Panthers are now 4-1 in GLIAC openers since joining the league prior to the 2017 season. Jarrin Randall led Davenport with 15 points, two shy of his career high, on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point land and 3-of-4 at the free throw line while Chris Rollins also scored in double-figures with 12. Marcedus Leech Jr. (9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal) and Jakub Dombek (9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 assists, and 2 steals) each stuffed the stat sheet while Noble Cooper and Jairus Stevens each chipped in two steals. Breaking down Davenport's defensive effort even more, Wayne State shot just 38.1 percent (24-of-63) from the field, including only 29 percent (9-of-31) in the second half, and made just one of its nine three-point attempts (11 percent) for the game. The Warriors did out-rebound the Panthers 19-7 on the offensive glass and all 26 of their second-half points were scored in the paint. Wayne State turned the ball over 18 times, eight of which came on steals by Davenport. The first half was a highly contested affair that saw a total of two ties and two lead changes with Wayne State leading by as many as nine, 29-20. Davenport then closed the half with an 11-4 that made the deficit just two points, 33-31, heading into halftime. Out of the break, Chaz Birchfield (3-of-3, 6 points) made back-to-back layups at the 14:46 mark that put the Panthers ahead by three, 41-38, and gave them the lead for good. From there, the home team would go on to lead by as many as 12, like in the final score, and the visitors could never get closer than two again (41-39 and 49-47).

•  Davenport 79, Saginaw Valley State 77: Facing a halftime deficit of 12 points, 44-32, to Saginaw Valley State, the Davenport University men's basketball team once again flipped a switch at the break to escape with a 79-77 victory. The win marked the Panthers third straight and sixth in a row over the Cardinals to lead the all-time series by four, 6-2. Four Panthers scored in double-figures including Chris Rollins (21) with his 17th career 20-point game, Jarrin Randall (13), Marcedus Leech Jr. (12), and Jairus Stevens (11). Leech Jr. and Jakub Dombek each brought down seven rebounds, Rollins dished out six assists with a pair of steals, and Dombek blocked two shots. That makes three times in his five games that Dombek has had multiple blocks. Former Panther, Delano Smith, came in averaging 18.6 points per game, which was top five in the conference, and he scored 16 against Davenport, but needed 22 shots to do so (6-of-22 FG, 2-of-10 3FG). As a team, Saginaw Valley State shot a red-hot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field in the first half, but Davenport buckled down in the final 20 minutes to allow a clip of just 39.3 percent (11-of-28). The Panthers were also much better than Thursday on the offensive glass as they out-rebounded the Cardinals 17-9 on that end and 45-34 overall. DU controlled the team scoring categories, including 18-8 in points off turnovers, 16-9 in second-chance scoring, 25-7 in bench points, and 32-24 in paint points. Davenport scored seven of the game's first nine points before Saginaw Valley State rattled off a 9-0 run to go up by four, 11-7. A Stevens free throw and Leech Jr. triple deadlocked things at 11-11 and later, a Randle trey gave the home team a five-point advantage, 18-13. The visitors punched back with 12-straight points to lead by seven, 25-18, and eventually pushed their lead to 12, 44-32, heading into the locker room. The first tie of the second half (48-48) didn't come until the 15:21 mark when Leech Jr. hit another three-pointer and that was the first of six ties and seven lead changes in those 20 minutes. Fast forward to late in the game and Davenport was up four, 75-71, with just under three minutes to go. From there, Saginaw Valley State cut the deficit to one on two occasions, 76-75 and 78-77, the second coming with just 34 seconds left. Then Smith came down for the Cardinals, missed a pull-up jumper, Dombek got the rebound, and was fouled. Dombek made one of two, Rollins grabbed the board after the second and threw the ball to the other end to let the clock run out and seal the victory.

•  Davenport 72, Albion 69: Trailing their opponent at halftime for the fourth time this season and third game in a row, the Davenport University men's basketball team was looking at a 16-point deficit, 39-23, on Monday night against Division III Albion. However, just like the last two times, the Panthers turned it on in the second half, outscored the Britons by 19, 49-30, and escaped with a 72-69 victory, their fourth in a row. In those last three second halves, Davenport has outscored its opponents by 47, 136-89, and has a second-half advantage of 54 points, 313-259, for the season. Marcedus Leech Jr. (20 points) led all scorers with his fifth-career 20-point game, but first at the Division II level, on 7-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-9 from behind the arc. Leech Jr. also notched five rebounds, two steals and an assist while Chris Rollins was the other Panther in double-figures thanks to 11 points, five assists, four rebounds, and a block. Jakub Dombek paced all players in rebounds with six while Jaylen Hodges was a menace on the defensive end racking up a pair of blocks and six steals, a mark that is tied for ninth in program history. Albion scored the first field goal of the game with a three-pointer and had the advantage for the entirety of the first half. The Britons led by as many as 17 at one point, 35-18, and went into the locker room up 16, as mentioned above. Out of the break, the visitors made a layup and hit a three to take their biggest lead of the game at 21, 44-23. Then, slowly but surely, the home team chipped away and was able to tie the game up for the first time with just over six and a half minutes to play, 60-60. Following three more ties, the last being 69-69, Noble Cooper, Rollins and Chaz Birchfield each converted a free throw to seal the victory for Davenport. Once it was tied 60-60, Albion went just 2-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-8 at the free throw line the rest of the game.

LIVE COVERAGE
Thursday, Dec. 9 - 8:30 PM ET - Listen (Rick Berkey) - Live Stats - Live Video
Saturday, Dec. 11 - 4:00 PM ET - Listen (Rick Berkey) - Live Stats - Live Video
 

Related Videos

Now Playing:

• Play Video