Davidson gets balanced scoring, knocks off Winthrop

Davidson got balanced scoring from a variety of players Tuesday in a 99-81 college victory against Winthrop at Belk Arena.

The Wildcats (8-1) played an efficient offense game, making 51.5 percent of their shots, 46.4 percent (13 of 28) from 3-point range. Five Davidson players scored in double figures, led by guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson’s 24. Other double figures scorers were guard Kellan Grady (20), forward Luka Brajkovic (18), KiShawn Pritchett (11) and forward Dusan Kovacevic (10).

Winthrop (4-4) got 25 points from guard Nych Smith and 17 from 16 from guard Kyle Zunic.

Winthrop, which had won two games in a row, led by as many as eight points in the first half. The lead was 23-15 when Kyle Zunic hit a 3-pointer with 11 minutes, 47 seconds left.

Davidson then went on a 12-0 run, with Luke Frampton making a 3-pointer with 9 minutes, 20 seconds left, giving the Wildcats a 27-23 lead. Although the Eagles rallied to tie it 33-33 on a Josh Ferguson 3-pointer with 6:26 left, Davidson controlled the rest of the half. The Wildcats led 51-43 on a KiShawn Pritchett basket with 39 seconds left. Two free throws by Winthrop’s Nych Smith made it 51-45 at halftime.

Neither team did much offensive rebounding in the first half: Davidson had two and Winthrop one. The big difference in the half was Davidson’s 15-0 advantage in points off six Winthrop turnovers. Davidson had one turnover in the first half.

Three who mattered

Gudmundsson, Davidson: Another routine night for the Wildcats’ junior guard from Iceland. He scored 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, added 10 rebounds, six assists and a steal.

Dusan Kovacevic, Davidson: Wildcats backup forward scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including two 3-pointers.

Smith, Winthrop: Made 7 of 14 shots for 25 points, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Worth mentioning

▪ Winthrop’s Smith hit a 3-pointer late in the first half but received a technical foul after jawing to a Davidson player running back upcourt..

▪ Both teams took a full game’s worth of 3-pointers in the first half. Winthrop made 9-of-20, while Davidson made 7-of-17.

▪ The Wildcats are off for 11 days before finishing their nonconference schedule with a challenge set of games. They will face Temple in Atlantic City, N.J., on Dec. 15., travel to Wake Forest on Dec. 17 and (after a home game against Central Penn on Dec. 22) go to 14th-ranked North Carolina on Dec. 29.

▪ Winthrop is also off until Dec. 15, when the Eagles will host Hiwasee (Tenn.)

▪ Davidson’s Grady took a hard foul at the end of a fast break from Winthrop’s Adam Pickett in the first half. Morgan was called for a Flagrant 1 foul; Grady made both free throws, but the Wildcats couldn’t capitalize after keeping possession whenFrampton missed a 3-pointer. Davidson’s Carter Collins was also whistled for a Flagrant 1 on Winthrop’s Kyle Zunic in the second half.

▪ Highlight of the first half for Winthrop was an acrobatic block by Jermaine Ukaegbu on a Gudmundsson shot.

▪ Wildcats forward Nathan Ekwu rested a sore knee and didn’t play. McKillop said Grady has a touch of bursitis in one of his knees and has had limited practice time recently.

They said it

“Offensively our pace was really good; we were generating 3s - until halftime. They kicked our butts in the second half.” - Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey.

“Pat’s got them going, they’re really in attack mode, great stuff.” - Davidson coach Bob McKillop.

“We have a lot of guys who can score the ball; that’s what we’re going to need all season.” - Gudmundsson.

“Nych Smith is a one-man fast break.” – McKillop.

This story was originally published December 4, 2018 at 9:23 PM.