WESTVILLE, Ind. — Davenport men's basketball (12-10, 6-8 GLIAC) fell to Purdue Northwest (10-11, 6-8 GLIAC) 62-56 in a closely contested game on Saturday afternoon. The game featured five ties and six lead changes, with Davenport holding a five-point advantage at halftime. However, Purdue Northwest capitalized on free-throw opportunities, converting 20 of 28 attempts to secure the win. The Panthers had been 10-1 when leading at halftime this season before this week, but fell at Wayne State on Thursday and versus the Pride today.
The game began with a layup by Purdue Northwest's Kyle Ross, but the Pride would then trail 13-6 at the 11:27 mark as
Aidan Moon pumped a three-pointer. The lead grew to eight and then the Pride went on a 11-0 run to take a 18-15 lead at the 7:15 mark. Davenport regained the lead with six straight points on a three-pointer by
Alden Ritt and
Ken Walker. Walker would later connect on a pair of free throws for the 29-24 halftime lead.
Purdue Northwest gained a 37-33 lead in the first four minutes of the second half. The lead would balloon to 11 points at the 10:08 mark and continue to grow at 52-37 entering the under-8 media timeout. The Panthers made a feverish comeback down 14 with 3:26 left. Moon scored five straight points to make it 60-51 and
Curtis Jackson followed with a three-point play. Jackson with 36 seconds left cut the deficit to 60-56 on a put-back layup. The Pride made both at the foul line with 21 seconds to go and Jackson was blocked at the rim and Ritt missed a three-pointer as the Pride secured the rebound and the win.
Jackson led the team in scoring for the third time this season with 13 points and recorded three steals, and four assists.
Dylan Smith contributed 12 points and collected six rebounds while posting two blocks. Moon finished with a season-high 12 points and grabbed six boards. Walker added eight points and secured three rebounds. Walker tied his season-low with eight points with the other at Northern Michigan on Jan. 2. It was just the second time this season he didn't hit double digits. Walker had a season-high 38 points in the first meeting against Purdue Northwest this season. The free throw stripe discrepancy was notable as Purdue Northwest went 20-of-28 compared to 6-of-8 for the visiting Panthers. DU shot 47.8 percent in the first half, but could not sustain that at 34.3 percent in the second half, including 1-of-10 from behind the arc. PNW shot 26.9 percent in the first half and adjusted to 41.4 percent in the second half.
The Panthers are now in a three-way tie for sixth place in the GLIAC. They are back home on Thursday, Feb. 12 against Parkside at 7:30 PM.
