TAMPA, Fla. — Davenport and Claflin treated the neutral site crowd to a tension-filled contest on Friday night in a narrow 102-99 double-overtime loss by DU at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center on the campus of the University of Tampa. This exciting game marked the first meeting between the two teams. Despite the defeat, Davenport recorded 28 assists and 48 points in the paint, while pushing Claflin to the limit.
The game began with a dream start for Davenport taking an early 12-0 lead, as Ken Walker and Aidan Moon hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening minute. Moon, who tied a career high with three steals, also achieved his second career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.Dylan Smith added to the momentum with key defensive plays and layups, helping maintain the lead at 19-8 with 14:45 left in the half. Smith’s performance was notable as he scored a career-high 27 points on an impressive 12-of-13 shooting.
However, Claflin responded with a series of buckets and forced turnovers on a full-court press with a 19-0 run, overtaking the Panthers by the 10:17 mark at 25-19. DU weathered the storm a bit down 26-25, but Claflin extended their lead to 39-27 with 1:34 left in the half. Smith scored at the horn with DU trailing 39-31. Neither team shot the ball well as Davenport was 3-of-14 from the arc and Claflin went 2-of-13. Davenport trailed 48-36 in the second half before going on an 11-0 run to make it 48-47 at the 14:15 mark fueled by a pair of Walker three-pointers. Walker, who tied his career high with seven triples, had his second 30-point game of the season, scoring a season-high 31 points. The last 10 minutes of the second half saw neither team lead by more than four points. The game was tied at 76 with 2:07 remaining in regulation. Claflin took a 78-76 lead with 1:29 to play and Walker matched it at the 1:11 mark. Davenport played tough defense to deny Claflin a chance of winning in regulation…