FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team stood toe-to-toe with number one-ranked Davenport on Saturday afternoon at the Schaefer Center but couldn't pull off the upset as they fell 71-68.
 
Miles Robinson led all scorers with 30 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. He also had a career-high five steals to go along with four assists. Dominique Walls added 16 points and 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season while picking up three blocks and a trio of assists. Lavonte Davis chipped in six points and four rebounds, Milos Milidragovic added five points and four boards while Tanner Watkins also had five points. Jaelan Manson had three points and four assists off the bench.
 
The game was a see-saw affair with 10 ties and eight lead changes and neither side was able to hold more than a nine-point lead. Both sides started off slow shooting the ball however, going a combined 2-for-13 in the first four and an a half minutes of the game.
 
A fast break bucket by Robinson would spark an 8-0 run for the Warriors though and highlighted by a put-back slam from Walls as Tech went up 10-2 with 13:35 left in the first half. The Panthers would respond with an eight point spurt of the own and tied the game up just a minute and a half later.
 
The hosts wound go on a 12-4 run and increase their lead to 22-14 but the top team in the country cut the deficit to one with a 10-3 spurt and 4:51 left in the half. Robinson, the reigning WHAC Player of the Week, would then take over by scoring 10 of Tech's next 15 points as the Orange and Black took a 40-33 lead at the break, capped by a steal and fast break layup by the Grand Rapids, Michigan native with three seconds left in the half.
 
The second half saw Davenport's Dominez Burnett, the nation's fourth leading scorer (25.8 ppg), wake up by scoring 18 of his team-high 29 points, and set up a duel to the finish with Robinson.
 
Two free throws from Robinson would give the Warriors their largest lead of the game at 42-33 just 66 seconds into the second half of play, but the Panthers showed why they were ranked number one in the country with a 14-0 spurt as Tech committed six turnovers and go 0-5 from the field.
 
Back-to-back buckets by Robinson and Jantzen Goodwin would tie the game back up at 47 with 13:31 to play. Two ties and two lead changes, along with a 99 second scoring drought from both sides, ended with a free throw from Manson made it 52-51 Tech with 8:27 to play.
 
The Warriors held a slim three-point lead with 1:34 left in the game, but a wild scramble allowed Nick Gamble to get open for a wide-open three-pointer that tied the game at the 1:23 mark. Gamble would give the Panthers the lead on their next possession and Burnett got a steal and an old-fashioned three-point play right after to put the visitors up 68-64 and 42 seconds to play.
 
Walls would sink two free throws with 28 seconds left and the Panthers could only convert one of their two chances from the charity stripe to give Tech a glimmer of hope. Robinson would get two points on the ensuing possession but was forced to commit his fifth foul on Burnett, who calmly hit two free throws to put Davenport up 71-68 with 13 seconds to go. The Warriors had a chance to tie the game but a three-point attempt from Tyrece Edwards couldn't find the mark and the Panthers held on to the win.
 
Tech (15-7, 11-4 WHAC) faces off with Siena Heights on Wednesday night in the Schaefer Center as part of Coaches vs. Cancer Week. The Warriors will be accepting donations to the American Cancer Society at the game while donning sneakers with their suits. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and links to live stats and video will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com.