DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - An NAIA National Tournament-type game went No. 11 Davenport's way on Saturday night. The Panthers pulled away late to take the top 25 battle over No. 16 Embry-Riddle in the championship game of the 2012 Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout presented by SW Grill. The Eagles (2-1) suffered their first loss of the young season while Davenport (4-1) claimed a second victory in as many days over an NAIA II top 25 opponent.
Both teams proved they could shoot the ball efficiently with .491 (ERAU) and .460 (DU) field goal percentages for the contest, but it was the Eagles' slow start in the first half, coupled with 15 turnovers that allowed Davenport to claim the victory. Embry-Riddle came back from a five-point halftime deficit to take the lead several times in the closing period, but Davenport scored nine of the final 11 points in the game to come away with the win.
Whenever the Panthers needed a basket, junior JaVontae Ford stepped up, scoring 21 points for his team en route to tournament MVP honors. Ford was 4-for-5 from three while also grabbing eight rebounds.
Davenport came out under control in the opening moments of the game, taking an 18-11 lead at the 11:48 mark on a Ryan Dame three-pointer. The Eagles turned the ball over 11 times in the frame, and despite shooting 54 percent from the floor in the half, found themselves trailing DU throughout the first.
DeForest Carter led the way for the Eagles with 11 points in the first half.
The Panthers increased their advantage to seven at the 17:17 mark in the second when Dearmond Davis hit a jumper in the lane, but the Eagles were able to hit a pair from downtown sandwiched around a Davenport layup to cut the lead to three.
Two minutes went by without either team scoring midway throught the final period until Carter got a layup to go down with just over 11 minutes left in regulation. A
Daniel Kiesling jumper cut the Eagle deficit to one with eight mintues remaming and following a defensive stop,
Billy Serle gave Embry-Riddle it's first lead of the game with a three-pointer in front of the Eagle bench.
The Blue and Gold stretched it's advantage to three at the 5:45 mark on another Serle jumper, this time inside the arc. But just a few moments later, Dawid Czerniawksi tied the game with a bucket for the Panthers.
The two squads traded baskets until 90 seconds left. With the game tied at 72-72, Gabe VanderJagt was fouled and stepped to the line before calmly sinking both free throws, giving Davenport the lead for good.
Cesar Pastrana missed an open-look on the next trip down and the Eagles were forced to foul Dame who repeated his teammates performance at the charity stripe with two made free throws.
Carter accounted for the final Eagle points of the night with a driving layup with 43 seconds left, but VanderJagt made three free throws and grabbed a steal that lead to a breakaway bucket, clinching the Panther victory.
VanderJagt was the only Panther in double-figures other than Ford, but every DU player that got in the game scored.
Carter finished with 22 to lead all scorers, he collected five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in the loss.
Daniel Mondragon chipped in 14 points and
Jason Powell reached double-figures as well with 10.
Rico Saldana paced Embry-Riddle on the boards with 10.
The Blue and Gold plays a home game against DeVry (Fla.) on Tuesday before trekking to Helena, Mont. to take on Montana Tech and Carroll (Mont.) in the Carroll College Classic.
Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout All-Tournament Team
Jeremy Bennington, Shawnee State
DeForest Carter, Embry-Riddle
Cesar Pastrana, Embry-Riddle
Gabe VanderJagt, Davenport
Dominez Burnett, Davenport
JaVontae Ford, Davenport (MVP)
