Davidson 69, Monmouth 53
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Led by Brendan McKillop's 17 points, Davidson held the lead from midway through the first half to the end as the Wildcats won their 19th consecutive home opener with a 69-53 victory over Monmouth in non-conference men's basketball action Monday night in Belk Arena.
All 17points for McKillop came from the field, as he hit 5-of-10 from beyond the arc and converted his lone two-point attempt. He also had two assists and two steals.
Davidson improved to 3-3 with the win. JP Kuhlman and Jake Cohen both reached double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Cohen finished one rebound short of a double-double with nine, and added three blocks and two assists. Kuhlman hit 6-of-7 free throws to go along with six assists and five boards.
Ed Waite led Monmouth (1-3) with 15 points and eight rebounds. Will Campbell added 12 points and four rebounds. Marcus Ware had six boards.
Davidson shot 44.4 percent (24-for-54) for the game and held Monmouth to 35.8 percent (19-for-53).
Waite scored four points, Nick Deltufo hit a trey and Campbell made a bucket as Monmouth cut the Wildcats' 17-point lead to eight midway through the second half, but after getting another defensive stop, the Hawks committed an offensive foul away from the ball and were tagged with a technical foul.
Kuhlman then hit both free throws to give Davidson a double-digit lead they would not relinquish as Davidson's defense yielded just two field goals over the final eight minutes of the game.
The Wildcats extended the lead to as much as 18 with 47 seconds remaining with a 13-4 run.
Monmouth had cut into Davidson's 10-point halftime lead to start the second half, pulling within six, but the 'Cats responded with a 14-3 run in which McKillop sank a pair of three-pointers and Jordan Downing, Kuhlman, Ben-Eze and Mann added a bucket each to take a 55-38 cushion.
The first half was a seesaw battle that saw six lead changes before the 'Cats went on a 10-1 run to open their largest to that point at 11 points. Frank Ben-Eze started the run by tipping in a missed layup, and McKillop followed with a three-ball and a layup off the top of the glass. Kuhlman gave the 'Cats a 37-26 advantage by sinking a contested three-pointer on which he was fouled on from the top of the key. Monmouth's Jordan Davis answered with a trey of his own, but Ben Allison made a pair of free throws to send the Wildcats to the locker room with a 39-29 advantage.
Downing finished with nine points off the bench, while Clint Mann scored eight points to go along with five rebounds. Ben-Eze totaled five points, eight boards and three blocks. Nik Cochran added four helpers.
Davidson will next head to Charleston, S.C. to open their Southern Conference schedule, taking on College of Charleston Thursday and The Citadel Saturday.
North Carolina A&T 82, UNCG 70
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Sophomore Kyle Randall scored a career-high 23 points, but it was not enough as UNCG fell to crosstown foe North Carolina A&T in the renewal of the old rivalry, 82-70 on Monday at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Junior transfer Aloysius Henry notched his first double-double in a UNCG uniform with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for the Spartans (0-5).
Thomas Coleman had a double-double for the Aggies (4-3), scoring a career-high 20 points and matching his career high with 14 rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Nic Simpson, who had 18 points, Adrian Powell (12) and Marc Hill (10).
The game was tighter than the final score indicated, with neither team leading by more than six points in the second half until the Aggies pulled away at the free throw line in the final minute of play. UNCG led 43-40 at the half, but shot just 26.5 percent in the second frame as N.C. A&T rallied for the win.
Meeting for the first time since 2002, the squads were tied nine times and lead changed hands 10 times.
A Randall jumper put the Spartans up 66-63 with 6:33 to play, but Powell hit a layup to cut it to one and Coleman jammed home a follow slam on an R.J. Buck miss to put the Aggies ahead for good.
Hill followed with a pair of free throws and Buck hit a layup to make it 71-66 in the Aggies' favor with 4:25 left. A pair of Randall free throws got UNCG back within a possession, but Simpson countered with a layup to restore the five-point bulge.
Randall drove the lane for a layup with 2:13 left to again cut it to three at 73-70, but Coleman hit the front end of a two-shot foul to make it a two-possession game again.
After Simpson hit two free throws to make it 76-70 in the final minute of play, Korey Van Dussen shot a 3-pointer that was off the mark. N.C. A&T's Hill - the shortest player on either roster at 5-8 - came up with the rebound in a scrum around the basket, forcing the Spartans to foul to prolong the game.
The Aggies were 4-for-5 from the line in the final minute of play.
Henry had 10 of his points in the first half, including UNCG's first six of the game and eight of its first 14.
The Spartans led by as many as eight in the first half, running off an 8-0 spurt after N.C. A&T tied it at 21. The Aggies cut it back down to two at 33-31 before UNCG got a David Williams 3-pointer and a three-point play from Brandon Evans to restore its eight-point lead.
The Aggies would once again have the answer, getting six points from Coleman in an 9-0 run that put the Aggies up one at 40-39.
Henry got a layup to go with under a minute left to put the Spartans back on top and Randall dropped in a layup of his own with eight seconds left to give UNCG a 43-40 lead going into the break.
The Aggies shot 50.9 percent from the floor for the game, aided by a 38-24 edge in the paint. N.C. A&T also took three times as many three throws as UNCG, attempting 30 to UNCG's 10. The Spartans were whistled for 24 fouls compared to just 12 for the Aggies.
UNCG returns to action on Thursday when it opens conference play at defending Southern Conference champion Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.