GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport University men's basketball team concluded its opening weekend with a 55-45 loss to William Jewell on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 9) at the DU Student Center. 

It was a low-scoring first half in which both squads struggled to put the ball in the basket, as the Cardinals (2-0, 0-0 GLVC) took a 20-14 lead into the locker room. The strong defense on both sides was evident, with the two teams combining for 20 turnovers in the half.

After the Panthers (0-2, 0-0 GLIAC) fell behind by 16 (37-21) seven minutes into the second half, which was the largest deficit to that point, Alden Ritt drove the baseline and found Jonas VanderWoude for a corner three, making the score 37-24.

DU sprung together a 6-0 run, capped by a pair of free throws from Montrel Oliver Jr. and brought the game to within 10 points (47-37). However, it was too late to mount a comeback for the Panthers, as they were unable to get within less than eight points down the stretch. 

Jovan Tucker led the Panthers in scoring, pouring in 10 points while grabbing five boards in the loss. Matyas Vrabel recorded a game-high 13 rebounds for DU while also scoring eight on 3-for-5 shooting from the floor. Oliver Jr. and Aiden Moon each chipped in with five points for the Panthers.

Up Next 
The Panthers will host Grace Christian on Wednesday (Nov. 13) at 7 p.m. in Grand Rapids, Mich. at the DU Student Center.