Men's Basketball Southern Conference

Davidson Rolls To 93-67 Win Over Concordia In Exhibition Play

DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Senior Ian Johnson and sophomore Boris Meno each provided a double-double, while senior Brendan Winters dropped in a game-high 20 points to lead Davidson to a 93-67 exhibition victory over Concordia University from Montreal.

Johnson scored 14 points, connecting on 7-of-14 shots, to go along with 13 rebounds, while Meno knocked down 6-of-9 from the floor for 13 points and tied Johnson for game-high honors on the boards with 13. He also swatted away five shots on defense. Winters, meanwhile, hit eight of his 14 shots, including a trio of three-pointers, on the way to his 20 points. Eleven of those points came in a three-and-a-half-minute stretch early in the second half to help the Wildcats pull away from Concordia.

Davidson jumped out to a 19-4 lead in the first 6:30 on the strength of trifectas from Winters, and seniors Kenny Grant and Jason Morton. But the Stingers scored the next eight points sparking a 21-7 run over nearly seven minutes to get back within one at 26-25. Over the final six minutes of the half, Johnson and senior Matt McKillop provided 10 of Davidson’s final 13 points to help stave off the Stingers and hold a 39-30 advantage at the intermission.

After the two teams traded a pair of buckets to start the second half, Winters took over with his 11-point burst. By the time he was finished, the ’Cats held a 60-39 lead with 13:34 to play. Concordia never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

Davidson finished the game shooting an even 50 percent from the floor, thanks to connecting on 22-of-40 shots (.550) in the second half. The ’Cats struggled finding their three-point shot in the opening 20 minutes, hitting just 4-of-17 (.235) from behind the arc. For the game, they finished at 30 percent with nine treys.

On the boards, Davidson held a 50-36 advantage with Johnson and Meno accounting for more than half of the team’s rebounds. Grant dished out six assists, and his backup, sophomore Jason Richards, handed out five with just one turnover.

The four Wildcat freshmen all got their first action in a Davidson uniform, and forward Andrew Lovedale made the most of his seven minutes on the floor by scoring eight points.

Concordia was held to just 32.9 percent from the floor (23-of-70), with Rastko Popovic coming off the bench to lead the squad with 14 points on four three-pointers and a pair of free throws. Damian Buckley added 13 while the team’s leading scorer, Patrick Perrotte was held to 10 points. Center Jamal Gallier topped the Stingers with nine rebounds.

This was Davidson’s lone exhibition game before opening the season on Nov. 19 at preseason number-one ranked Duke on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. Concordia continues its exhibition tour at the University of Georgia tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. The Stingers are currently 0-3 on their seven-game U.S. tour.