DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Senior Brendan Winters wasn’t about to let Davidson lose a second straight home game. The Wildcats’ leading scorer surpassed his average by halftime and finished with 24 points as Davidson cruised to a 92-73 victory over the visiting Spartans of UNC Greensboro. With the win, the Wildcats improved to 14-8 on the season and 7-3 in the Southern Conference, putting them in a first-place tie with Georgia Southern. UNCG fell to 11-13 overall and 4-6 in the league.
Winters enjoyed his finest shooting performance of the season, connecting on 9-of-12 from the floor and 3-of-5 from downtown, not to mention a perfect 3-of-3 from the foul line. The 2005 Southern Conference Player of the Year scored 18 in the first half when he hit his three trifectas.
“This was without a doubt Brendan’s most efficient game of the season,” stated head coach Bob McKillop.
Davidson never trailed in the game, scoring on 11 of its first 12 possessions. Winters got things started with a three-pointer from the corner with the shot clock winding down. UNC Greensboro got back to within one on a Kyle Hines short jumper, 8-7, before the Wildcats went on an 18-4 run over the next five minutes. A three-pointer by Matt McKillop in the middle of the spurt put Davidson ahead by 10, 19-9, less than five minutes into the game.
By halftime, Davidson owned a 15-point lead at 46-31. The ’Cats hit 15-of-29 (.517) from the floor and 6-of-10 (.600) of their three-pointers, as well as 10-of-11 (.909) from the line. The passing game was particularly effective as the Wildcats assisted on 13 of the 15 field goals, including six by senior point guard Kenny Grant.
Davidson did not give UNCG any hope of making a comeback in the second half, opening the period on a 12-2 run. McKillop ripped two more threes, helping the Wildcats build a 25-point advantage with just under 15 minutes to play. The lead reached as many as 30 with 3:54 on the clock, and it did not dip below 20 points until 14 seconds remained in the game.
Joining Winters in double figures were seniors Ian Johnson and Jason Morton with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Johnson hit 7-of-13 from the floor, while Morton drilled four of his seven trifectas. Sophomore Thomas Sander grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to help Davidson hold a 36-27 advantage on the boards. Grant narrowly missed his third double-double of the season with nine points and 10 assists, the latter tying a season high.
Davidson shot a season high 56.1 percent (32-of-57) from the floor, including 55 percent (11-of-20) of its three-pointers, one game after shooting 38.3 percent in the loss to Western Carolina.
Freshman David McClenny led the Spartans with 20 points, more than doubling his career high of nine, hitting 7-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-4 from long range. Hines added 18 on 8-of-11 shooting, plus led UNCG with five rebounds. Ricky Hickman chipped in 17 points plus dished out four assists without a turnover. While the Spartans shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) for the game, they boosted that number in the final 5:19 by hitting 7-of-8 from the floor with five three-pointers.
The Wildcats hit the road for their next two conference games, beginning with a game at Wofford on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. UNC Greensboro heads home to entertain Chattanooga that same day at 7 p.m.