LIBERTY, Mo. — Davenport men's basketball secured a 63-55 victory over William Jewell on Saturday at the Mabee Center, snapping a three-game losing skid against the Cardinals. Davenport capitalized on their dominance in the paint with 28 points, while adding 18 fast-break points to their tally. Davenport was able to take a 29-20 lead at halftime and kept the Cardinals just far enough away in the closing minutes of the second half to earn their first win of the 2025-26 season.
Davenport scored the first four points and William Jewell took a brief lead at 8-6 coming at the 14:03 mark.
Jermaine Taggart connected on a triple to regain the lead and the teams traded buckets until the Panthers began to create some breathing room with an 18-12 lead at the 10:16 mark. From there, DU built their first double-digit lead at 25-15 after a
Dylan Smith layup. Smith also had a standout performance with the third double-digit rebounding game of his career, tying his career high with 12 rebounds. The Panthers were able to build a nine-point lead at halftime.
Davenport opened the second half with a strong start, highlighted by Smith's fast-break layup off Walker's steal and assist at 19:22. The Panthers built their lead to the largest of the game at 36-20 at 17:58 following a tip-in basket by
Alden Ritt. Ritt also achieved a career-high 10 rebounds. William Jewell began to cut into the deficit and trailed 46-39 with 10:20 left in the contest. The Cardinals eventually tied the contest up at 53-53 with 2:43 remaining, but the Panthers responded with a 10-2 run to end the game. Ritt nailed a key three-pointer to extend the lead to 61-55 with 42 seconds to play and Walker's assist tied his career high with seven.
Davenport improved their shooting from 35.7 percent in the first half to 46.2 percent in the second half. DU had another solid night at the free throw line going 14-of-19, including 8-of-11 in the second half.
Head coach Burt Paddock after the win...
"I'm happy for our kids and proud of their toughness. It challenges you in many ways to give up a double-digit lead on the road at the three-minute mark and then find a way to compete and finish the job against a good team like William Jewell. Our staff is super excited to get back home and have a great week of practice with a couple of games under our belt. We have so many new faces and I really think this team has a chance to make huge strides and play very good ball in the months ahead."
Davenport Top Performers
Ken Walker
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- 19 points
- 8/8 free throws made
- 7 assists (tying his career high)
- 3 steals
Dylan Smith
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- 7 points
- 12 rebounds (tying his career high)
- 3 assists
- 2 steals
Alden Ritt
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- 7 points
- 10 rebounds (career high)
- 2 assists
Imran Deen
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- 8 points
- 3/3 field goals made
- 6 rebounds
In their next game, Davenport will host Kuyper College (3-4) on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. The matchup will take place at the DU Student Center.
