Hot-Shooting Gonzaga Tops Davidson in Battle in Seattle

Saturday, December 12

Seattle, Wash.

4:00 p.m. (PST)

Davidson College Athletics

103

Gonzaga

Brendan McKillop scored 15.

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

Hot-Shooting Gonzaga Tops Davidson in Battle in Seattle

12/12/2009 10:35:11 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Marc Gignac

SEATTLE - Jake Cohen led six Davidson scorers in double figures with 16 points, but the Wildcats fell 103-91 to No. 21 Gonzaga in the Battle in Seattle in KeyArena Saturday afternoon.

Brendan McKillop and JP Kuhlman each scored 15 points, and Will Archambault added 11 points and a career-high six assists for the Wildcats (2-7). Nik Cochran came off the bench to score a career-high 10 points, and Ben Allison added 10 points and five rebounds.

Elias Harris led the Bulldogs (8-2) with 27 points, and Robert Sacre netted 23. Demetri Goodson scored 22 points, and Steven Gray added 16.

The teams combined to shoot 81 free throws, and Gonzaga, which came into the game averaging 30 foul shots a game, shot a school-record 54, cashing in on 41 of the chances. The Bulldogs also shot 63.6 percent from the floor, including 6-for-12 from 3-point range.

Davidson had its best offensive outing of the season, shooting 50.8 percent from the floor and hitting 14-of-23 from long distance. McKillop led the charge, hitting 5-for-7 from 3-point range, and Kuhlman went 3-for-4. The Wildcats had 25 assists on 30 made baskets.

Gonzaga used a 14-6 run midway through the second frame to open a double-digit lead on the Wildcats, and the margin grew to as many as 18 points on a Sacre dunk with 7:24 to play.

Davidson wouldn't go away and used an 11-3 run with the help of a 3-pointer each from Cochran, Cohen and Kuhlman to make the score 88-78 with 4:27 remaining, but it was as close as the Wildcats would get as the Zags made 11-of-13 from the charity stripe the rest of the way.

The Zags worked the ball inside to the 7-foot Sacre or the 6-foot-8 Harris early and usually got a high-percentage shot or two chances at the foul line. They used a 9-2 run midway through the frame to open a 24-15 lead with 11:13 to go in the first half.

The Wildats responded with a monster 20-4 run to open a 35-28 cushion with 7:03 left. Cochran scored seven of his points during the spurt, and McKillop hit three 3s. Gonzaga came right back to score 17 straight points and take a 10-point cushion with 2:04 remaing, but the 'Cats finished the half with a 10-2 flurry and trailed 47-45 at the break.

Davidson returns to action at home Thursday, Dec. 17, when the 'Cats host The College of New Jersey in Belk Arena at 7 p.m.

Game Notes: Gonzaga's previous school record from the foul line was 53 against Loyola Marymount in 1984… There were a total of 54 fouls called in the game, which lasted 2:26… Davidson had 27 free throws, one off its season high… The Wildcats' bench has outscored its opponent in every game this season… The 'Cats had five or more in double figures scoring for the first time since March 2, 2009, at Elon.