MIDLAND, Mich. - Trailing Northwood by three, 65-62, with just a few seconds remaining, Chris Rollins went to the line for a pair of free throws. Rollins made the first, missed the second on purpose and Luke Maranka converted the putback to send the game into overtime. In a high scoring extra period, the Panthers outscored their opponent, 19-13, and escaped Riepma Arena with a second victory over the Timberwolves in as many nights.

Davenport (12-13, 8-10 GLIAC) improved to 5-3 in overtime games since joining the GLIAC, has won five of the last six in that department and took the lead in the all-time series with Northwood, 7-6. On the other side, the Timberwolves fell to 4-20 on the season, 2-15 in league play and have lost six games in a row.

Jarrin Randall (26 points) secured the 12th 20-point game for a Panther this season and leads the team with four of them. Also scoring in double-figures for Davenport were Chris Rollins with 17, Luke Maranka with 15 (tied career high) and Jairus Stevens with 15. Stevens also brought down a team-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, the other coming at Grand Valley State on Jan. 25 (20 points and 10 rebounds). Marcedus Leech Jr. dished out four assists, Maranka notched a pair of blocks and Jeff Carrier and Rollins tallied two steals apiece.

The first half was a tight one that saw five ties and three lead changes. With that being said, Northwood's final lead was 12-10 and came with just over seven minutes played. Once it was 14-10 in favor of the home team, Randall cashed three-straight triples to give his team the lead for good. Aside from the final two deadlocks at 21-21 and 26-26, the Panthers led by as many as five on four occasions including 19-14, 21-16, 31-26, and 33-28 heading into halftime.

Out of the break, Davenport's advantage grew to as large as 10, 42-32, before Northwood responded with 14 of the next 16 points to go ahead by two, 46-44, at the 11:33 mark. Stevens then made a layup for the Panthers, but the Timberwolves took the lead back and wouldn't relinquish it again until the game was tied 65-65 heading into overtime. The visitors led by as many as six in the extra period, went 7-of-10 from the field in those five minutes and 3-of-5 from behind the arc.

Next up on the schedule, Davenport will be at Saginaw Valley State (17-9, 11-7 GLIAC) on Thursday for an 8 p.m. tip. The Panthers defeated the Cardinals earlier this season, 79-77, on Dec. 4 in the DU Student Center.

Story by: Cooper Weidenthaler
  Read Full Article