Davidson beats A-10 rival George Mason 81-75

Davidson’s men’s basketball team is finally back at full strength – at least, what passes for full strength on the Wildcats.

Davidson needed the extra hands Saturday night in pulling out an 81-75 victory over Atlantic 10 rival George Mason at Belk Arena.

Jack Gibbs scored a game-high 26 points, including a three-point play with 1 minute, 34 seconds remaining that put the Wildcats (10-4, 2-1) ahead to stay.

Peyton Aldridge added 13 points and Brian Sullivan 12 for Davidson, which fought back from an 11-point deficit early in the second half to win its second straight overall and 14th straight at home.

Sullivan (concussion symptoms) and forward Jordan Barham (knee) were both back in the Wildcats’ lineup Saturday after missing the past two games with injuries.

They needed the help, especially when Davidson went cold after opening the second half ahead 45-40.

The Wildcats missed 10 of their first 11 shots, while the Patriots went on an 18-2 run to take a 58-47 lead with 13 minutes remaining.

But Davidson responded with its own run, outscoring George Mason (6-10, 0-3) 13-1 over the next 2 1/2 minutes and regaining the lead at 60-59 on Jordan Watkins’ layup with 10:39 left.

That set up a run in which the lead changed hands four times and the game was tied twice, the last at 71 with 3:26 left, before Gibbs’ three-point play gave the Wildcats the lead for good.

Jalen Jenkins scored 20 points for George Mason, which had three other players finish in double figures. Marquise Moore added 15, Jaire Grayer 12 and Otis Livingston 11.

Three who mattered

Jack Gibbs: Shot 8 of 14 from the field, including a perfect 3 for 3 on 3-pointers. But his biggest contribution came at the free throw line – 7 of 9, with 4 of 4 in the final 21 seconds to seal the win. Also had five rebounds and seven assists.

Peyton Aldridge: His six straight points kicked off the 13-1 run that helped the Wildcats overcome the Patriots’ 11-point lead in the second half.

Brian Sullivan: In his first game back, hit a 3-pointer less than 10 seconds into the game. While he didn’t finish shooting that well (4 of 13 from the field, 3 of 8 on 3-pointers), he also had five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot.

Observations

▪ Both teams shot near-identical numbers in the first half (Davidson 52.8 percent, George Mason 51.5 percent). The difference leading to the Wildcats’ 45-40 halftime lead was in 3-pointers – Davidson was 7 of 14 on 3-pointers, while the Patriots made just 3 of 9.

▪ The Patriots, the A-10’s top rebounding team, had a 46-29 advantage against the Wildcats, including a 12-6 edge on offensive boards.

▪ Davidson had a season-low three turnovers Saturday, while getting 19 assists. That was a season-best 6.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Wildcats also forced George Mason into 13 turnovers, leading to 12 points.

Worth mentioning

▪ Sullivan scored his 1,000th career point in a Wildcats uniform with 9:28 left in the first half. Ironically, his 1,000th career collegiate point (he spent a year at Miami, Ohio, before transferring to Davidson) came last season against George Mason.

▪ Davidson travels to Ohio – a big recruiting territory for the Wildcats – to face 25th-ranked Dayton in an A-10 game Tuesday. Game time is 8 p.m.

They said it

▪ “We were down 11 points and went into the huddle, and their eyes were bright, active, energized and inspiring, and that resonated with their teammates. Then they went out and did it, and played like it.” – Davidson coach Bob McKillop, on Gibbs and Sullivan.

▪ “It felt good to be back. I felt a little nerves – I know it was only two games, but it felt like a long time. It felt good to get back in the swing of things.” – Sullivan.

▪ “We’re definitely going to learn from this. We got knocked down early, and we came back to make it a hard-fought win.” – Gibbs.

This story was originally published January 9, 2016 at 10:10 PM with the headline "Davidson beats A-10 rival George Mason 81-75."