How late surge keys Davidson victory over George Washington
Davidson’s Wildcats shook off a stubborn George Washington team Wednesday, beating the Colonials 73-62 in an Atlantic 10 basketball game at Belk Arena.
The Wildcats (14-5, 5-1 A-10), who were led by junior guard KiShawn Pritchett’s career-high 17 points, made 11-of-26 3-pointers and never trailed. But George Washington (6-13, 2-4) kept the game close until a late flurry by Davidson put it away.
Davidson led 56-52 with 8 minutes, 30 seconds left when the Colonials’ Justin Williams hit a 3-pointer. The Wildcats then got going, especially on the defensive end, holding the Colonials scoreless for the next three minutes. Davidson freshman forward Luka Brajkovic scored five points on two consecutive possessions to increase the margin to nine points and George Washington was unable to recover.
The Wildcats, who are unbeaten in 10 games at home this season, struggled for a while at the free-throw line, making 4 of 10 in the first half before going 8 for 10 in the second half (12 of 20 for the game).
Three who mattered
Pritchett, Davidson: Scored 17 points, including 3 of 5 3-pointers. The rest came on the inside, where he took advantage of size mismatches.
Justin Mazulla, George Washington: Guard helped keep the Colonials in it for the first 32 minutes, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Kellen Grady, Davidson: Wildcats scoring leader left the game briefly in the second half with leg cramps, but finished with 16 points.
Worth mentioning
▪ Davidson made 8-of-17 3-point attempts in the first half (47.1 percent), better than it shot from the field (40.0) or the free-throw line (40.0). The Wildcats’ first 3-pointers were hit by big men Luka Brajkovic and Dusan Kovacevic. It was the fourth 3-pointer of the season for both players.
▪ Davidson gets one of its sterner conference tests Saturday afternoon at Saint Louis, which was in first place and unbeaten in the league entering its game Wednesday at Duquesne. George Washington is at George Mason on Saturday.
▪ Davidson senior forward Nathan Ekwu missed his fourth consecutive game with seventh overall with lingering knee soreness.
▪ Former Duke guard Greg Paulus is a George Washington assistant.
DAVIDSON 73, GEORGE WASHINGTON 62
George Washington | Min | FG-A | FT-A | R | F | Pt |
Langarica | 29 | 1-5 | 6-6 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
Jack | 30 | 2-8 | 2-2 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
Mazzulla | 35 | 6-11 | 0-0 | 7 | 2 | 15 |
Nolan | 25 | 2-6 | 1-4 | 10 | 5 | 6 |
D.Williams | 33 | 6-13 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
Potter | 24 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
J.Williams | 11 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
Mitola | 6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Littles | 4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
Offurum | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Brown | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sasser | -- | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 200 | 20-50 | 14-18 | 36 | 19 | 62 |
Percentages: FG .400, FT .778. 3-Point Goals: 8-24, .333 (Mazzulla 3-4, Jack 2-7, J.Williams 1-2, Nolan 1-5, D.Williams 1-5, Langarica 0-1). Team Rebounds: 1. Team Turnovers: 15 (4 PTS). Blocked Shots: 1 (Langarica). Turnovers: 15 (Langarica 3, Nolan 3, D.Williams 2, J.Williams 2, Mazzulla 2, Potter 2, Jack). Steals: 3 (D.Williams, Langarica, Mazzulla). Technical Fouls: None.
Davidson | Min | FG-A | FT-A | R | F | Pt |
Brajkovic | 19 | 5-7 | 3-3 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
Frampton | 35 | 3-5 | 2-3 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
Grady | 38 | 6-18 | 1-3 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
Gudmundsson | 37 | 3-10 | 4-7 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
Pritchett | 29 | 7-10 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 17 |
Collins | 18 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
B.Jones | 14 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Kovacevic | 5 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Czerapowicz | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 200 | 25-54 | 12-20 | 28 | 15 | 73 |
Percentages: FG .463, FT .600. 3-Point Goals: 11-26, .423 (Frampton 3-4, Pritchett 3-5, Grady 3-8, Brajkovic 1-1, Kovacevic 1-1, Collins 0-2, Gudmundsson 0-5). Team Rebounds: 1. Team Turnovers: 7 (17 PTS). Blocked Shots: 0. Turnovers: 7 (Brajkovic 2, B.Jones, Frampton, Gudmundsson, Kovacevic, Pritchett). Steals: 6 (Gudmundsson 3, Pritchett 2, Collins). Technical Fouls: None.
George Washington | 29 | 33 | — | 62 |
Davidson | 36 | 37 | — | 73 |
David Scott: @davidscott14
This story was originally published January 23, 2019 at 9:17 PM with the headline "How late surge keys Davidson victory over George Washington."