GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport men's basketball team will have two tough road tests this week against Purdue Northwest on Thursday (8:00 PM ET) and Parkside on Saturday (4:00 PM ET). Davenport will be looking to crack the win column in the conference on Thursday as they travel to Purdue Northwest. Both teams are in search of some momentum heading into 2023. Davenport has recent history on their side having won three straight in the series including a pair of games last season. DU won 93-91 in overtime at PNW on Dec. 11, 2021 and then returned home on Jan. 27 for an 84-56 victory. The Panther defense was on display in the home victory allowing just 31 percent from the floor including 18.5 percent from the arc by the Pride. On the flip side, Davenport shot 44.8 percent and canned 11 triples in the rout. Marcedus Leech Jr. led the team with 24 points in just 14 minutes of action. He went 9-of-12 from the floor including 6-of-8 from behind the arc. Sangolay Njie led the Pride with 12 points.

After a 14-14 season in 2021-22, the Rangers have looked to turn the corner going 10-3 thus far in 2022-23. Parkside sits atop the GLIAC standings as the only undefeated team at 4-0. In those four wins, Parkside has won by an average margin of 15 points per game. They had a six-game win streak snapped against No. 5 Missouri-St. Louis on Dec. 31 on the road by a final of 83-61. The Rangers were limited to 17 first-half points and shot 19.2 percent (5-of-26) against the talented Tritons. The Tritons had five players in double figures in scoring and finished at 57.4 percent from the floor. Rasheed Bello was a one-man show for the Rangers with 28 points, four steals, and three assists. He currently ranks second in the conference at 18.2 points per game and leads the league playing 34 minutes per game.

•    Cornerstone 84, Davenport 82 (Dec. 30)
Marcedus Leech Jr. was at the free throw line to shoot two with 0.4 seconds remaining and Davenport trailing Cornerstone, 84-82. Leech Jr. missed the first then the second on purpose before time expired and the Golden Eagles had held on for the two-point decision. Next up for the Panthers is a home date with East-West on Monday night at 7 p.m.

Jordan Sterling tied his career high and the game high in points with 23, Leech Jr. added 20 and Chaz Birchfield tied his personal best with 17. Birchfield also brought down a game-high and career-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double while Jaylen Hodges dished out a personal-best seven assists. Defensively, James Felton blocked a pair of shot attempts and four different Panthers notched a steal.

The first half saw a total of three ties and 10 lead changes while Cornerstone led for the entirety of the second. Each team enjoyed an eight-point lead in the first 20 minutes, including 20-12 for the home team and 45-37 for the visitors, the halftime score. After the break, the Golden Eagles pushed their advantage to as big as 12, 73-61, and the Panthers cut it to as few as one on two occasions, 78-77 and 83-82. The first of those two times, Assane Diouf missed the second free throw attempt that would have tied it.


•    Davenport 86, East-West 78 (Jan. 2)
The Davenport men's basketball team needed a strong second half on Monday to pull ahead of East-West University in an 86-78 home win to begin 2023. The Panthers and Phantoms were tied at 33 heading into the halftime locker room, but Davenport went on a 17-0 run early in the second half to turn a 36 deadlock into a 53-36 lead at the 14:57 mark. Marcedus Leech Jr. scored nine points during the run making three triples. James Felton scored five points during the stretch and Luke Bara's three-pointer gave Davenport a lead of 17 points.

The lead would remain at double digits in the second half until 28 seconds remaining as the Phantoms would not give up. De'Quannis Jackson turned in one of the best performances by an opponent in DU Student Center history for East-West. He finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists for the triple-double.

Davenport shot the rock well going 29-of-57 from the field. They were 14-of-28 in the first half and 15-of-29 in the second half. DU connected on 9-of-25 from the arc and were 19-of-37 at the free throw line. Leech Jr. led the squad with 20 points for his ninth 20-point career game and the second straight with 20 points. He went 8-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-9 behind the arc. He also had six boards, three assists, and three steals in 30 minutes. Chaz Birchfield had the first double-double of his career with 13 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes. Felton added 10 points, eight rebounds, one block, and one steal in 18 minutes. Jaylen Hodges off the bench had 11 points including seven free throws. He also tied for the team lead with four assists.

LIVE COVERAGE
Thursday, January 5 at Purdue Northwest - 8:00 PM ET - Live Video (JED TV) - Live Audio - Live Stats
Saturday, January 7 at Parkside - 4:00 PM ET - Live Video (FloSports) - Live Audio - Live Stats