The Ashland University men's basketball team held host Davenport to just 39 percent shooting, but the Panthers overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to beat the Eagles, 73-65, on Saturday (Feb. 3) at the DU Student Center.
Thirteen of the Panthers' 20 field goals came from beyond the arc and the home team was nearly perfect at the line (20-for-22, 91 percent) on their way to the upset.
The Eagles (15-7, 8-6 GLIAC) built their first-half lead on the strength of their own 3-point shooting as they drained 6-of-11 (55 percent) from beyond the arc. They also had nine assists on 11 field goals as they moved the ball well to find open shooters.
Senior forward Wendell Davis scored 12 of his team-high 21 points in the first half as he also collected four boards and four assists in the first 20 minutes.
The game was tied at 17 before the Eagles went on a 7-0 run to generate separation. Sophomore center Drew Noble scored in the paint and junior forward Phil Frentsos drilled a three in that stretch. The Eagles pushed the lead to 13 with 3:30 left in the first half as Davis scored nine straight points to give AU a 35-22 advantage.
Davenport (10-12, 4-10 GLIAC) cut the margin down to six, but redshirt-freshman guard Joey Zahn hit two free throws to make it 37-29 going into halftime.
After the break, the Eagles still led by eight on Davis' 3-pointer with 16 minutes to play, but the Panthers used a 14-1 run over the next six minutes to take a 48-43 lead. Davenport hit four treys in that stretch.
The Eagles had the deficit down to three points, 57-54, with 4:28 left after Davis hit a couple free throws, but Robbie Bramhill and Delano Smith hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the deficit back to nine. The margin was never closer than five the rest of the way.
Senior forward Marsalis Hamilton had 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting and Noble tacked on 12 points and five rebounds to join Davis in double figures. Zahn and redshirt-junior guard Ben Haraway had seven points apiece.
Bramhill paced the Panthers with a game-high 24 points, hitting six 3-pointers. Janeau Joubert had 13 points and six rebounds for Davenport.
On Thursday, Ashland welcomes Lake Superior State to Kates Gymnasium where the Eagles are 10-1 this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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