Story courtesy of Davidson sports information

Davidson 85, The Citadel 49

DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Five Wildcats scored in double figures, led by senior Ian Johnson with 16 points, to send Davidson to its nation-leading 27th consecutive conference victory in an 85-49 romp over the visiting Citadel Bulldogs. Davidson also won its 16th straight home game in improving to 9-5 on the season and 3-0 in the Southern Conference. The Citadel lost its sixth straight to fall to 6-9 and 0-3.

The long-range game was working for the Wildcats as they drilled 14-of-29 (.483) of their three-pointers to go along with 29-of-59 (.492) overall from the floor. Senior point guard Kenny Grant was 3-of-5 on his threes as he recorded his second double-double of the season and third of his career with 11 points and 10 assists without a turnover.

Joining Johnson and grant in double figures were senior Brendan Winters with 15 points, senior Jason Morton with 12 and sophomore Thomas Sander with an even 10. Winters and sophomore Boris Meno led the rebounding effort with seven boards apiece as Davidson beat the Bulldogs on the boards, 43-28.

The Wildcat defense kept The Citadel in check as the Bulldogs hit just one-third (19-of-57) of its shots and a dismal 3-of-19 (.158) from downtown.

“Our numbers across the board shooting the ball were terrific tonight,” said Davidson head coach Bob McKillop. “But I also see The Citadel’s shooting percentage and know we played well at both ends of the court. We have to continue to bring this kind of effort to the floor every game to be successful in the Southern Conference.”

Sporting a 13-9 lead with barely five minutes gone from the game, Davidson went on a 15-0 run over the next four minutes. The Wildcats drained 11 of their first 13 shots, including all four three-pointers. Morton had eight points during the run with a pair of trifectas, and he led Davidson with 10 points in the first half.

Winters added nine points and five rebounds in the opening stanza while Johnson hit 4-of-6 from the floor for eight points. Davidson ripped the nets to the tune of 56.7 percent (17-of-30) ? 7-of-15 (.467) on threes ? over the first 20 minutes to build a 45-24 lead.

The Wildcat defense was just as strong in the first half, holding The Citadel to just 31.0 percent (9-of-29) from the floor while outrebounding the Bulldogs, 19-14.

Any hopes of a Citadel comeback were dashed when Davidson opened the second half on an extended 17-4 run. Johnson put up eight of those points with a couple treys and the Wildcat lead never dipped below 30 over the final 13:30 of the game.

For the Bulldogs, J’Mel Everhart scored 11 points on a 5-of-7 shooting performance and added a team-best seven rebounds. Aaron Xia led The Citadel with 12 points.

Of Davidson’s 29 field goals, it recorded 22 assists and just seven turnovers.

Davidson next plays at Furman (8-6, 2-1) on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., and the game will be televised by Comcast Sports Southeast. The Citadel heads back to Charleston to play at its city rival College of Charleston (8-6, 1-2) at 2 p.m. on FSN South.