Davidson 83, The Citadel 76

CHARLESTON, S.C. – De’Mon Brooks led five Davidson players in double figures with 21 points, including a career-best 17-of-20 effort at the line as the Wildcats extended their winning streak to nine straight with an 83-76 victory at The Citadel Monday evening.

Brooks was held to just two field goals as the Bulldogs were physical with him in the paint, but the Wildcats converted 11-of-21 (52.4 percent) 3-pointers and 26-of-36 free throws (72 percent).

Brian Sullivan and Tom Droney combined to go 7-for-13 from deep to finish with 15 points each, while Tyler Kalinoski and Jack Gibbs added 13 apiece for the Wildcats, who also won their 13 consecutive league road game.

Davidson (16-11, 12-1 SoCon) led by as many as 17 points in each half, but withstood a late Citadel (4-24, 0-13) run that cut the Wildcat lead to five points in the final seconds.

The Bulldogs were led by Ashton Moore, who scored a career-high 35 points – the most by a Citadel player since 1995.

The opening 20 minutes featured lengthy runs by each team before Davidson went to the half up, 34-28. Despite missing their first two shot attempts, the Wildcats made their next eight, including four 3-pointers to jump out to a 22-5 lead. The Citadel responded with a 21-8 run over the next 8 minutes and 31 seconds to cut the deficit to 30-26 with 2:23 left in the period.

The Wildcats held a 30-27 edge on the glass, including 11 at the offensive end, which led to 13 second-chance points.

After Moore scored five straight to make it a one-possession contest, 46-44, with 12:33 left, Gibbs answered with a triple for Davidson at the other end, sparking a 19-7 run to push the advantage back to double digits, 65-51.

The Citadel concluded the night shooting 50 percent overall, while going 23-of-30 at the free-throw line.