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In a battle between two of the top defensive teams in NAIA Division II, Lourdes limited fourth-ranked Davenport to just 21.6% shooting and 32 total points on Wednesday evening to score a 53-32 upset victory on Senior Night at Tam-o-Shanter.
 
The win is the eighth all-time for Lourdes against an opponent ranked in the top-25 since the program began in the 2010-20111 season, three of which have come against top-10 ranked Davenport teams over the past two seasons.  It also marked the highest ranked opponent in which the Gray Wolves have ever defeated.  The 32 points also marked the fewest points Davenport had scored in a game in program history.
 
"That's one heck of a win," head coach Andre Smith said after the game.  "It's a great way for our seniors to go out here at home.  It was a great team effort.  Any time you hold a team, nevertheless the fourth-ranked team in the country, to 32 points for the game and 13 in the second half, you're playing great defense.  I give our kids a great deal of credit as well as to our coaching staff for their preparation.  This has to be one of our biggest wins in program history."
 
Lourdes entered the game ranked third in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 58.6 points per game while Davenport checked in sixth, surrendering just 62.3 points per night.
 
The two sides combined to make just 15-of-50 shots from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.  Lourdes took the early lead 10-5 just over eight minutes into the contest, but a 6-0 run by Davenport gave the visitors a 16-14 lead at the 3:24 mark before intermission.  The teams traded leads late in the first half before Zach Steinmetz (Toledo, Ohio/Saint John's H.S.) drained a three-pointer from the right wing just before halftime to give the Gray Wolves a 21-19 lead at the break.
 
"The three Zach hit before break gave us some momentum going into the locker room," Smith added.  "We carried that into the second half."
 
Baskets by senior Brillon Pritchett (Gary, Ind./McAdams [Miss.] H.S.) and E.J. Blackwell (Rochester, Pa./Rochester H.S.) to open the second half followed by a pair for technical free throws from Blackwell opened up an eight-point advantage for the Gray Wolves as Davenport was held scoreless for the first five minutes of the stanza.
 
After the Panthers cut the lead to five, back-to-back three-pointers by Julian Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Horizon H.S.) and fifth-year senior Jake DuPree (Toledo, Ohio/Whiteford H.S.) pushed the lead to 11, 33-22, with 12:49 to play.
 
"Those two three-pointers were huge for us," Smith stated.  "Both came as the shot clock was expiring and allowed us to push the lead to double figures for the first time."
 
Lourdes built the lead to 14, 3-23, before Davenport closed the gap.  A 9-2 run over six minutes pulled the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference leader to within seven, 39-32, with 4:29 remaining.  Blackwell responded going the length of the floor for a lay-in and was fouled, starting a 14-0 Gray Wolf run to close the game. 
 
Lourdes did not allow a field goal over the final 5:38 and limited the Panthers to just 4-of-24 shooting (16.7%) in the second half.  Davenport finished the night 11-of-51 overall and 3-of-27 (11.1%) from three-point range.  The Gray Wolves also forced 14 turnovers.
 
The Gray Wolves shot just 36.6% from the field, but made 4-of-9 three-pointers, all at critical times.  Lourdes also connected on 19-of-22 (86.4%) free throws.
 
Steinmetz led Lourdes with 17 points while Blackwell added 15, making all nine of his free throw attempts.
 
Dominez Burnett, the WHAC's leading scorer at 22.0 points per game entering the contest, good for ninth nationally, led Davenport (24-5, 18-3 WHAC) with just 10 points.  He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
 
"To hold what may very well be the player of the year in the conference to just 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting is another testament to our defense tonight," Smith concluded.
 
DuPree, Pritchett, and Noah Guthrie (Glouster, Ohio/Trimble H.S.) were honored pregame prior to their final home regular season contest as seniors as was Isiah Boddie (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne H.S.), who missed the game due to injury.
 
Lourdes (17-12, 13-8) will close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon, facing 17^th-ranked Northwestern Ohio.  The Gray Wolves are currently tied with Aquinas and Concordia (Mich.) for fourth place in the WHAC, with the top four teams earning home games in the quarterfinals of next week's WHAC tournament.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at Racer Gymnasium in Lima, Ohio.