Davidson Defeats Charlotte to Reclaim Hornets’ Nest Trophy, 82-68

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DAVIDSON, N.C. – Davidson shot 55.2 percent from the field in the second half while Brendan McKillop led three Wildcat scorers in double figures with 21 points to give Davidson men's basketball an 82-68 victory over Charlotte in the 30th Hornets' Nest Trophy game between the Mecklenburg County rivals Saturday night in Belk Arena.

McKillop helped Davidson improve to 5-4 on the season by matching his season-high point total behind 7-of-12 shooting from beyond-the-arc, which matched a career-best effort. Jake Cohen finished just one rebound shy of his third consecutive double-double, scoring 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and converting all six free throw attempts. JP Kuhlman was also perfect at the free throw line, going 4-for-4 and hit 6-of-16 field goal attempts to total 18 points. He also added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Derrio Green led three Charlotte (4-6) scorers in double-figures with 16 points and added seven boards, three assists and three steals. Chris Braswell led the 49ers on the glass with nine rebounds and scored 15 points.

Davidson finished shooting at 45.9 percent (28-of-61) for the game and converted 12-of-29 three-pointers (41.4 percent). They held Charlotte to 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond-the-arc.

After leading by just one at halftime, a 12-3 run keyed by Kuhlman gave the Wildcats their first double-digit lead at 46-36 with 13:40 remaining in the second half. Kuhlman scored the first five points before McKillop added a three. Ben Allison then electrified the Belk Arena crowd with a big slam on a fast break and Nik Cochran added two more on a fast break.

Davidson extended the lead to as much as 19 points (68-49) with 4:05 remaining after going on an 11-2 run. The 49ers cut the lead to 10 with an 11-2 run of their own to trail 60-70 with 2:10 remaining, but Davidson converted 9-of-10 from the charity stripe down the stretch en route to the final 82-68 margin.

Davidson held a 30-29 lead after a hotly-contested first half in which neither team held a lead greater than five points. After scoring the game's opening bucket, Davidson held the lead for the first 9:30 until Chris Braswell hit a jumper to put Charlotte on top 13-12. Cohen answered with a layup at the other end, but Charlotte scored the next five points to open an 18-14 advantage.

It was the largest lead the 49ers would hold. McKillop put the 'Cats back in front, 22-20 with 5:30 remaining with a deep three from the top of the key. Davidson opened a 27-23 advantage before a Braswell trey and a Javarris Barnett dunk to gave the 49ers a 28-27 lead with 1:31 remaining, but McKillop answered with his third three of the half to give the 'Cats a lead they would not relinquish.

De'Mon Brooks scored seven points for the Wildcats and added three boards. Clint Mann had six points and three boards while Tom Droney also had three rebounds. Davidson held a 40-32 edge on the glass.

After playing just their second home game of the season, Davidson will travel to New York for the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival for their next two games. They will first face St. John's, Monday, Dec. 20, at 9 p.m.

Notes: Davidson set season-highs in points (82), field goals made (28), and three-pointers made (12) and attempted (29) … Davidson held Charlotte without a field goal for the first 5:53 of the game … the 'Cats are 4-0 when leading at halftime … Davidson has won 24 of their last 26 against non-conference competition at Belk Arena and are 32-5 since 2003 … fans were encouraged to wear black as apart of Davidson's annual “BlackOut Belk Arena.”

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