SHU Men's Hoops Unable to Pull Off Upset Over #3 Davenport

ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights men's basketball held a halftime lead against No. 3 Davenport, but eventually dropped an 81-63 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference decision at the SHU Fieldhouse on Saturday.

Cecil Clark (Ferndale, Mich./Ferndale) scored 18 points, leading a quartet of Saints in double-figures. Nick Kosovich (Shelby Township, Mich./Romeo) added 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals while Nick Packwood (Southgate, Mich./Inter-City Baptist) and Eric Cogan (Petersburg, Mich./Summerfield) put in 10 points apiece.

Packwood also had eight rebounds for SHU.

Clark scored 16 of his points in the first half, helping Siena Heights to a 32-29 advantage at intermission. The Saints led by as many as five.

Davenport answered back early in the second. It scored five straight points, including a three-pointer by James Humphrey, to go up, 40-36.

Cogan eventually tied the score at 40-all, hitting a basket and the ensuing layup, before the visitors took the lead for good.

Lonnie Fairfax made a shot for Davenport and followed with a free throw as the Panthers began a short five-point run to take a 45-40 lead.

After that, the Saints trimmed their deficit to one point on two occasions, but never again found themselves ahead of Davenport.

The Panthers went an 11-0 run, getting nine points from JaVontae Ford, and widened the gap to 59-47 with 7:35 left. From that point, SHU's deficit remained in double-digits.

Both teams made drastic turnarounds -- one for better and one for worse -- after halftime.

SHU was .423 from the field in the first half (11 of 26) before shooting .200 in the second half (6 of 30) to finish at .304. Beyond the 3-point arc, the Saints hit four shots in the first and only one in the second.

Meanwhile, Davenport struggled mightily from the field in the first, shooting .242 (8 of 33) and .176 from 3-ball land (3 of 17). The Panthers caught fire in the second with a .667 percentage (14 of 21) and .625 three-point percentage (5 of 8).

Ford was the leading scorer for Davenport (21-3, 11-1), finishing with 22 points. James Nelson added 17 points and seven rebounds while Fairfax contributed 16 points and seven assists.

The Saints (6-18, 3-9) will play their next contest on Wednesday when they visit WHAC opponent Madonna for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.