Davidson basketball snags two Southern Conference division titles

It’s been a highly successful season for Davidson College basketball. And, it could continue well into March.

The men’s team won the Southern Conference’s South Division title, and is top seed heading into the conference tournament this weekend in Asheville.

The women’s team earned a share of the conference title and also snagged a top tournament seeding.

Davidson’s men team (22-7) earned a bye in the first round of the tournament and will face the winner of Friday’s Samford-Furman game at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 3. The game will be televised live on ESPN3.

The semifinals are Sunday, March 4, and the championship game is at 9 p.m. Monday, March 5.

Jake Cohen led four Davidson players in double figures with 16 points, to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots, as the Wildcats capped their regular season with a 71-54 Southern Conference victory at Georgia Southern on Feb. 25.

De’Mon Brooks, a product of Hopewell High, had 14 points, five rebounds and two blocks, and J.P. Kuhlman added 15 points and matched a career-high with nine rebounds.

Brooks had 25 points, 10 rebounds and four steals in Davidson’s 66-45 victory against Elon at Belk Arena on Feb. 23 in the home finale.

The Wildcats held Elon scoreless in the final six minutes and clinched the South Division title.

Clint Mann had a season-high 12 points and six rebounds, and Cohen added 11 points and four rebounds.

It was Davidson’s 11th Southern Conference division title under coach Bob McKillop, and the seventh in the past 11 seasons. Davidson had a 16-2 conference record.

The Davidson women held Samford to 25.5 percent shooting and finished the program’s first Southern Conference regular-season title with a 52-39 road victory on Feb. 27.

Coupled with Appalachian State’s loss to Chattanooga, the Wildcats got the No. 1 tournament seed by way of a tiebreaker as they swept the Mountaineers during the regular season.

“I’m very pleased with the team’s effort and so thrilled for them,” coach Michele Savage said. “It’s been a great season and we’re not done yet. I was very impressed with our defense and the team did an excellent job of responding after our loss at Chattanooga on Saturday, as we regrouped and came out ready to play.”

Davidson’s Sophia Aleksandravicius led all scorers with her 13 points, and added five rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

The Wildcats will play the winner of No. 8 College of Charleston versus No. 9 Wofford on Saturday, March 3, at 12 p.m. in Kimmel Arena on the campus of UNC Asheville.