GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport University men's basketball team trailed Northern Michigan by as many as 21 (52-31) on Senior Day Saturday before coming all the way back to within four, 59-55, with just under 10 minutes to play. However, the Wildcats (12-11, 8-8 GLIAC) didn't let the Panthers (10-12, 6-9 GLIAC) get any closer before holding them off by six, 81-75. Next up, Davenport will host Grand Valley State on Thursday with the opening tip scheduled for 8 p.m.

Three of the four Panther seniors scored in double-figures including Chris Rollins with a team-high 18, Jarrin Randall with 16, Jairus Stevens with 16, and Luke Maranka with 14. The fourth senior, Samm Jones, made his fifth start of the season with four assists, one rebound and a steal to no turnovers in 18 minutes of action. Stevens and Maranka each notched seven boards, Maranka stuffed a pair of shot attempts and Rollins racked up four steals.

Northern Michigan was red hot in the first half against Davenport's zone defense going 19-of-34 (55.9 percent) from the floor, including 11-of-22 (50 percent) from behind the arc. After the Panthers switched to a man-to-man look at halftime, the Wildcats shot just 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) from the field in the second half, including only 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) from deep. The home team outscored its visitors by 14, 44-30, in the final 20 minutes, but the 21-point margin was too much to overcome.

The Wildcats' Justin Brookens led all scorers with 20 points thanks in part to six makes in 12 attempts from three-point land. Also scoring in double-figures for the green and yellow were Max Bjorklund with 14 and John Kerr with 13. Northern Michigan did turn the ball over 20 times, second only to Albion's 22 on Dec. 6, and Davenport turned them into 28 points. The Panthers also had the advantage points in the paint (30-24) and fast-break points (24-6) while the Wildcats bested them in second-chance points (18-4) and bench points (19-11).

During Davenport's 24-7 second-half run that cut the margin to four, four different Panthers scored including Randall (10), Rollins (8), Stevens (4), and Marcedus Leech Jr. (2). The Panthers went 10-for-15 from the field in that span and 4-for-7 from long range. Northern Michigan was then able to stem the tide with five-straight points to push its advantage back to five, 60-55.

Story by: Cooper Weidenthaler
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