Box Score

A three-point play by Jerome Talton (East Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw H.S.) with 32 seconds to play gave Lourdes the lead and the Gray Wolves held on to score a 59-55 upset win over #10 Davenport on Saturday afternoon at the DU Student Center in Grand Rapids, Mich.
 
The win is Lourdes sixth all-time in 20 tries against the NAIA Division II top-25 and marks the highest ranked program the Gray Wolves have ever toppled.
 
"This is a great win for our program," head coach Andre Smith stated after the game.  "We fought hard and stayed together as a team.  It's our first time ever beating Davenport but we had great preparation.  For us to win a game against a great team like this is big."
 
After Talton's three-point play, Davenport missed a triple try of its own and Talton was fouled with 10 seconds remaining.  He made both free throws to push the lead to five and Elvin Butler (Akron, Ohio/East H.S.) added four more free throws in the final seconds to complete the upset.
 
"Rome had a great game," Smith added.  "He and Elvin made some big free throws down the stretch as well."
 
Lourdes never trailed in the first half, jumping out to a quick 9-2 lead.  Davenport cut the lead to two only to have the Gray Wolves push the lead back to seven, 22-15 late in a defensive first half.  The Panthers again cut the lead to two in the final minute of the opening stanza before Jerah'me Williams (Youngstown, Ohio/Campbell H.S.) hit a jumper at the buzzer to give Lourdes a 25-21 lead at the break.
 
The Gray Wolves led by five with 14 minutes to play in the game before the Panthers went on a run.  A 15-6 spurt put Davenport in front by four and the Panthers would lead into the game's final minutes.  Davenport led by five with four minutes to play before four straight points by Zach Steinmetz (Toledo, Ohio/Saint John's H.S.) cut the Gray Wolves' deficit to one.  Trailing by two with two minutes to play, Butler tied the game at 50 with 1:40 to play, starting the 7-0 run that put Lourdes on top for good.
 
Butler led Lourdes with 16 points off of the bench while Eric Worthey (Cleveland, Oho/Cuyahoga Valley Christian H.S.) added 14 points.  Talton and Steinmetz each added 10 points as the Gray Wolves had four players in double figures.
 
Lourdes shot 44.4% from the floor for the game and committed just 11 turnovers.  The Gray Wolves out rebounded the Panthers 36-28.
 
"We did a great job on the boards," Smith concluded.  "That was huge to help us win."
 
Dominez Burnett led Davenport (6-1, 2-1 WHAC) with 20 points while JaVontae Ford added 10 points for the Panthers.
 
Lourdes (6-1, 3-0) will face another ranked foe on Tuesday evening as the Gray Wolves return to action on the road against #17 Madonna.  Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at The Activities Center.