Daly Dose of Hoops Guest Blogs With a Fordham Scouting Report

Jaden Daly, the most prolific New York City Metro college basketball writer/blogger/play by play announcer around, is graciously again guest blogging on The College Hardwood.   With Fordham traveling to North Carolina to take on a streaking Davidson team tomorrow evening, Jaden gives an inside look at a now surging Rams team that has won three out of its last four games.

Jaden has covered in person SEVEN Fordham games this season.   No one, and I mean NO ONE, knows Fordham better than Jaden Daly.  Enjoy!

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Hello again, everyone, Jaden Daly from A Daly Dose Of Hoops here, giving you my traditional yearly look at the Fordham Rams, who come to Belk Arena this Saturday to take on Davidson for the first time in Atlantic 10 play. Covering the Rams on a regular basis as I do, it is my hope to give you a better idea of what the Wildcats can expect from their latest new opponent.

Game Reviews, Nuggets and Quotes
UMass Lowell vs. Fordham
Siena vs. Fordham
St. John's vs. Fordham
Manhattan vs. Fordham
Howard vs. Fordham
VCU vs. Fordham
UMass vs. Fordham

Starting Guards
Even though he has a better frontcourt than in years past, Tom Pecora will still employ his traditional three-guard set, a system he admits he is, at times, stubborn to change because of how well it has worked for him, both at Fordham and at Hofstra before that. Junior Mandell Thomas will be the first of the three guards in Fordham's offense. A combo guard from Rochester, New York; whose father, Chad, played at Rhode Island and was recruited unsuccessfully by Pecora, Thomas just recently moved to the point guard position after an ineffective showing by freshmen Antwoine Anderson and Nemanja Zarkovic inspired Pecora to try a different hand as the Rams' floor general. Thomas has been the best athlete on the team since arriving at Rose Hill, and he has used his explosiveness to his advantage since the middle of his freshman season, when he was inserted into the starting lineup. Now, Thomas is still adjusting to being more unselfish, and more of a facilitator. This is not to say he is completely sacrificing his scoring, but he is focusing more on his ancillary numbers in the rebound and assist departments as of late, then worrying about points as they come.

One thing Pecora has always been to a fault, and Gary himself will attest to this from years of watching Hofstra, is loyal to his seniors. That alone is the biggest reason why Bryan Smith continues to get the playing time he still receives, despite being an enigma on the floor more often than not. Much like the proverbial box of chocolates that was so vividly described in "Forrest Gump," you truly never know what you're going to get from Bryan. One night, he'll give you 15 points and knock down several clutch three-pointers, the next, he'll struggle through a 1-for-8 outing hampered by foul trouble. Pecora often laments Smith's inconsistency, yet for four years, has believed in the kid, hoping he would find a way through.

Fordham's third guard is one who should play as more of a forward, yet settles way too often for shots he should not be taking. That, for those who don't know, is Eric Paschall. A 6-6 swingman who came to the Rams after winning Mr. Basketball honors in the state of New York, Paschall is a player who is at his best when he attacks the basket and drives inside against bigger competition. However, he decides on way too many mid-range and outside shots, something a player of his physique should be much less reliant on. In spite of his questionable shot selection, his raw talent alone has enabled him to be Fordham's leading scorer, and the frontrunner for Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors.

Starting Forwards
If you paid attention to the A-10 last year, you probably know who Ryan Rhoomes is. If not, he's a 6-8 junior that has such a distinct nose for the ball to the point where he can, and more often than not, does, end up with anywhere between ten and fifteen boards per game. Rhoomes has become one of the more underrated big men in the A-10, and that is a credit to his relentless work over the summer in becoming more of an interior presence, something Fordham has admittedly struggled with finding and maintaining throughout Pecora's tenure.

The Rams' biggest surprise, though, is Rhoomes' frontcourt partner, Christian Sengfelder. A 6-8 German power forward, Sengfelder is unique in his ability to space the floor while coming up with rebounds and a deceptively strong outside shot. In his last five games prior to Fordham's most recent win against George Mason Wednesday night, Sengfelder had been averaging a double-double, and has a 16-rebound performance on his ledger against a UMass team led by a walking double-double in his own right, Cady Lalanne. When watching Sengfelder, pay attention to what he does away from the ball before it gets to his hands. While Eric Paschall commands most of the attention, it is his German teammate who is the more polished player, and something Fordham fans have been very satisfied with since his debut in November.

Bench
The Fordham bench looks a little different this season, most notably with the presence of Jon Severe. The sophomore guard, who was the star of the show as a freshman last season alongside Branden Frazier; who has since turned pro, has taken on a new role as somewhat of a high-energy reserve upon returning from a month-long leave of absence. Severe had a string of five consecutive double-figure scoring games before the Rams took on Richmond last week, so his scoring is starting to come together as well. The aforementioned freshman point guard duo of Antwoine Anderson and Nemanja Zarkovic offer a stable hand at the point guard position, but not much else in the way of scoring. In fact, since Mandell Thomas was moved to the starting point guard spot, Zarkovic has seen his minutes drastically decrease. Forwards Manny Suarez and Dekeba Battee-Aston are slowly learning the ropes in their freshman seasons, but neither one is active on the floor for a long period of time, simply used as a fresh body if either Rhoomes or Sengfelder is plagued by foul trouble.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Fordham is a much stronger team up front than in years past, which is a quality Pecora has lacked since his early years at Hofstra, and that even included the three years he got from Chris Gaston when coming to Fordham. The presence of Rhoomes and Sengfelder, and Eric Paschall when the Rams play a smaller lineup, gives Fordham the flexibility to impose their will on teams on both ends of the floor, one of the biggest reasons why the Rams have rebounded to win three of their last four following an 0-9 start to the A-10 schedule.

From a weakness standpoint, one thing the Rams struggle with aside from shot selection is turnovers. When facing a team that likes to press, as was the case against St. John's, Manhattan and VCU, Fordham tends to look like a deer in headlights, and commits way too many careless miscues than they should. If the Rams can handle the ball well, they play at their best.

Coaching
I've been admittedly critical of Pecora in recent years as he attempts to rebuild a program that has been in a two-decade-long morass since joining the Atlantic 10. Still hopeful of reversing the Rams' fortunes, Pecora appears to have bitten off more than he can chew sometimes, but in recent games, it seems as though Fordham is, slowly; but surely, turning a corner. Granted, Saint Louis and George Mason were not picked to finish near the top of the league this year, but the Rams' victory over reigning A-10 champion Saint Joseph's, projected at the beginning of the year to be a team in the postseason conversation, may have been the most impressive example of Pecora's eternal hope that it can get turned around in the Bronx once and for all.

Intangibles
Fordham's guards have a refuse-to-lose mentality when they realize they are in a winnable matchup. Mandell Thomas and Bryan Smith have had an experience edge in recent games, which should give them confidence against a Davidson team that some may say has overachieved in their first season removed from the Southern Conference under longtime mentor Bob McKillop, for whom Tom Pecora worked as an assistant coach on the Long Island high school circuit in the 1980s.

Overall
While their recent surge has begun to dispel the notion that the Rams are in over their heads in a strong A-10, Fordham remains a work in progress. Playing on the road might be an even bigger weakness for this team, as for some reason, the Rams have had a hard time away from Rose Hill Gym. In fact, Wednesday's win over George Mason was just the second road win in A-10 play during Pecora's near-five-year tenure, the only other one coming at St. Bonaventure in 2013. Fordham has never seen a team like the Wildcats, which is both a blessing and a curse. If this game was played a month ago, Davidson would win handily. Now, I don't know if I can still say that, as Fordham's ever-growing confidence and group of veterans who are starting to tap into their potential will make this a close game that will ultimately come down to the final two or three possessions.

In A10 transition, Davidson can learn from Mason, VCU

Alan Kelly is a proud alumnus of George Mason University, and writes about Patriots basketball for MasonHoops.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @MasonFanatic.

As the Davidson Wildcats navigate their rookie season as member of the Atlantic 10, they can look to recent additions George Mason and VCU for expectations, both positive and negative.

A season ago, as George Mason played the role of A10 newcomer, one refrain that was cited numerous times by head coach Paul Hewitt and some of his players was the increased intensity needed to win night in and night out. The Patriots came into a deeper league than the one the Wildcats find themselves in this year, but the same lesson still applies: There are no easy games, and you can’t afford to have an off night, especially on the road.

Likewise, travel in the league can be a grind, with a larger footprint than the CAA, and a much larger footprint than the Southern Conference. The team could get from Davidson, NC to almost anywhere in the SoCon by bus within a reasonable amount of time, but now some charter plane flights are inevitable, and adding more will be desirable.

George Mason athletic director Brad Edwards recently indicated to the Washington Post that the program is seeking to increase funding to add additional charter flights. No example of this need may be more striking that the five-plus hour bus trip the Patriots took midweek to play at Duquesne in Pittsburgh last month. Mason ended up shooting under 15% in the first half and under 25% for the game in a nearly unwatchable defeat.

The two recent losses suffered by the Wildcats, on the road at St. Joseph’s and at home to St. Bonaventure, should not be a surprise, and they probably won’t be the last head-scratchers suffered by what is a young roster aside from senior Tyler Kalinowski.

In order to navigate these pitfalls, one of the best assets is senior leadership. In 2012-13, VCU had an excellent pair of senior guards in Darius Theus and Troy Daniels. The following season, George Mason timed its 2013-14 move to the Atlantic 10 to coincide with a senior class that included Bryon Allen and Sherrod Wright, who combined to average over 30 points per game. One hesitates to ask how rough matters might have been for the 11-win Patriots without those two leaders.

Second, but not less important, coaching matters, and the Wildcats lack nothing in that department. While coaching is not the only difference between the two programs, it’s no accident that VCU and Shaka Smart made a smoother transition to a higher level of basketball than George Mason and Paul Hewitt did. Bob McKillop has a fantastic track record, and while no one should expect Davidson to become VCU overnight, he knows how to win.

Short term, win or lose, there are at least three facets of a program that see immediate impacts from a significant upgrade in conference alignment: attendance, scheduling, and recruiting.

Attendance can be a double-edged sword. A better league draws better home opponents, which yields more interest for casual fans, but a tougher schedule also makes it harder to maintain homecourt dominance. For George Mason, in the run up to the move to the Atlantic 10, there was a lot of excitement among fans about the better quality of opponents who would be visiting the Patriot Center, and a corresponding spike of nearly 8% in attendance last season. However, once the reality of losing set in, home attendance in 2014-15 is down over 15%.

In Richmond, VCU had already established a culture where sellouts were the norm, and because they were able to sustain their success, demand for tickets only increased. This led to the construction of the Tommy J. West Club Level, which added luxury suites and 120 premium balcony seats to the Siegel Center. Increased fan interest is an opportunity to be seized, but it’s not guaranteed.

A tougher league gets you more chances to build a resume with league wins, so out of conference scheduling is not the imperative that it was in the SoCon, but it’s still important for maximizing your chances to impress the selection committee. With a non-league schedule like the one Davidson played this season (ranked 255th), the margin for error becomes slimmer, and that will undoubtedly be something the conference encourages Davidson to improve for future seasons.

VCU and Mason have both excelled at scheduling, giving themselves tough slates that this season are ranked first and 15th in the country, respectively. (Of course, you still have to win your fair share of those games, something Paul Hewitt’s squad has failed to do). Back in the CAA, in Paul Hewitt’s first season in 2011-12, multiple RPI-crushing losses to bad teams in November eventually led to a 24-9 team staying home for the postseason. In a league like the A10, that George Mason team would have gotten a second chance to improve their RPI.

Recruiting is a strange world, and both former CAA powerhouses have a head coach who is viewed as an excellent recruiter, but being in the Atlantic 10 offers a better platform to compete against the top basketball schools in the country. It’s too early to evaluate the impact for George Mason, but as an A10 member, VCU has pulled in arguably their two best recruiting classes in school history in the 2014 and 2015 classes, with both classes ranked 26th in the nation by 247Sports.

Long term, Davidson is favorably positioned for success. While their budget will likely need to increase, and facilities upgrades will be a part of that increase, they can expect higher revenue from television contracts and NCAA tournament shares, and their positioning in the Charlotte media market (ranked 24th largest in the country by Nielsen) puts them ahead of some of their new conference mates, not to mention almost everyone in the SoCon.

Davidson may not have the shiny Final Four banners that recent A10 additions like George Mason, VCU, or even Butler had, but they do have a history of NCAA relevancy and success to fall back upon and to market themselves around. Three Elite Eight appearances (1968, 1969, and 2008) from two different eras is an impressive legacy, and with an increased opportunity to earn at-large NCAA bids, nothing says McKillop can’t repeat the Steph Curry run from ‘08.

Tonight at Belk Arena, the Wildcats will take on George Mason at 7pm. The rematch of January 24’s 80-73 overtime victory over the Patriots in Fairfax will be a good test for Davidson, as it marks just their second rematch with an Atlantic 10 foe. Will familiarity and a quest for revenge favor the Patriots, or will homecourt advantage and additional experience in playing without the injured Jack Gibbs result in a Wildcat triumph?

Davidson Rolls Over Duquesne

Since I moved down to Columbia, South Carolina, I have seen the Davidson Wildcats play several times in Belk Arena.   A few times, I was able to get there early, have dinner in downtown, Davidson, an experience I highly recommend, then go to the game.  

Last evening, I had no such luxury of time.   Yesterday had been a baseball bonanza of a day.   First I had Little League Coach Pitch Baseball evaluations.  Over one hundred kids, including my younger son, Jonny, came out to evaluate at Trenholm Park, which happened to be on the same day of a volleyball tournament in the rec center of Trenholm Park.  Thus an overwhelmed parking lot.  Then a group of coaches, consisting of nine teams went into a room at the rec center building and drafted those one hundred players.   That took four hours of my day.

But that wasn't all.  Then I had travel ball practice with my older son, Matthew, who I coach along with eleven talented teammates and friends playing on their first travel team after having won a district coach pitch title the season before.  We took team pictures and then had a strenuous two hour practice.   Most people would be exhausted by that time.

Nope, Matthew and I had tickets to see one of my favorite teams to watch live, the Wildcats.  Wasn't missing that.   But the result was that we got to the University a few minutes after the game started.   We walked through the beautiful campus of Davidson College and made to our seats at Belk Arena ten minutes in the first half with Davidson leading Duquesne 24-13.

When I commented to someone yesterday at the baseball evaluations that I was going to Davidson, he noted about how Stephen Curry put them on the map.   He did, leading them to an Elite Eight appearance in 2008 and nearly a Final Four after a three point loss to Kansas. It was actually the third Elite Eight appearance in school history.  The other two came in 1968 and 1969 under then coach Lefty Driesell.   Both those times they lost close games to North Carolina in the Regional Final.

Those three NCAA Elite Eight appearances are still just a sample of the long history of success of the program.  When you look up in the rafters of the arena, you can't help but notice all the banners; all the Southern Conference championships, the NIT appearances and the twelve NCAA appearances.  Seven of those twelve appearances are a result largely of one man and it's not Steph Curry.  It's Bob McKillop, the man who recruited Curry to Davidson.

McKillop came to Davidson in 1989 after coaching at Long Island Lutheran High School from 1979 to 1989.   I remember that well growing up on the Island.   Long Island Lutheran was a perennial power in high school basketball thanks to McKillop.   And now Davidson is a perennial power in college basketball and the court is now appropriately named after him.

McKillop's teams pride themselves on movement, both with the ball and without the ball.  You will screens, picks, back door cuts, nice post passes and most importantly, good shooters.   Davidson's offense is truly fun to watch and McKillop is the mastermind behind it.

This is Davidson's first year in the Atlantic-10 and Belk Arena shows it.  The 5,000 seat venue was practically full for last night's game with Duquesne.  The Wildcats entered the contest at 5-4 in conference and 14-6 overall.

When we got to our seats, freshman Peyton Aldridge drilled a three to put the Wildcats up 27-15.  With the three pointer, Aldridge already had ten points in ten minutes of action.  The Dukes would respond scoring five of the next six points to cut the lead to eight, 28-20.    Jordan Watkins put Davidson up by ten 30-20.

Then things got really wild. Six of the next seven baskets scored were three pointers; three by Davidson and three by Duquesne.  Tyler Kalinoski assisted on two of the Wildcats' three pointers, and hit the other three pointer.   L.G. Gill capped the three point barrage for the Dukes, banking in a three pointer to cut the Davidson lead to eight once again, 39-31.    Everyone thought it was a one time fluke, but Gill would later bank another three pointer at the end of the first half.  Whether it was a fluke or not, that's for Gill to know and us likely to never find out.

But during the span between the three point bank shots, Davidson went on a 13-4 spurt as Aldridge continued to go to town on Duquesne, scoring another four points in the span.  Only Gill's banked three pointer to end the half kept the halftime deficit at fourteen, 52-38.   The Wildcats shot sixty percent in the first half, including eight of fifteen from beyond the arc.

Duquesne did their best to hang in there, shooting 48 percent from the field in the first half, including shooting fifty percent from three (five of ten),  Yet they were down fourteen points at the half.

One of the things you notice at a Davidson game is that that the student section often carries flags of other countries.  That's because the Wildcats have four players from outside the United States - Nathan Ekwu (Nigeria), Oskar Michelsen (Finland), Ali Mackay (Scotland) and Manu Giamoukis (Greece).

Starting the second half, considering probability, you would figure that the Wildcats would slow down scoring wise in the second half .  And at least for the first minute and a half, the Wildcats did exactly that, as they went scoreless.  The problem was that the Dukes couldn't take advantage and missed on all four of their field goal attempts and turned the ball over once during those first ninety seconds.

When you fail to take advantage of scoring opportunities against an offense that's so well disciplined, that moves so well with and without the ball like Davidson, it's playing with fire.  And Duquesne got burned as the Wildcats heated up from the field.  The Davidson offense played off their three point prowess and got the ball to Aldridge for a couple of post touches and scores.  The Wildcats extended their lead to twenty one, 65-44 with fifteen minutes left in the game.

Gill buried another three pointer and TySean Powell added a three point play to cut the deficit to fifteen, 67-52 with fourteen minutes left in the game.  But that's as close as the Dukes got the rest of the way as Duquesne simply could not keep up with the Davidson offense.    The Dukes went ice cold from beyond the arc in the second half,  shooting one of twelve from three in the last twenty minutes of the game.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats actually matched their first half shooting percentage, shooting sixty percent from the field in the second half.   They shot the ball a little less from three, though almost as accurate, shooting five of eleven from beyond the arc.   Davidson concentrated more on post play and back door cuts in the second half.  As soon as Duquesne converged inside with help defense, the Wildcats would find the open man for the three.  Jordan Barham found Kalinoski for an open three to put Davidson up twenty, 79-59 with 9:18 left.

The barrage on the Dukes was relentless as the Wildcats extended the lead to eventually twenty six, 95-69 with two minutes left.   That's when McKillop cleared his bench and that would be the final score.

Davidson showed incredible balance as six players scored in double figures. Brian Sullivan led the way with twenty three points, Aldridge added nineteen points, while Kalinoski had sixteen points.  Barham chipped in with twelve and  Ekwu and Watkins each had eleven points.

What was scary about this is that the Wildcats second best player, Jack Gibbs is still indefinitely out with a slight meniscus tear in his knee. What might even be more scary is that Kalinoski is the only senior that plays significant minutes for Davidson.

As we headed out, I took a picture of the Wildcat statute, which is directly across from the Belk Arena entrance.  At a night, it's an ominous sight.  And if Davidson keeps playing like they did last night, the Wildcats will be an ominous sight for A-10 opponents for seasons to come.

Brooks and Droney Make the Difference (Recap of Davidson v. Wofford)

When I last saw Davidson in person, it was a home game at the Belk Arena vs. Drexel on a relatively warm December Sunday afternoon.  In that game, the Wildcats were without their two best all around players, senior forward De'Mon Brooks and senior guard Tom Droney.  Both Brooks and Droney were out due to injuries. The Dragons won 72-58 as the Wildcats struggled on offense, as they shot a horrid three of twenty two from beyond the arc.

Entering Saturday night's game, Davidson had lost five in a row and their record was 4-10.  This is unusual for a Wildcats team that has made the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons, along with five of the past eight seasons and has not had a losing season since the 2000-01 season.  McKillop has had six NCAA Tournament teams, three NIT teams and a stunning 249-95 record in Southern Conference play since 1992.

However, losing streaks and early season records can be misleading.   In their last three losses, the Wildcats lost in overtime at #14 North Carolina, lost only by eleven at #10 Wichita State (and they were only down four with four minutes left) and lost to Charleston at home on New Year's Day after leading at halftime (a 19-5 second half run by the Cougars doomed the Wildcats).

Davidson always plays, what Matt Doherty once noted, as a "ridiculously tough non-conference schedule." Along with North Carolina and Wichita State, the Wildcats this season also played at Duke (lost 111-77), at Charlotte (won in overtime 87-78), neutral site games at New Mexico, Virginia, Clemson and Georgia (only win was over Georgia at the Charleston Classic).   McKillop has done this in part due to the Southern Conference's low overall RPI.  By playing a tough non conference schedule, Davidson's RPI will be much higher.  In fact, despite a 4-10 record, Davidson's current RPI, 157, is higher than 10-3 Mississippi State's RPI, 176.

Despite moving from the Southern Conference to the much tougher A-10 next season, McKillop's non conference schedule will be just as tough, as he has schedule Duke, North Carolina and Virginia for the next two season as well.  He noted in article in the the Charlotte Observer that "We’re going to be just as national and just as aggressive and understanding that, yes, the Atlantic 10 is going to be a significant challenge, but we’re still going to be very aggressive and national in scope,"

Playing such a tough non-conference schedule has worked out for Davidson in the past.  In the 2007-08 season, the Wildcats started 4-6 on the season, due to losses early on to nationally ranked teams such as #1 North Carolina, #7 Duke, and at #7 UCLA.  Davidson would respond with a twenty five game winning streak, including going undefeated in regular season and tournament play in the Southern Conference, then three wins in a row in the NCAA Tournament to make the Elite Eight.   The Wildcats were only a Jason Richards missed three at the buzzer from making the Final Four.

Wofford entered Saturday night's game having won three games in a row, including winning their first conference game, a 71-61 win over Samford.  This was also my second Terriers' game of the season, having seen them barely lose to William and Mary 63-60 at the Benjamin Johnson Arena.

As noted in the past eight seasons, Davidson has been the Southern Conference representative five times. Well Wofford is one of the two other schools that have made the NCAA Tournament during that period, having made the NCAA Tournament two years in a row in 2009-10 and 2010-11 under Young.  Chattanooga made the NCAA Tournament as the SoCon representative in 2008-09 after Steph Curry and Davidson was upset in the Southern Conference semifinals by the College of Charleston.

The Benjamin Johnson Arena is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues here in South Carolina.  As I noted in my previous article, it's really more a small gym enclosed in a nice Student Center with concessions, a coffee bar and comfortable lounge seating near the coffee bar.  As I got to the entrance to the student center, it noted that it was "Happy Hoops Year", as they had a women's home basketball game earlier in the day.

This was my first time sitting in the West Section of the arena.  On Saturday night, the ticket takers didn't have scanners.  So the ticket takers were taking tickets.  He took mine, then realized I was sitting in the reserved area in the front row.  As I noted to you all in my earlier Wofford article this season, it's worth the extra $2 to pay for the reserved seats that have the seat backs as opposed to the wooden bleachers.  He gave me back my tickets saying that I would need to show my ticket for where I was sitting, which was W5, Row A, Seat 1.

As I walked down the aisle, I realized where I would sitting for the evening, right behind the Wofford bench. I usually don't like to sit right behind a team's bench, because your view can be obstructed by bench players standing at times to support their teams.  But it also does allow you some insight, PA system permitting, to what the coach is saying to his team during timeouts.  Plus it was kind of cool seeing the starting Australian point guard for Wofford come out to "INDIANAAA FAITHFULL" during player introductions.

The game started out with the Terriers jumping out to an 8-4 lead at the under 16 media timeout.  Wofford's leading scorer on the season, the talented Spencer Collins, hit two baskets early on and Lee Skinner added a basket and an assist.  It's at the under 16 media timeout that Wofford holds it's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" promotion, where the cheerleaders handout/throw McDonald's cheeseburgers to fans while Jimmy Buffett's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" plays on the PA system.  This was my third time at a Wofford game and now all three times, I have got a cheeseburger.  Awesome.

During the first four minutes, Brooks only had one touch for the Wildcats and that resulted in a traveling call. Well McKillop must have told his team during the media timeout to feed the big man, because Davidson came out rolling off a 13-0 run on Wofford.  Brooks was unstoppable during this nearly three and a half minute span, scoring nine of the thirteen points.   His jumper put Davidson up 17-8 with a little less than twelve and a half minutes remaining in the first half.

After a media timeout, where Terriers Head Coach Mike Young implored his team to "be aggressive", the rest of the first half saw Davidson and Wofford play evenly as far as points scored.  The Wildcats largest lead over the last twelve plus minutes was ten points.  The Terriers still had no answer to stopping Brooks, who scored another eight points the rest of the half to give him seventeen first half points, along with seven rebounds.  Collins and Skinner did the best they could to keep Wofford in the game, combining for seventeen first half points as Davidson maintained a nine point lead, 37-28 at halftime.

Davidson shot a scorching sixty percent from the field in the first twenty minutes, much of which came from Brooks, who was eight of eleven from the field in the first half.  Wofford only shot thirty nine percent in the first half.

What I always love about mid major schools are the halftime shows they put on.  Usually it's a local boys or girls basketball game.  But Wofford does something different.  At the William and Mary game, it was a step dancing group that played at halftime.   This time it was a local martial arts group, with a bunch of young kids showing off various martial arts techniques and simulated fights.  It made for good theater.

The second half picked up right where the first half led off, with Brooks scoring the first two baskets for Davidson, which extended their lead to eleven, 41-30.  Skinner and Collins continued to do their best to keep Wofford in the game, scoring the team's first three baskets.  Collins three pointer got the lead back down to nine, 44-35 with seventeen and a half minutes left in the game.

But that's as close as the Terriers would get the rest of the game.  Davidson went on a 13-4 run over the span of about four and a half minutes.  Brooks of course was heavily involved, scoring five points, including a three point play and added an assist.  Two Droney free throws put the Wildcats up eighteen, 57-39 with a little less than thirteen minutes left in the game.

During a timeout, Young begged his team to "keep fighting".  The Terriers responded, scoring six straight points to cut the lead to twelve, 57-45.  Skinner scored four of his team high twenty two points in that mini spurt.

But Davidson would not be denied this night.  Droney led the way on another Wildcats' charge, this time a
16-7 spurt, capped by a Brian Sullivan three pointer to put Davidson up 73-52 with a little less than six minutes left in the game.  Droney scored nine points in the run and assisted on another basket.

All that was left was for both teams to clear their benches with about ninety seconds to play.  Davidson would go on and win their first Southern conference game of the season, an impressive 78-63 win.  The Wildcats had finally broken their five game losing streak and in the process, broke Wofford's three game winning streak.

Brooks had a double double with twenty eight points and twelve rebounds, along with four assists and two steals as he shot twelve of sixteen on the game.  Droney added eighteen points, shooting six of seven from the field and a perfect four of four from the line. Tyler Kalinoski added nine points for the Wildcats as Davidson shot sixty one percent from the field on the evening (thirty of forty nine).

Skinner led the Terriers with twenty four points and nine rebounds. Collins added sixteen points for Wofford.  Skinner and Collins combined to shoot fifteen of twenty eight from the field. The rest of the team combined to shoot only eight of twenty seven from the field.

For at least one more evening, Davidson was the big bad team on the SoCon block.  Though it's sad to see a long time Southern Conference staple like the Wildcats leave the conference after this season, one wonders if other schools aren't happy to see Davidson leave the SoCon.

Till then, Davidson stills seems to be the team to beat in the SoCon this year.

Drexel Outlasts Davidson

Yesterday at Belk Arena, Davidson hosted Drexel in a match-up of two of the better mid major programs in the country.  It was by chance that my color analyst, aka my older son Matthew, and I were able to see the game.  Due to the torrential rain on Saturday, Matthew's pickup baseball game was canceled because the Little League field he plays on was covered with large puddles.  So instead, we spent a lovely Sunday afternoon in Davidson, North Carolina.

Last season, both the Dragons and the Wildcats were favored to win their conferences.  Davidson held up their end of the bargain, winning the Southern Conference Tournament, then led Marquette most of the way before losing on a last second game winning layup by the Golden Eagles.  Meanwhile, Chris Fouch got hurt for the Dragons during their third game of the season and Drexel never recovered, finishing 13-19 on the season and losing in the second round of the CAA Tournament to George Mason.

Entering the game, both teams were down some of their best players.   Davidson was without leading scorer, senior forward De'Mon Brooks, who had missed the four previous games as well with a knee injury suffered during a loss to Clemson.  The Wildcats were also without senior guard Tom Droney, who injured his foot in a loss to Niagara.  Between Brooks and Droney, they average 30 points and 10 rebounds per game.  The Dragons are without starting guard Damion Lee for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL. Lee was the team's leading scorer last season, averaging 17 points per game.  Before he got hurt, Lee was averaging thirteen points per game.   So you could day both teams were equally disadvantaged entering the game.

Belk Arena is one of my favorite arenas in the country.  It seats a little more than 5,000 people and the rafters are rich with the history of Davidson Basketball.   Scores of NCAA Tournament and Southern Conference championship banners fill the top of the arena.  But after seventy plus years of affiliation with the SoCon (sans a period of four years in the late eighties/early nineties where Davidson was an independent, then a member of the Big South), the Wildcats will be leaving the conference after this season to join the A-10.

Matthew and I weren't the only CAA stalwarts at the game.  Dan Crain, author of the terrific Dragons Speak blog and longtime fellow #CAAHoops tweeter made the trip down, along with several friends, from Philadelphia for the game and just happened to have seats right next to us.    Dan was looking forward to the Drexel debut of junior guard Freddie Wilson, a transfer from Seton Hall.

It was clearly evident from the start that Drexel's plan was to drive it inside on Davidson.  The Dragons' first eight points came from within the arc, mostly on layups.  Meanwhile, Davidson struggled from the field, missing on their first twelve shots of the game.   Yet the Wildcats managed to stay close early on, trailing only 8-7 with all their points coming from free throws.

But it was only a matter of time before Davidson's cold shooting would come into play.  Drexel would score the next ten points over the next five plus minutes.  A Frantz Massenat jumper would put the Dragons up 18-7 with 10:15 left in the first half.  Wildcats' coach Bob McKillop called timeout to try to get his team going from the field.

It took nearly eleven and a half minutes of game action, but Davidson finally hit their first field goal, a three pointer by Brian Sullivan.  Tyler Kalinoski followed with an old fashioned three point play and suddenly the Wildcats were only down five, 18-13.   Davidson hung around for the next few minutes, only trailing by six, 26-20 with a little less than four and a half minutes left.

But without Brooks, Davidson had no inside scoring threat and continued to miss regularly from outside the arc.  Meanwhile, Massenat was a one man wrecking crew for the Dragons.  He first scored on a three point play to put Drexel up nine.  Then he buried a three pointer to put the Dragons up twelve, 32-20.  Later a Kazembe Abif three point play put Drexel up fourteen, 37-23.  Davidson scored the final four points of the half, much to the chagrin of Dragons' coach Bruiser Flint and the Wildcats were only down ten, 37-27 at the half.

Davidson has a great halftime fan participation game, a variation of "Musical Chairs".   Several kids dribble around a group of chairs at center court while music plays.  When the music stops, the kids have to go to either basket and make a layup.  If they make the layup, then can dribble back to the chairs.   One by one, a kid was eliminated.  It got down to two kids and it turned out both kids ended up on the single chair at the same time, which resulted in a tie.  The fans gave the kids a rousing ovation for a well played game.

The start of the second half had Chris Fouch channeling Loren Stokes (Google "Loren Stokes") with a couple of floaters in the lane to put Drexel up 41-29.  The Dragons maintained their eleven point lead, 44-33 with about fifteen minutes left.

Davidson went on a 11-5 mini spurt over the next three and half minutes.  A Jake Belford three cut the Drexel lead to six, 46-40 with eleven and half minutes left in the game.  Over the next few minutes, Davidson stayed within six, 50-44 with a little less than eight minutes left in the game.

But the Wildcats would get no closer.  The Dragons outscored them 9-4 over the next three minutes. The newest Dragon, Wilson, would score four of those points within the span.  A Fouch three pointer put Drexel up 59-48 with just less than five minutes left.

Davidson had several opportunities from the free throw line to cut the deficit to as little as three points.  But the Wildcats missed four of six free throw attempts over the span of thirty seven seconds.  A Jordan Barham layup cut the deficit to seven, 59-52 with 2:47 left.

But Massenat would score nine of the last thirteen Dragons' points, seven on free throws despite a fan trying to distract him with a large Ron Burgundy head, as Drexel would defeat Davidson 72-58.  With the win, Drexel is now 7-2 on the season, with their only two losses against #22 UCLA and #1 Arizona.  Davidson falls to 4-7 on the season.

Massenat was a stat sheet stuffer on the day, leading all scorers with twenty five points and adding seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.  Fouch had seventeen points, while the newcomer Wilson added seven points.  The Dragons out-rebounded the Wildcats 47-38, not surprising considering Drexel is 44th in the country in rebounds.

Sullivan led Davidson with fourteen points, Kalinoski added thirteen points and Barham had eleven for the Wildcats.  Davidson was held to thirty two percent shooting from the field including an ugly 3 of 22 from beyond the arc.  The Wildcats also struggled from the line, missing fourteen free throws.

For a team that is trying to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996, Drexel appears to be back to their 2011-12 form.  But they have their annual test at fellow Philly native St Joe's on December 18.  Another road win over the Hawks would further strengthen their non conference resume.

Meanwhile, things don't get easier for Davidson.   The Wildcats have consecutive road games vs. North Carolina and Wichita State, both nationally ranked before playing former conference foe College of Charleston on New Year's Day.  Then they start their last regular conference season in the SoCon.

Davidson very likely will be under .500 when they start conference play, Then again, in the 2007-08 season, the Wildcats started the season 4-6.  They never lost again that season until the Elite Eight against Kansas.  Never count out a Bob McKillop team.

Matthew and I said our goodbyes to Dan and his friends and wished them a safe trip back to Philly.  Then we walked back into town, made our way to our car and headed home.  On a nice sunny, relatively warm December day, maybe Matthew and I saw two eventual 2014 NCAA Tournament Teams.

One never knows in the wacky world that is college basketball.

Davidson Holds Off Wofford...Again

After the Georgia-South Carolina game, I got in my car and made the now familiar drive from the Gamecocks' campus to Huger Street then up to I-26. This time I was not getting off at the always crowded Harbison Boulevard exit. No, I was heading up to Spartanburg to see Wofford host Davidson.

It seems the magical time range for any of my basketball road trips so far is ninety minutes (I can make Charlotte in that time frame with my lead foot) to two and a half hours (Coastal Carolina). The trip from Columbia to Spartanburg is ninety minutes. I was debating whether to stop along the way for dinner or find a place near campus. To what I thought was my eventual chagrin, I chose the latter. Along the way though, I saw the exit for Presbyterian College, one of my eventual Big South Conference destinations.

The exit for Wofford College is Route 221, which brings you directly into the heart of Spartanburg. But as I got close to Wofford, I didn't see much in the way of restaurant choices. So I drove into the main entrance to Wofford and a nice campus safety guard showed me the direct way to get to the main parking lot for Johnson Arena.

To get to Johnson Arena, basically, you have to drive past the main Wofford College entrance and take the second right on Pearl Street. Then as the campus safety guard noted to me, once you see the pink house on the top of the hill, you bear right. Then you follow the winding road down behind a housing development (nice houses by the way), which then takes you down a narrow road that leads to the entrance of the main parking area. There an attendant directs you to park. I wouldn't have found this myself had it not been for the helpful campus security guard.

Once I got out of my car, it was a little after 5:30. I followed some Wofford fans to the entrance of the Campus Life Building where Johnson Arena is located. When you first walk into the Campus Life Building, you are greeted by a small statute of a Terrier. Then you walk into a quiet commons area with a coffee bar on the right hand side. But if you look in the right hand corner, you will see a student cafe. This cafe contains ample seating, flat screen TVs and a mini food court with a Chick Fil-a counter, a deli counter and another "Foods of the World" counter. In front of the entrance to the mini food court was a table with homemade baked desserts, cookies, cakes, cupcakes etc.

After striking up a conversation with the friendly attendant at the Chick Fila station where he made me a fresh grilled chicken sandwich, I grabbed some waffle fries, some desserts and grabbed a sweet tea. I managed to somehow hold onto all four items without a tray, paid the cashier and made my way to a set of tables that was right in front of the flat screen TV showing Northern Iowa and Wichita State (eventually won by the Panthers).

There was a nice mix of students and Wofford fans, many of them older fans. I could see why many people would come out for a nice Saturday night game. My reserved ticket cost twelve dollars, a bleacher seat costs ten dollars. Dinner was seven dollars. Think about it, for twenty bucks per person you can have a decent meal and watch a good basketball game. That's a good deal. Thanks Wofford!

After dinner, I made my way to my seat. There are two wings, the east and west wings, each of which has a separate entrance and outside of one hallway outside the arena, there is no connection to the wings once in the building. Not knowing this, It turns out I went to the wrong wing entrance. But the usher was kind enough to show me how to get there and I eventually made my way to the east wing section where my seat was located.

Now don't take this the wrong way Wofford fans, but when I got to my seat at Johnson Arena, I didn't consider it an arena. It's somewhat a very large gym with mostly wooden bleachers that had three sections of reserved comfortable chair back seating on each side in the front.. There is no club suite seating. The walls are your classic concrete gym walls.

However, there are two standout things you notice about Johnson Arena. First is the striking parquet floor, one of the few of its kind. Second, the gym holds noise well. Really well. In fact, in the second half, when Wofford made a run on Davidson, it started getting really loud and it was not packed (about 1500 was the attendance last night). Turns out, as I drove home, I turned on the post game show from the local Wofford station and they noted that half the students still haven't returned from break. Imagine the arena when Wofford had good teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2010 and 2011. I bet it was the place was rocking.  Plus, the giant "Beware of Dog" sign behind the Wofford basket was a nice touch as well.

A local grade school choir did a wonderful job singing the national anthem. The students also were located in the bleacher level behind me, so when they made their way up to their seats, I made sure to tell the music choir director what a good job they did. It was the start to a very good evening of basketball and promotional events.

As the team introductions were made, I saw that Davidson's fans had basically taken up the entire section behind the Wildcats' bench. Yes, it helps to draw fans when you are 9-1 in conference. But considering Davidson's long storied history, I am not surprised by the large contingent they had for last night's game. I thought for sure that they were going to break out into "Sweet Caroline" late in the second half.

The Wildcats came out early scoring the first four points. Spencer Collins though would drill a three pointer, in what would be a reoccurring theme for the Terriers on the night. Through the first six minutes, it was a close affair, with Davidson maintaining an 8-6 lead.

But if you have watched enough of Davidson's basketball games on TV or in person, you can see that is so difficult to stop Bob McKillop's team on offense. The Wildcats' offensive sets are a thing of a beauty, both from a ball movement standpoint and a player movement standpoint. The Wildcats are constantly moving without the ball. This leads to multiple screens, backdoor cuts and a lot of open looks driving the lane. In the second half, with Davidson on my end of the court, it was truly a treat to watch their offensive set from my vantage point.

As a result, Davidson started pulling away from Wofford in the first half. First it was a 9-2 spurt on four consecutive layups, including a three point play by senior forward Jake Cohen. Davidson was up 17-8 and Wofford Coach Mike Young had to call timeout. It was a good timeout which resulted in an offensive set that got Karl Cochran open for a three pointer that he buried to cut the lead to 17-11.

Again Davidson responded with an 8-2 spurt with Tom Droney and Chris Czerpowicz each scoring four points. The Wildcats were now up 25-13 with nine minutes left in the half. It seemed that the Terriers had no answers to stopping Davidson on offense.

However, Wofford kept in the game in large part due to Collins (number 32 pictured here), who by himself would keep the Terriers in the game. Collins scored ten straight points for Wofford on a variety of shots, a three pointer, a layup and a couple of short jumpers. After being fouled in the act of shooting and missing his first attempt, Collins hit the second free throw to end his ten straight point outburst and cut the Davidson lead to ten 31-21.

Davidson's relentless offense would respond with another mini spurt, outscoring Wofford 7-2 over the last five minutes of the half. The Wildcats would enter halftime up 38-23. It was similar to their first matchup I saw when they played back in December at Belk Arena. Davidson was up big early, 31-10, before Wofford used a 12-0 run to cut the lead to nine at the half, 31-22. The Terriers would cut it to four late but the Wildcats would eventually hold onto win 63-56. I wondered if there would be a similar outcome.

Wofford has a lot of unique promotional events during media timeouts. Three stood out. Early in the first half during the first media timeout, they had a "Cheeseburger in Paradise" promotion where the Wofford cheerleaders toss out wrapped McDonald's cheeseburgers in plastic bags. Guess who got one?

In the second half, they had "Steal a Meal". One fan gets a meal - a drink, burger and fries. But another fan gets to try to steal the meal. If they hit the layup, they get the drink. If they hit the free throw, they get the chips.  And if they bury the three pointer, they get the burger. It was a couple and thankfully for the wife, the husband missed all three attempts. I would love to play that game with my son (are you reading this, Wofford? :-) ).

Finally, at halftime, to celebrate the 75th year of the NCAA Tournament, Wofford is putting on a series of "re-creations" of famous plays from the NCAA Tournament. In this case, they tried to "recreate" the famous Christian Laettner game winning shot vs. Kentucky. One fan played Grant Hill with the inbounds pass at one end of the court. Two girls each got an attempt to play Laettner in catching the pass and turning around and hitting the shot. They were not successful in any of the attempts, which shows how difficult that play was to make.

The start of the second half saw Davidson maintain its double digit lead as Cohen scored six points in the first seven minutes of the half. Wofford kept within striking distance due in large part to Cochran and Collins, who scored all but two of the first fifteen Terriers' points in the first seven and a half minutes of the second half.

But after two straight Czerapowicz baskets put Davidson up by thirteen with ten minutes left, it didn't seem like Wofford would be able to get any closer. Enter the Australian sophomore point guard with the striking name of Indiana Faithfull. Faithfull would have a hand in the Terriers' next three baskets by hitting two three pointers and assisting on a Cochran layup. His second three pointer cut the Wildcats' lead to seven, 54-47 with seven a half minutes left.

A little later, Collins would get the Terriers's closer with a three point play to cut Davidson's lead to six, 59-53 with a little less than five minutes. That's when the fans started making some noise and you could tell the potential of how loud Johnson Arena can be with a full, noisy crowd.

Wofford had two chances to cut the lead even closer. But their two leading scorers, Cochran and Collins each committed a critical turnover. And when Jake Cohen buried a NBA three pointer to put Davidson up 64-53 with 1:10 left, that was the ball game. The Wildcats would eventually win 68-57.

Davidson had a very balanced attack with four scorers in double figures. Cohen led the Wildcats with fifteen points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Czerapowicz also had fifteen points and six rebounds. De'Mon Brooks and Droney each had thirteen points. Davidson shot forty eight percent from the field and an impressive twenty four of twenty seven from the charity stripe. Davidson is now 15-7 overall and 10-1 in conference.

Collins led all scorers with twenty four points on ten of nineteen from the field. Cochran added fourteen points. And Faithfull, who played all forty minutes of the game, had eight points, nine assists and six rebounds. A truly solid all around performance for the Australian. Wofford is 8-15 overall and now 2-8 in conference.

As I left Wofford walking through the commons area, reveling in the good time I had last evening, I saw the coffee bar was still open. It was tempting, but I figured I would visit that the next time. The next time I am at Wofford, I hope to have my color analyst, aka my seven year old son Matthew with me. The thought of sitting with him in the commons after the game, going over the contest and watching another basketball game sounds really appealing. That is something that should be shared.

Still, I really enjoyed myself last night. Thanks Wofford for a fun experience.

Wildcats Show How It's Done (Recap of UNCG v. Davidson)

After watching the South Carolina State - South Carolina game, I took the now familiar drive from Columbia to Davidson to see the Wildcats play the Spartans of UNC Greensboro in Southern Conference play.  I parked in the same school parking lot across from the Brick House Tavern and made the again familiar walk on main street into Davidson town, then down to Belk Arena on the school campus.

After I walked in to the arena and the usher scanned my ticket, I pulled two dollars out of my pocket and preceded to walk straight to a small stand.  Before I was even up to the stand, the tall pretty short haired very friendly blonde at the stand said "Now there comes a man prepared".  She knew I was there to get my program and knew how much it cost.  Two dollars.  She told me De'Mon Brooks was the featured player in the program and thanked me.  Nineteen years ago, I might have struck up a conversation with her.  But I have a pretty long brown haired woman with two cute blonde haired kids waiting to move down to South Carolina with me.  They are my world, well that and college basketball.

Now it is early January and most colleges are not in session, as was the case with South Carolina earlier in the day.  Davidson was also the case, but unlike South Carolina, who had their cheerleaders, dance team and pep band, the Wildcats had none of the above.  So filling in for the pep band was a local cover group called Cradle Fish, composed of drummer/vocalist (who sang the national anthem), keyboard player, guitarist and bass player.  When they started out with Johnny B. Goode, I knew I we would get along just fine.

Davidson was coming off a nationally televised loss to #1 Duke on national TV on Wednesday.  The Wildcats were tied with the Blue Devils at the half before the Dukies clamped down on defense and won by seventeen.  Coming off a tough loss like that, you often don't know how a team will respond in their next game.

Davidson showed quickly that there was no hangover from their loss to Duke.  In what would be a common theme for the game, Jake Cohen scored the first five points of the game.   UNC Greensboro would not score their first basket until five minutes into the game.  By that time the score was 12-4 Wildcats.  Two Nik Cochran free throws and a Brooks dunk extended the Davidson lead to 16-4.

It was clearly evident six minutes into the game that you had two teams with different half court sets and mind frames.   Watching Davidson in their half court set is an absolute pleasure.   Not only do they move the ball around, the players are also in constant motion.   In fact during one play in the second half, you could clearly hear Bob McKillop yell out "Keep it moving!"   The Wildcats half court offense leads to either a lot of open three point looks, which they hit eight on the night, or back door layup opportunities (Davidson was 19 of 33 on two point field goals).

Meanwhile, at the outset, Wes Miller's UNCG team's half court offense needed some work.  It's not that they are not talented.   They may have been 2-9 on the season entering the game, but they had close losses at East Carolina, Rutgers and Virginia Tech.  Plus they won their only conference game, a thirty point home pasting of Citadel.   Last season, they won eleven of their last sixteen games and return their two top leading scorers, Trevell Simpson and Derrell Armstrong.   Plus they added a former CAA player I know well in fifth year senior forward Kelvin McNeil who played at Delaware for his first three seasons (averages six points and nearly seven rebounds per games).

And, for a brief time, the Spartans made a game of it.  They outscored the Wildcats 7-2 and after David Williams three pointer, UNC Greensboro was only down 18-11 with 11:21 left.  Perhaps they just needed a little time to get settled.

But for the rest of the game, the Spartans basically shot themselves in the foot on offense.  On most of their half court sets, UNC Greensboro barely used any of the shot clock and took a ton of off balanced, forced, bad shots.  Players would drive into double teams and put shots off the backboard, a couple of times off the side of the backboard.  And if not, then they would be called for an offensive foul.   It was like they had a bus to catch. Often you just cringed at what the Spartans put up.  Yes, it was that bad.

As you could guess, the result was Davidson and their precision offense started picking apart UNC Greensboro. Cohen nailed a three pointer to start a 17-7 run. Nik Cochran capped it with another three pointer to put the Wildcats up 35-18 with about three and half minutes left in the first half. Davidson would enter halftime with a 45-27 lead.

Cradle Fish was making my night. It's not often you hear a pep band, or in this case "a guest band" play Allman Brothers at halftime or "Another Brick in the Wall". But my favorite song they played was "Rambling Gambling Man" by Bob Seger. It's one of his lesser known songs, but it's a favorite of mine.

And Wes Miller must have felt like a rambling gambling man that was out of luck. His team apparently didn't listen to him at halftime. UNCG continued with their off balance, rushed shots. As a result, Davidson extended their lead to twenty one, 55-34 with about fourteen minutes left.

Then the Wildcats ended any Spartans' fans hopes of making the game respectable by outscoring the visitors 22-6 over the next seven and half minutes. JP Kuhlman buried a three pointer to put Davidson up 77-40 with six and a half minutes left in the game. Several Davidson fans started heading to the exits, secure in the knowledge that their team had won the game.

All that was left was De'Mon Brooks to score his 1000th career point on a free throw. Bob McKillop emptied his bench in the last few minutes of the game. Seldom used Connor Perkey finished the Wildcats' scoring with a layup and Davidson had a 85-53 win.

Cohen led five Davidson scorers in double figures with twenty points and eight rebounds. Brooks had fourteen points and seven rebounds. Cochran had twelve points, Tyler Kalinoski came off the bench to score eleven points and Kuhlman added ten points. Armstrong was the only Spartans scorer in double figures with seventeen points. Simpson, the Spartans leading scorer on the season, was held to seven points and only attempted seven field goal attempts.

As I walked back on a brisk Main Street to get back to my car, I thought to myself that I had a very good time. Another impressive Davidson win and I really enjoyed the "guest band". On a cold January night, the experience of a fun college basketball game keeps you warm.