GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Despite a slow start on Senior Day Saturday, Davenport capitalized on a 12-0 run to end the first half and pulled away from Wayne State in the second. The Panthers outscored their opponent by 11, 40-29, in the second half en route to the 20-point victory, 81-61, and swept the season series with the Warriors.

The win improved Davenport to 17-8 overall and 9-6 in GLIAC play with sole possession of fourth place in the current league standings. On the other side, Wayne State (4-15, 1-14 GLIAC) has dropped 12 games in a row and 14 of its last 15. The Panthers will play their final home game of the regular season on Thursday when they host Northwood for a 7:30 p.m. tip.

One of Davenport's four seniors being recognized on Saturday, Robbie Bramhill, poured in 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting (4-of-8 3FG) to go with six rebounds and a career-high four steals in 27 minutes of action. Fellow senior, Janeau Joubert, also scored in double-figures with 14, followed by Chris Rollins with 14 and Evan Hines with 13. Bramhill and Joubert were joined in the pregame ceremony by Chris Pearl (nine points, eight rebounds) and Zach Pangborn (three rebounds, two assists and a steal). Tafari Beckford tied Pearl in boards with eight while Pearl was also the team leader in assists with four.

Aside from a pair of ties at 22-22 and 24-24, Wayne State led Davenport for the first 14 minutes and change. The Panthers took their first lead of the game, 29-28, at the 5:42 mark when Rollins hit a three-pointer in transition. The Warriors answered with back-to-back two-pointers to go up by three, 32-29, before Davenport ended the half with that 12-0 run to lead by nine, 41-32, at the break. Four different Panthers scored during that three and a half minute spurt and were led by six points from Joubert. Out of the intermission, Davenport pushed its lead to 13, 51-38, before Wayne State countered with a 10-2 burst to cut it to five, 53-48, with under 10 minutes to go. The Warriors would never get any closer than that, though, as the Panthers went on to lead by as many as 23 at 78-55 and 80-57.

Davenport brought down 41 rebounds and finished with 40 or more in that category for just the sixth time this season (6-0 record). The Panthers also improved to 8-1 this season when they secure 39 or more rebounds. Davenport out-rebounded Wayne State by 10, 41-31, including seven on the offensive glass, 12-5. The Panthers manhandled the Warriors in multiple important team categories including points off turnovers (17-5), second-chance points (13-6), bench points (20-3), and fast-break points (21-5). Davenport made 12 of its 23 looks from deep (52.2 percent) and is now 9-0 this season when it shoots 38.5 percent or better from long range.

Story by: Cooper Weidenthaler