Jon Battle led Madonna with 22 markers at Davenport on Saturday.

CALEDONIA, Mich - - Any win would do for the Madonna basketball team after absorbing a 76-47 loss at Concordia on Wednesday night and the Crusaders got that win in the form of a 92-70 downing of Davenport on Saturday. With the win, MU improves to 13-10 overall and more importantly, gave the Crusaders a 5-2 record in the WHAC and kept MU in a first-place tie halfway through the loop slate.

Jon Battle (Cleveland, Ohio) led Madonna with 22 points and was one of four MU starters in double figures, being joined by D.J. Bridges (Canton, Mich.) and Charlie Henry (Canton, Mich.) who each had 15, while Cedric Sims (Canton, Mich.) added 13. Nathan Cox led DU with a game high 23.

The Panthers came out shooting, knocking down a pair of triples for a 6-1 edge early on. The two sides traded the lead six times in the half until the Crusaders took the lead for good with 8:26 left on a Kevin McCloughlin (Sheppard, Mich.) triple to give Madonna a 27-25 edge it would not relinquish.

Field goals by Drew Coker (Whitmore Lake, Mich.) and Bridges helped push the MU lead to its largest of the half at six at 31-25 with 7:17 left. DU and MU traded baskets heading into halftime with the Panthers making it a four point affair after a pair of made free throws from Cox to make it 43-39 heading into the intermission.

The Crusaders came out of the break and proceeded to make the first six shots they took and pushed the lead to as many as 14 at 57-43 with 17:01 left. MU used a 24-4 run over the opening 6:34 of the half to build its lead to 17 and never let Davenport get back to with in 13 points and extending the lead to as many as 25 (88-63) before ending the game with a 22 point win at 94-72.

Madonna shot 60 percent from the floor, 41 percent from the three point line and almost 80 percent from the charity stripe. Davenport shot just 40 percent from the floor for the game.

The Crusaders’ win sets up a key WHAC game on Wednesday night inside the Activities Center as the Warriors of Indiana Tech come calling in a 7:30pm tip. Madonna will be looking to avenge a 95-81 set back it suffered to open the conference slate. Coverage on the Crusader Internet Radio Network with William O’Sullivan begins at 7:15pm.