Davidson rallies from 19 down in second half, but it’s not enough against Dayton
Davidson’s Wildcats rallied from a 19-point second half deficit Tuesday against Dayton – coming all the way back to tie it late in the game – before finally falling to the Flyers 74-73 in an Atlantic 10 game at Belk Arena.
It all ultimately came down to a made free throw by the Flyers’ Josh Cunningham with 2.2 seconds remaining and a missed desperation shot as the buzzer sounded by the Wildcats’ Kellan Grady.
Down 63-44 with 9 minutes 38 seconds remaining, Davidson (19-7, 10-3 A-10) had seemed to run out of ideas against the Flyers (17-9, 9-4). The Wildcats had shot 28 percent from the field (7-of-25) in the first half and were getting handled inside by the Flyers’ Toppin and Cunningham.
“We put ourselves in that position,” said Davidson guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson, who led the Wildcats with 26 points. “We didn’t come out to fight.”
But Davidson finally got things going, making shots that weren’t going in earlier and clamping down on defense. The Wildcats went on a 27-8 run, capped by a steal and dunk by guard Kellan Grady (18 points) that tied it 71-71 with 1:10 remaining. The Wildcats seemed to have held Dayton on the Flyers’ next possession, but Toppin tipped in his own miss to make it 73-71.
Davidson responded when Luke Frampton found Gudmundsson alone for a layup with 11 seconds left, tying it again at 73-73. When Cunningham got open under the basket with 2.2 seconds left, he was fouled by Grady. After missing the first free throw, Cunningham made the second for a one-point lead. Grady’s last-gasp shot bounced off the rim and the Wildcats were losers at home for the first time this season.
“Coach (Bob McKillop) said at halftime that this was a street fight and we had to come out fighting,” Gudmundsson said. “But against a good team like Dayton, it’s not enough to fight for eight minutes.”
Three who mattered
Toppin, Dayton: Flyers freshman forward, among the nation’s leaders in field-goal percentage, scored 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and pulled down 12 rebounds.
Gudmundsson, Davidson: Wildcats junior guard was a key figure in Davidson’s rally, ended with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Cunningham, Dayton: Flyers senior forward’s free throw with 2.2 seconds was the difference in the game. He led Dayton with 21 points.
Worth mentioning
▪ Davidson got into some foul trouble in the first half. Forward Luka Brajkovic picked up his second foul with 8:08 left and sat out the rest of the half. Frampton sat out the final 5:10 of the half after committing his second foul. For the game, Brajkovic played just 12 minutes and scored just two points (Davidson’s first basket of the game).
▪ The Wildcats did get a lift from junior forward Dusan Kovacevic, however. With Brajkovic on the bench, Kovecevic scored six points during the rally and had five rebounds.
▪ Nearly 50 NBA scouts and executives in Charlotte for All-Star Weekend attended last Friday’s Davidson-Saint Joseph’s game. Only a few were at the Davidson-Dayton game, one of them being Charlotte Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak.
▪ The Wildcats’ next game is Friday at Rhode Island, a team they beat 68-53 last week at Belk Arena. Dayton is host to Saint Louis on Saturday.
They said it
“That hurts a lot. We put ourselves in that position, though.” – Gudmundsson.
“Three things kept us from being in the game: bad offense leading to bad defense; not being more disciplined to understand the tendencies of the opponent; and we had to be more disciplined with our fouls.”– McKillop.
“I’d be more proud if we had finished the game with a victory, but I’m very proud of them.” – McKillop, on his team’s comeback.
This story was originally published February 19, 2019 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Davidson rallies from 19 down in second half, but it’s not enough against Dayton."