MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Panther men's basketball team jumped out to a quick lead and kept that lead until the 9:45 mark of the first half in what turned out to be a double-digit loss at Northern Michigan on Saturday afternoon. It was a solid opening 10:15 for the Panthers who took an 8-1 lead in the first two-plus minutes of the game against the Wildcats.
Jaden Terrell's three-pointer gave the Panthers just the start they were looking for and they kept the lead until NMU tied it at 13 with 13:43 left in the first half.
The Wildcats took their first lead at 18-16 at the 9:45 mark and they wouldn't relinquish it for the rest of the game. The Panthers were stuck on 16 points from 11:47 until 8:29 and during that time the Wildcats increased their lead to 22-16. The deficit for Davenport grew to 42-24 at the 3:35 mark as Max Bjorklund scored to raise his game total to 14 points. Davenport shot 9-of-28 in the first half and were 4-of-10 from behind the arc. NMU shot 16-of-37 from the floor including 8-of-19 from deep. Leech Jr. scored 13 points in the first half to lead the Panthers. Dylan Kuehl led the Wildcats with 18 first-half points.
Leech Jr. would go on to score 22 second-half points and finish with a career-high 35 points. It was tied for sixth all-time at DU for points in a game. He shot 11-of-20 from the floor including 5-of-10 from three-point range. He also made 8-of-10 at the free throw line and corraled four rebounds.
Jordan Sterling finished with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. DU finished 47.2 percent overall compared to 49.2 for Northern Michigan.
