Purdue Northwest Men Drop GLIAC Opener to Davenport, 98-58
Grand Rapids, Mich. – Despite 14 points by junior Chandler Spring (Covington, Ind./Covington), the Purdue Northwest men’s basketball team dropped its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opener Thursday night falling, 98-58, to Davenport University (Mich.) at the DU Student Center in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Pride were plagued by 23 turnovers in the game and also had trouble slowing down the Panther offense, which connected on 58 percent (39-for-67) of their shot attempts from the floor.
Senior Tyree Coe (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) scored 13 points for PNW, while junior Chris Nunn (Anderson, Ind./Liberty Christian) added 12. Junior Jai Wright (Richmond, Ind./Richmond) chipped in 10 points for Purdue Northwest. Senior Torrance Johnson (Chicago Heights, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) led the Pride on the boards finishing with seven rebounds on the night.
A steal and fast-break lay-up by Nunn in the second minute of the first half gave the Pride an early 7-4 lead. A three-pointer by Spring at the 13:50 mark of the half kept PNW out in front at 15-12, but the Panthers fought back and took a 21-18 lead near the midpoint of the period. Nunn scored three straight points to tie the game at 21-21.
However, Purdue Northwest went cold offensively over the final nine minutes of the period scoring just two points over to the stretch to trail 44-23 at the half. A jumper by Spring and a three-pointer by Coe to open the second half trimmed the big deficit to 16, 44-28. Unfortunately for the Pride, that was as close as it got for the rest of the game as the Panthers continued to build on their lead.
Purdue Northwest (0-6 overall/0-1 GLIAC) hosts its first GLIAC game on Saturday, December 2, with Wayne State University (Mich.) coming to Hammond, Ind. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. CT start at the Fitness & Recreation Center. PNW Athletics will also host Kid’s Day and Alumni Day in conjunction with the game with all kids 17 and under as well as all Pride alumni receiving free admission.