Davidson College
Bowling Green
'Cats Head to Bowling Green for First Road Trip
11/7/2024 11:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DAVIDSON WILDCATS (1-0, 0-0 A-10) vs. BOWLING GREEN FALCONS (0-1, 0-0 MAC)
Series Record: Series tied 1-1
First Meeting: Dec. 27, 1986 | Bowling Green won 75-71 (OT)
Last Meeting: Dec. 5, 1987 | Davidson won 76-70
Davidson Record at Home: 1-0
Davidson Record on Road: 0-1
Davidson Record at Neutral Site: 0-0
Matt McKillop's Record: 0-0
WILDCAT SCRATCHES
• The Wildcats tipped off the the 2024-25 campaign on Nov. 4 with an 88-47 win over William Peace.
• A trip to the Battle 4 Atlantis, which includes a date with Arizona, and a visit to Temple University highlights the non-conference schedule. Atlantic 10 Conference play begins Dec. 31 at George Mason.
• Entering his third season at the helm, Matt McKillop and the Wildcats return three starters from last year's club that finished 15-17 overall.
• Since joining the A-10 in 2014-15, Davidson has won two regular season titles (2015, 2022), a tournament title (2018) and made three NCAA Tournaments (2015, 2018, 2022). The Wildcats have made the tournament semifinals nine of the last 10 years.
DEPTH RETURNS
• Davidson returns three starters from a season ago in Reed Bailey (32 GP/32 GS), Connor Kochera (32/32) and Bobby Durkin (32/16).
• Durkin splashed onto the scene in his rookie year, draining the game-winning 3-pointer over Maryland and hitting a team-best 59 threes in his first season.
• Forward Sean Logan also made 14 starts in his sophomore season, including the final 13 games of the year, where he recorded 34 blocks down the stretch.
• Redshirt-sophomore Hunter Adam is also back for the 'Cats, after averaging 14.0 minutes per game during his debut season. The New Zealand native shot 42.9 percent from the floor (42-of-98) and scored a season-high nine points against Clemson and Duquesne.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
• Player development is at the core of Davidson basketball.
• In its 10 Atlantic 10 seasons, Davidson has the most A-10 Players of the Year (4).
• The Wildcats have also had nine A-10 First Team picks and seven Second Team selections, the most combined First and Second Team picks (16) in the league.
• Davidson has also had two Third Team awardees, bringing its total to 18 All-Conference selections, the third-most in the A-10 behind only Dayton (22) and St. Bonaventure (19).
THE BUCKEYE STATE
• Matt McKillop has picked up a non-conference victory in Ohio in each of his first two seasons as head coach of the Wildcats.
• In his first season at the helm, Davidson erased a 21-point deficit to defeat Wright State 102-97 in overtime after Foster Loyer dropped a career-high 38 points inside the Nutter Center.
• The following year, the 'Cats beat Ohio University 72-69 during the Legends of Basketball Showcase from inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
• In addition to those wins, Davidson has historically had good luck on the recruiting trail in Ohio, as Jack Gibbs '17, Peyton Aldridge '18, Brian Sullivan '16, Jordan Barham '16 and Grant Huffman '24 all hailed from the Buckeye State.
LAST TIME OUT | DAVIDSON 88, WILLIAM PEACE 47 | NOV. 4, 2024
• Wildcat guard Connor Kochera scored a game-high 19 points and Davidson scored 21 of the game's first 25 points en route to an 88-47 season-opening win over William Peace Monday evening in Belk Arena.
• The victory marked Davidson's 11th straight season-opening victory.
• Kochera scored the first five Davidson points, was joined by four teammates in double figures and helped the Wildcats craft 19-1 and 15-0 first-half runs as they set the tone early and built a 44-17 lead by the intermission.
• The Wildcats, who assisted on 23 of their 36 buckets, finished with lopsided advantages in rebounds (44-29), points in the paint (60-6), points off turnovers (29-4) and fast break points (22-4).
THE REED BAILEY OF IT ALL
• Among those returning on McKillop's squad include Preseason All-Conference Third Team selection Reed Bailey.
• Bailey scored in double figures in 21 games during his sophomore season, including 10 of the last 12 games. The forward recorded five 20-point performances and averaged 16.5 points per game over that same 12-game stretch.
• The junior big man also finished the 2023-24 campaign as one of the most consistent free throw shooters in the league, making 135 shots at the stripe (6th) and shooting 80.4 percent (10th) at the line.
• In Monday's opener, Bailey added 11 points and a game-leading seven rebounds to the stats sheet.
FRESH FACES
• In all, Davidson returns nine letterwinners and welcomes the addition of freshmen Manie Joses (London, England), Nick Coval (Orefield, Penn.), Phillip Kavu (Manchester, England) and Roberts Blums (Riga, Latvia). The 'Cats also bring on transfers Zach Laput (Bentley) and Joe Hurlburt (Colorado).
