Heartbreak: Davidson’s one-point loss to Michigan State closes a spectacular season
Just before the clock struck midnight Friday, Davidson ran out of magic.
The Wildcats battled Michigan State toe-to-toe for 40 minutes in a first-round NCAA tournament game, one of those thrillers that made a lot of people stay up late who had been thinking about going to bed.
But Michigan State, favored by a point going into the game, ended up being exactly one point better.
Final score: Michigan State 74, Davidson 73.
March Madness eventually turns into March sadness for 67 of the 68 teams in the NCAA men’s tournament. But Davidson, seeded No. 10, found heartbreak too early once again. The Wildcats have come close repeatedly but haven’t won an NCAA tournament game since 2008, when Steph Curry fueled a Davidson squad that was one shot away from making the Final Four. There have been a lot of near-misses in the ensuing 14 years, and this was one of the most painful.
“I’m heartbroken for our guys,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. “We got into the center of the thing and we fought. We got knocked down a few times. We stayed in the center ring and we kept fighting. We just ran out of time. I could not be more proud.”
The end of the season came suddenly, and senior center Luka Brajkovic had trouble processing it in the game’s aftermath.
“For the past four years, I’ve played for Davidson, so it just feels surreal for me that that’s my last game,” Brajkovic said. “I will miss it so much. I had the best four years of my whole life. ... It’s just hard to realize that it’s all gone.”
Michigan State, a No. 7 seed, trailed 56-51 with 6:51 to go after a Brajkovic layup. But the Spartans then went on a 10-0 run over a span of just over three minutes, and that stretch decided the game. Davidson played from behind from then on and trailed by seven with 46 seconds to go. A furious comeback attempt ended a point short when, after a Hyunjung Lee three-pointer with 0.5 seconds to go, Michigan State successfully inbounded the ball to seal the win.
“It was a helluva basketball game,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, whose team will face Duke on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. in Greenville, S.C., for a spot in the Sweet 16.
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Michigan State’s Joey Hauser had a surprising 27 points, which was 10 more than he had scored in any other game this season. NCAA tournament games always produce an unlikely star like that, and this time it came at Davidson’s expense.
The pregame storyline focused mostly on Foster Loyer, a former Michigan Mr. Basketball who started his collegiate career at Michigan State. Loyer was a backup for almost his entire career with the Spartans, though, and came to Davidson seeking an opportunity to be a starting point guard.
Loyer’s first shot of the game was an airball, and Michigan State took advantage of him a few times underneath. The nation’s leading free-throw shooter (93.4 percent coming in) ended up having a respectable game, though, with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and just one turnover.
Davidson also got some sorely needed points in the second half from Brajkovic, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, who used a variety of old-school post moves to make his first five shots of the half. That allowed Davidson to leap slightly ahead of Michigan State in a game that was close all the way. Brajkovic ended up with a team-high 18 points, and forward Sam Mennenga contributed 15.
“A couple of plays at the end didn’t go our way,” Mennenga said, “and that was the game.”
Davidson played a scrappy first half and trailed 32-31 at halftime, even though the Wildcats got almost nothing in the first 20 minutes from Brajkovic. Obviously nervous, Brajkovic saw his very first shot rejected, picked up two fouls in less than five minutes and sat for the rest of the half.
But Davidson’s bench — not usually the Wildcats’ strength — came through with nine first-half points. Still, Michigan State showed its superior depth, playing 10 players in the first half and leading by one thanks to Hauser’s 12 first-half points.
The win made Charlotte Hornet Miles Bridges happy. The Michigan State alum was at the game, played just two hours from Charlotte, and visited the Michigan State players afterward.
Davidson ended the season 27-7. Taken as a whole, this was a spectacular season. The Wildcats made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018 and won the Atlantic 10 regular-season championship. But they also lost their final two games of the season by a combined three points — a last-second, 64-62 loss to Richmond in the Atlantic 10 tournament final and then this one.
“What a joy it’s been to coach them this year,” McKillop said. “They’ve done everything possible to make this a memory for a lifetime. They’ve left me with a treasure chest filled with memories.”
The last one, though, was a heartbreaker.
This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
