Second-Half Defense Pushes Davidson Past Samford

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DAVIDSON, N.C. - Brendan McKillop scored a career-high 20 points, and Davidson held Samford to 23.5 percent shooting from the field in the second half to post a 66-56 Southern Conference victory over the Bulldogs in Belk Arena Monday night.

It was the fourth straight win for the Wildcats (7-8, 2-1 SoCon), who had four scorers in double figures. Will Archambault finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Ben Allison collected 13 points and nine rebounds. JP Kuhlman tallied 13 points and five boards.

McKillop was 7-for-11 from the floor and knocked down 6-of-10 from behind the 3-point arc.

Bryan Friday led Samford (6-8, 1-2 SoCon) with 16 points, and Josh Davis posted 14 points and four assists. Andy King scored 11, and Trey Montgomery finished with nine.

Samford came out on fire from long distance and hit seven of its first eight 3-point tries en route to a 33-29 lead at halftime. The Bulldogs shot 52.2 percent from the field in the frame, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range.

Davidson made some adjustments at halftime and after the Bulldogs extended their lead to eight points on a Davis trey early in the second stanza, the Wildcats used a 15-2 spurt to open a 46-41 cushion with 7:18 to play.

McKillop ignited the run with three 3-pointers, Allison got a steal and a dunk and Kuhlman capped it with a 3-pointer. Meanwhile, Davidson's defense allowed the Bulldogs just two more 3-pointers for the rest of the contest.

The Bulldogs worked the margin back to 51-47 with 3:48 remaining, but Archambault answered with a runner, and Allison knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead back to eight points with two minutes left. Davidson went 9-for-12 from the charity stripe to seal the win.

The 'Cats allowed just four Samford baskets in the second half while shooting 47.4 percent at the other end. Davidson also controlled the boards, posting a 32-25 rebounding margin, including a 12-7 edge on the offensive glass.

Davidson caps its four-game homestand with a SoCon meeting against Appalachian State Saturday at 2 p.m. in Belk Arena. The game will be broadcast live on SportsSouth.

Game Notes: It's the only meeting between Davidson and Samford this season… McKillop's six 3-pointers are a career high… The teams came into the game as the two top 3-point shooting teams in the SoCon, and each squad netted 10… Archambault is now 108 points away from 1,000 for his career… The Davidson bench outscored its opponent for the 13th time this season... Allison's 13 points tied his career high.

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