GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Davenport men's basketball fell to Parkside 77-71 on Thursday night at the DU Student Center. The Panthers' offense was bolstered by scoring 40 points in the paint, but it was not enough to overcome the free throw shooting by the Rangers.
Davenport and Parkside started with balanced play, with both teams exchanging early leads. DU took a 12-8 lead at the 13:10 mark as
Imran Deen converted on the alley-oop from
Marshaun Flakes. The teams were knotted at 12 entering the second media timeout as scoring points was hard to come by. Parkside inched ahead 21-15 at the 8:08 mark as Luka Mateski hit a pair of free throws, which would be a steady occurrance throughout the game. The lead grew to 31-21 with 4:16 left in the half as Josiah Palmer upped his game total to 14 points. DU fell back 36-21 at 2:34 left, but they fought back to down 36-29 by half.
The second half was DU fighting, but not quite being able to overtake the Rangers. UWP led 44-39 at the 15:10 mark after
Curtis Jackson's free throws. Parkside extended their lead to 58-43 at the 10:18 mark and kept the double-digit lead until 3:51 remaining when
Ken Walker's 3-pointer made it 69-60. He was fouled on the shot and then converted the rare four-point play. The deficit was 69-64 for DU after a Flakes three-point play, but Mateski connected on two free throws to go back up 71-64. Walker was fouled on a three-pointer with 18 seconds left and made all three tries to make it 75-71, but Mateski finished with two more freebies to finish 18-of-18 at the charity stripe.
Davenport Top Performers
Ken Walker
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- 26 points
- 3 three-pointers made
- 7/7 free throws made
Curtis Jackson
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- 12 points
- 5 rebounds
Alden Ritt
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- 10 points
- 6 rebounds
- 2 three-pointers made
Marshaun Flakes
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- 9 points
- 1 block
- 1 steal
Game Notes:
- Jackson made 5 or more field goals in 5 consecutive games.
- Jackson posted at least 1 assist in 19 consecutive games.
- Walker scored 26 points, surpassing his season average of 22.14.
- The Panthers were outrebounded 42-29.
- Luka Mateski set a GLIAC record going 18-18 at the free throw line.
- The Rangers' 26 free throws made are the second-most by a Panthers opponent this season.
