MARQUETTE, Mich. - Jarrin Randall went off for a career-high 37 points, which is tied for third in program history, but Davenport came up short at Northern Michigan on Thursday, 91-79, the team's first game in over a month. Next up, the Panthers will be at Michigan Tech (10-5, 6-3 GLIAC) on Saturday for a 2 p.m. opening tip against the Huskies.

Davenport falls to 7-5 overall, 3-2 in GLIAC play, 2-8 in the all-time series against the Wildcats, and 0-6 all time at Northern Michigan. On the other side, the Wildcats (8-8, 4-5 GLIAC) have won five of their last six games.

Randall joins Avery Hudson, 32 points on Feb. 1, 2019 at Ashland, and Chris Rollins, 35 points on Feb. 20, 2021 at Northern Michigan, as the only Panthers with a 30-point game in the program's Division II era (since 2017). In the process, the Chicago native also set new personal bests for field goals made with 14 (14-for-20), which is tied for first in DU history, and three-pointers made with seven (7-for-12), which is tied for second in team history.

Jairus Stevens was the other Panther in double-figures with 14 on 6-of-8 shooting in 25 minutes on the court. Luke Maranka brought down five rebounds, Rollins dished out five assists, Chaz Birchfield and Maranka each had a block, and Stevens notched three steals.

Randall scored the game's first points with a jumper under a minute in, but that would be Davenport's only lead of the game. The second and final tie came at 12-12 before Northern Michigan led by as many as 14, 39-25, and took a six-point advantage, 43-37, into halftime. Out of the break, the closest the Panthers could get was four, 43-39, when Stevens hit a layup, but the Wildcats pushed the deficit back to 16, 85-69, before winning with the 12-point margin.

Story by: Cooper Weidenthaler
  Read Full Article