By: Ryan Thompson, Assistant AD for Communications
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport men's basketball team is riding a three-game win streak, their first since winning seven straight during their run to a GLIAC Tournament title in 2022. The 3-1 start for the Panthers is their best since starting the 2019-20 season at 5-1. The wins last week came against Kuyper and Tiffin at the DU Student Center. The Panthers scored a season-high 93 points against Kuyper and improved to 7-0 in the all-time series against the Cougars. Five players scored in double figures for Davenport led by
Sangolay Njie's 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting in 23 minutes.
Ken Walker added 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists in 19 minutes.
Zavion McClendon scored a season-high 14 points and connected on four three-pointers in 15 minutes.
Alden Ritt had the first of two double-doubles last week with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Ritt also set a new career-high with three blocks.
Imran Deen chipped in 10 points and four boards in 15 minutes. Davenport shot 47.4 percent from the floor (37-78), including 10-of-30 from behind the arc.
The Panthers rallied on Saturday for a 66-59 overtime win over Tiffin in regional action. The Dragons led by eight points at 44-36 with 9:28 left in the second half before the Panthers would eventually send the game into overtime on Walker's three-pointer with six seconds left to tie the game at 55. DU outscored the Dragons, 11-4, in the extra session and did not allow a point over the final 2:57 of overtime. The Panthers got a clutch triple by freshman
Keane Hinkle to take the lead for good and nailed down six straight free throws in the final 44 seconds with
Curtis Jackson connecting on four and Hinkle on the final two with 12 ticks remaining. Ritt's 15 rebounds set a new career high and were the most rebounds in a game by a Panther since James Humphrey snared 15 back on Feb. 8, 2012 at Madonna. Walker led the team for the third time this season with 18 points. He also registered five rebounds, two steals, and one assist in 41 minutes.
Jermaine Taggart and McClendon came off the bench to each score eight points and combined to go 6-of-11 from the floor.
Davenport has gotten off to a good start in large part to a very improved defense. The Panthers are currently fifth in Division II allowing 33.2 percent field goal shooting and it gets better from behind the arc as opponents are shooting just 21.1 percent, which is fourth in Division II. Walker is averaging 20.5 points per game which ranks third amongst GLIAC players and is top 50 in Division II.
Dylan Smith is averaging 9.5 rebounds per game, which leads the conference and is 36th nationally. Ritt has really showed up recently with the first two double-doubles of his career against Kuyper and Tiffin.
Scouting the Opponents
Claflin (2-1, 0-0 CIAA)
• The battle of the Panthers is the first game of the Tampa Thanksgiving Tournament and will be the first meeting between the schools. Claflin is a member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which is the nation's oldest historically Black athletic conference. The Panthers were predicted to finish second in the conference behind Virginia State and feature Xavier Tubbs-Matthews, who was selected to the preseason All-CIAA team.
• Tubbs-Matthews is a junior guard from Fayetteville, N.C. who spent his first two seasons at Elizabeth City State. He was named All-CIAA at ECSU and this season is averaging 11.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He is a playmaker who has 18 assists and just nine turnovers through three games.
• Alex Atkinson is a 6-10 sophomore from Columbia, S.C. and leads the team with 17.3 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. He scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed 21 rebounds on Nov. 15 at West Virginia State. He is also shooting 85.7 percent (12-of-14) at the free-throw line.
Tampa (2-2, 0-1 Sunshine State)
• The Spartans saw a dramatic turnaround in year two under head coach Linc Darner going from 8-20 in his first season to 20-11 and making the NCAA First Round in 2024-25. Tampa and Puerto Rico-Mayaguez will play on Friday and DU will face either the winner or loser based on their result against Claflin.
• The Spartans are currently 2-2 overall and last time out fell 112-9 against No. 1 Nova Southeastern on the road in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Ryan Blount led Tampa with 21 points and eight boards in 39 minutes. Trey Lane added 17 points in just 22 minutes before fouling out. Tampa shot 52.2 percent for the game and 85.2 percent at the free-throw line. Jaxon Nap led the Sharks with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Ross Reeves also added a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. He was one steal shy of a triple-double.
Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (0-1, Independent)
• The Tarzans played their first game of the season on Monday, Nov. 24 at No. 1 Nova Southeastern and fell 123-52 against the Sharks. Christian Guilfu and Angel Zayas each scored 10 points to lead the team. Esteban Saavedra led the team with six rebounds. The Tarzans shot 6-of-25 from the arc and 6-of-10 at the free-throw stripe for the game. Ross Reeves led the Sharks with 23 points and also had nine steals and four assists in just 16-plus minutes. Eli Allen added 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from deep and also had six boards and two steals.
LIVE COVERAGE
Friday, Nov. 28 - 7:00 PM vs. Claflin (
Live Video -
Live Stats)
Saturday, Nov. 29 - 5:00 PM or 7:00 PM vs. Tampa or PR-Mayaguez (
Live Video -
Live Stats)
