GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Not only did Davenport snap a four-game losing streak on Monday night, but did so against the No. 15-ranked team in the nation, Ferris State. The Panthers held on for the two-point victory, 75-73, snapped the Bulldogs' nine-game winning streak and handed them their first GLIAC loss of the season. Next up, Davenport will look to ride the wave on Thursday when it hosts Michigan Tech and the opening tip is set for 8 p.m.
Davenport (10-10, 6-7 GLIAC) avenged Thursday's 91-74 loss to Ferris State in Big Rapids and improved to 3-2 in the all-time series with the Bulldogs. On the other side, Ferris State (18-4, 13-1 GLIAC) lost for the first time since Jan. 2 against No. 9 Minnesota Duluth while three of its four losses (7-3) have come on the road. The Panthers' last two wins over ranked opponents have come at home against Ferris State (Jan. 4, 2020, 69-65) and they are 3-5 against top-25 teams since making the jump to Division II prior to the 2017-18 season.
Chris Rollins led all scorers with 21 points to go with four assists, three steals and a rebound in 35 minutes on the court. Also scoring in double-figures for Davenport were
Luke Maranka (15),
Marcedus Leech Jr. (13) and
Jarrin Randall (10).
Chaz Birchfield paced the Panthers in rebounds with seven, Leech Jr. racked up five assists (to just one turnover) and three different players notched a block while both Maranka and Rollins tallied three steals apiece.
Davenport turned the ball over just nine times, its fewest since doing so two games in a row prior to the four-game skid, and held Ferris State 17 points below their league-leading average of 90. The Bulldogs gave the ball away 16 times, their most since the Minnesota Duluth game, while shooting just 41.4 percent (24-of-58) from the field, over eight percent worse than their season average coming in. The visitors also converted just nine of their 31 three-point attempts for a 29 percent clip, nearly 13 percent lower than the previous season average.
The Panthers were beat up on the glass, getting out-rebounded by 14, 40-26, including 12-3 on the offensive end, and were out-scored 15-0 in second-chance points. However, Davenport held the upper hand in points off turnovers (23-8), fast-break points (24-12) and points in the paint (32-28). The Panthers also registered 11 steals on the defensive end, just two off their season high of 13 set on Dec. 6 against Albion.
The first half saw a total of seven ties and eight lead changes before Ferris State went into the locker room up two, 38-36. Following the game's eighth and final deadlock at 38-38, the Bulldogs' Lee Higgins hit a fast-break triple that gave his team the advantage for the final time, 41-40. The Panthers responded by going ahead as many as eight at 56-48 and 64-56, but the Bulldogs weren't done quite yet. Ferris State battled all the way back and cut the margin to one, 72-71, with just 43 ticks remaining.
At the 21-second mark,
Jairus Stevens made an emphatic dunk over Ferris State's Logan Ryan, was fouled in the process and completed the old-fashioned three-point play to make it 75-71 in favor of the good guys. On the other end, the Bulldogs' Walt Kelser missed a three-point attempt and Ferris State's last two points came on a Ryan layup at the final buzzer.
Story by:
Cooper Weidenthaler
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