Jack Gibbs, Peyton Aldridge help Davidson overcome injuries

A few hours before Davidson would face Duquesne in an Atlantic 10 game Wednesday, Wildcats guard Jack Gibbs had a message for his teammates during their pre-game meal.

“Jack vowed before the game that you could count on him to make the right decisions and make his best effort at implementing our system (Wednesday),” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said after Gibbs led the Wildcats past the Dukes 77-66 at Belk Arena.

Gibbs, the nation’s fifth-leading scorer, followed through on his promise. In a game during which the Wildcats (9-4, 1-1) were missing two starters and had only seven scholarship players available, he scored 21 points, dished out 10 assists, had six steals and grabbed five rebounds.

“He did it,” said McKillop said of Gibbs. “It was evident.”

McKillop’s roster is threadbare these days. Guards Brian Sullivan (concussion symptoms) and Jordan Barham (ankle) missed their second consecutive game. Forward Jake Belford announced last week that his career is over after multiple concussions. Freshmen KiShawn Pritchett and Dusan Kovacevic are both missing the season with knee injuries.

Those absences have forced McKillop to tighten his rotation. It has also meant that the players who are healthy must rely on and run Davidson’s free-flowing offensive system – one that stresses a lot of cutting and off-the ball movement. It’s all orchestrated by Gibbs.

“We have a pretty good system here and wanted to make sure we didn’t get away from it,” said Gibbs. “When we’re at full strength, it’s important. But when we’re down guys, it’s even more important.”

The Wildcats led by 10 points late in the first half, but a 10-2 run by the Dukes (10-5, 0-2) cut the lead to 38-36 at halftime. The Wildcats outscored 14-6 to open the second half and Duquesne never recovered.

Three who mattered

Jack Gibbs: Was everywhere for the Wildcats, supplementing another big scoring night (21 points) with 10 assists, six steals and fiver rebounds

Peyton Aldridge: Led Davidson with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, also had six rebounds

Eric James: Dukes forward had a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Observations

▪ The players who are getting more minutes with all the injuries are stepping up for Davidson. Jordan Watkins, filling in for Sullivan in the starting lineup, made 4-of-9 3-pointers and scored 14 points (he had a career-high 23 last Saturday against St. Bonaventure). At 6-foot-2, guard Rusty Reigel led the Wildcats with seven rebounds. Forward Andrew McAuliffe had 12 points, the second consecutive game he’s had a career-high scoring performance.

▪ Dukes guard Micah Mason, the second most accurate 3-point shooter in NCAA history coming into the game (47.9 percent for his career), missed all six of his 3-pointers.

Worth mentioning

▪ Wednesday was the first of three Wildcats game that will be televised on WMYT (Channel 55) this season. WMYT also will carry Davidson’s Atlantic 10 Conference games against George Mason on Saturday and against La Salle Feb. 10.

▪ Duquesne has been dealing with its own share of injuries. Mason missed the Dukes’ A-10 opener against Dayton with a ankle injury. Senior forward Jeremiah Jones is out for the season with a torn ACL.

They said it

“There was tremendous trust.” – McKillop, of his team’s effort.

“When things are clicking, it’s pretty to watch.” – Watkins, of the team’s offense.

“Coach said this was going to be a streetfight and that we’re going to get everybody’s best shot after winning the (Atlantic 10) regular-season title last year.” – Gibbs.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 9:29 PM with the headline "Jack Gibbs, Peyton Aldridge help Davidson overcome injuries."