HOUGHTON, Mich. - The cold weather outside didn't have any bearing on the heat that was coming from the Davenport men's basketball team on offense in a 90-77 win at Michigan Tech on Thursday night at the SDC Gym. The Panthers (6-12, 2-6 GLIAC) got their second straight GLIAC road win by shooting season highs in field goal percentage (61.4) and three-point percentage (52.6) while also going 10-of-12 at the free throw line.
It was a torrid first half for the Panthers who shot 69.7 percent (23-of-33) and led 53-42 at the break. The Panthers trailed early in the contest down 7-2 in the first 2:40 after a triple by Marcus Tomashek. DU took their first lead since 2-0 at the 8:06 mark of the first half after a
Marcedus Leech Jr. layup on the fast break after a steal. The Huskies regained the lead 31-26 with 6:01 left in the opening half, but the Panthers owned the rest of the half outscoring the Huskies 27-11. DU built a 50-36 lead with 1:08 left in the half on a
Jordan Sterling three-pointer.
Leech Jr. scored 21 points in the first half as DU built an 11-point halftime advantage. The Panther lead ballooned to 26 points (75-49) at the 10:23 mark of the second half and the Huskies would trim it down to 11 points (88-77) with 58 seconds remaining. The Panthers were never really threatened in the second half hitting the 90-point mark for the second time this season.
Leech Jr. finished with 28 points on 12-of-16 from the floor including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. He and
Jeff Carrier led the team with three steals. Carrier was back on the court after missing the last six games and played 18-plus minutes with five points and two assists. He also led the team with a plus-24 when he was on the court. Sterling finished with 18 points going 7-of-12 from the floor. He also had four boards, three assists, and a steal.
James Felton was the third Panther in double figures with 12 points and he also grabbed four rebounds in 21-plus minutes.
Jaylen Hodges chipped in eight points in just 14-plus minutes and also had four rebounds and three assists.
