No. 9 Cornerstone upsets No. 1 Davenport 78-68

Box Score

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Both meetings between rivals Cornerstone and Davenport this season have been tabbed as the NAIA DII National Game of the Week and today it was the Golden Eagles' turn to post the win as CU finished off the Panthers 78-68. The victory lifts Cornerstone to 24-5 overall to conclude the regular season and 19-3 in the WHAC. CU will host a WHAC Tournament quarterfinal game on Wednesday, February 24 at 7 p.m.

Game Flow

Davenport came out hot in front of their home crowd as they scored eight of the first 12 points including two triples from Dominez Burnett. CU responded with a 10-2 spurt highlighted by back to back 3-pointers from freshman Dilon Aten (FR/Dorr, Mich.) to help the Golden Eagles lead 14-10. But then with 6:44 on the clock, a pair of free-throws from Kyle Steigenga (SO/Holland, Mich.) gave CU a lead they would never relinquish. Cornerstone closed the opening half on a 19-10 run to lead 45-36.

That lead slowly grew over the first 10 minutes of the second half as CU built its largest lead of 20 (69-49) with 9:53 to play. Much of that scoring was off the hands of Cory Cox (JR/Flushing, Mich.) who finished the game with six made 3-pointers. Davenport did make it interesting down the stretch as CU struggled from the FT line and also with turnovers as the Panthers got to as close as eight (73-65) with under three minutes to play.

Say What?

"Going into the postseason is when we want to be playing our best basketball. I think we are getting better everyday and that is really important. A tough road win to end the regular season is a good way to go into the postseason. We need to stay motivated and work on getting better every day as a team." Junior Cory Cox

By the Numbers

25 – Team-High 25 points from Cory Cox

22/9 – Kyle Steigenga was just above his season averages in points and rebounds

16-7 – CU had nine more assists than the Panthers

43-36 – Cornerstone out-rebounded Davenport by seven

2 – CU has won the last two meetings at Davenport

3-2 - Cornerstone is now 3-2 against NAIA No. 1 ranked teams since 2000

Up Next

Cornerstone concludes the regular season with an overall record of 24-5 and winners of their last 10 games. The Golden Eagles will be the No. 2 seed in next week's WHAC Tournament and they will host the No. 7 seed on Wednesday, February 26 at 7 p.m.

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