DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Panthers embarked on their last non-conference trip of the young season and came away with two wins, a tournament championship, two all-tournament team members, and a tournament MVP. Davenport defeated Embry-Riddle by 30 points to take the tournament trophy. This is the second time Davenport has traveled down to Daytona Beach and won the tournament, the last time was back in 2012 when the Panthers were an NAIA program. During the two wins the Panthers averaged 99.5 points and had an average margin of victory of 28 points.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Davenport-92 | Embry-Riddle-62
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.
POINTS PER HALF
First Half: DU-39 | ER-34
Second Half: DU-53 | ER-28
HOW IT HAPPENED
Davenport jumped out on top of the Eagles quickly to start the game. The Panthers scored the first points of the game, a layup by Dyllon Hudson-Emory, and proceeded to build a 25-6 lead with 12:36 to play in the half. During the 25-6 run junior Robbie Bramhill caught fire off the bench, he went 4/4 from the floor including a trio of deep balls. Following the third three by Bramhill to make the score 25-6, the Eagles went on an eight-point run of their own to slow the Panthers momentum. Embry-Riddle continued to gain momentum and cut DU's lead down to only five heading into halftime.
The Panthers knew they had to open the second half on a run or else the Eagles could gain momentum on their home court. Davenport outscored Embry-Riddle 15-6 in the opening five minutes of the second half, which resulted in a 54-40 advantage for DU. The lead hovered around 14 for the next seven minutes, until the Panthers went on a six-point run to lead by 20 or more for the first time in the game. In the six point run Avery Hudson scored four points and Janeau Joubert chipped in two free throws. The lead continued to grow as Hudson-Emory scored three consecutive layups to give Davenport a 83-58 advantage with 4:25 remaining in the game. Davenport cleared the bench and Zach Pangborn, Zack Nieuwkoop, Jake Lee and Chaz Birchfield helped continue the high energy down the stretch. Birchfield and Nieuwkoop each scored a basket and then Delano Smith added a late layup to give Davenport the 30-point win.
STAT LEADERS
Points: Hudson-Emory (27)
Rebounds: Hudson-Emory (7)
Assists: Hudson (6)
Steals: Chris Rollins/Hudson-Emory/Hudson/Smith (2)
Blocks: Rollins/Hudson-Emory/Bramhill/Nieuwkoop (1)
ALL-TOURNAMEN TEAM
Dyllon Hudson-Emory
Khadim Dieng
Avery Hudson (MVP)
COACHES CORNER
"Terrific effort by all our kids. We guarded incredibly well, holding them to 20% shooting from three and held them to only 62 points on their home court. I thought we were able to make a really good basketball team uncomfortable for extended periods of time.
I thought our bigs did a terrific job on the big kid and our wings had a real focus to them in running their two bombers off the three point line. Also, we were able to our rebound our opponent for the second straight night. Those two things were our keys for the game and we were able to get both accomplished.
Incredibly pleased with our kids ability and willingness to share the ball. We set the school record last night with 33 assists against a NCAA Tournament team from a year ago and I felt it carried over tonight. We made some incredibly unselfish plays for each other tonight. Which led to easy baskets and generated a great deal of excitement on the other end of the floor for us." - Head Coach Burt Paddock.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will now start GLIAC play as they travel to Indiana on Thursday, November 29 to play Purdue Northwest. Davenport will then travel to Wisconsin to take on Parkside next Saturday.
Story by: Devin Steiner