By Matt Bos, NAIA Media Coordinator

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – (Box Score) –No. 8 Davenport (Mich.) outlasted Briar Cliff (Iowa) 68-66 in a rugged first round match-up at the 2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship.

Dominez Burnett became the all-time leading scorer at Davenport with a basket in the second half en route to a game-high 30-point effort. The junior made 8-of-11 field goal attempts and went 11-for-16 from the charity stripe.

Close from the opening tip, the game featured 12 ties, 15 lead changes and the largest lead for both teams was five points. Briar Cliff led 35-31 at the break but Davenport quickly erased that advantage with a 12-4 surge at the start of the second half.

Both teams shared the lead over the next 15 minutes in the back-and-forth tilt until, with Briar Cliff leading 62-61 following an Austin Homan basket in the paint, Davenport grabbed the lead for good after a couple of free throws and a jumper by Burnett with 1:25 left to play.

Briar Cliff twice had the lead down to one, the final time at 67-66 following a free throw by Bryan Forbes with 12 seconds left. Thomas Drew converted 1-of-2 from the line for Davenport and the Chargers failed to get a shot off on two chances to tie or win the game over the final five seconds.
Davenport shot 41% from the field and held a 31-21 advantage on the glass. Both Kevin Rich and Bishop Robinson netted 10 points each.

Matt Berg led the Chargers scoring effort with 11 points, followed closely by Bryan Forbes with 10. Briar Cliff shot 43% for the game but were limited to just 23% from beyond the arc. BCU ends the season with a 22-11 record.

Davenport, now 28-6, advances to the second round for the fourth time. They will play the winner of No. 9 Mount Mercy (Iowa) and Cal Maritime on Friday at 9:15pm.