Jan. 7, 2004

Charleston, SC- - Davidson's early season schedule, rated the most difficult in the nation, left the Wildcats more than ready for Southern Conference play.

Davidson's defense choked Citadel shooters, and the Wildcats took a 68-44 victory over the Bulldogs at Belk Arena on Tuesday night as the SoCon basketball season swung into high gear.

Sophomore Brendan Winters sank four 3-point shots and scored 19 points as Davidson (6-7) improved to 1-1 in the SoCon, bouncing back from a loss to College of Charleston in an early December league opener.

The Citadel (4-9, 0-2) shot just 35.4 percent from the field and made only 4 of 22 from 3-point range in scoring 44 points, the third time this season the Bulldogs have failed to crack the 50-point mark.

"I credit their defense, but 44 points is a pretty bad night offensively," Citadel coach Pat Dennis said. "Davidson is a very physical team, they are bigger and stronger and tougher than we are right now. We're not ready to match that right now, but we are going to keep getting better."

Davidson has lost this season to Texas Tech, Duke, North Carolina and Seton Hall, among others, but should contend for the SoCon South Division title this season.

Junior forward Logan Kosmalski added 12 points and five rebounds for the Wildcats, and sophomore guard Matt McKillop hit three 3-pointers for nine points.

The Bulldogs were led by freshman forward J'mel Everhart, who posted his first double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, making all five of his shots from the field.

But The Citadel got little from seniors Max Mombollet and Erick Wilson. Mombollet got in foul trouble and finished with seven points and two rebounds; Wilson, who scored 15 points in a win over Army last Friday, did not score.

"J'mel was outstanding, but he's outstanding every night," Dennis said. "But we've got to get better play out of our seniors. They really gave us nothing tonight, and if we have to start relying on freshmen and sophomores, it's going to be tough to win a conference game on the road."

Andy Miller, The Citadel's 6-10 sophomore center, suffered a hip-pointer and will likely miss a couple days of practice, Dennis said. The Bulldogs do not play again until a Saturday game at Georgia Southern.

The Citadel sliced an 18-point Davidson lead to 10 by halftime, and trailed by eight in the opening minutes of the second half.

But McKillop and Winters hit two 3-pointers each as the Wildcats ripped off an 18-0 run, pushing a 31-23 lead to 49-23 with 10:56 left in the game. The Bulldogs missed eight of nine shots and went 8:25 without scoring during the Davidson run, and the Wildcats' biggest lead was 30 points.

The Wildcats ran out to an early 17-3 lead and were up by 29-11 late in the half before the Bulldogs clawed their way back into the game.

A 10-0 run capped by a free throw and a bucket from Everhart shaved Davidson's lead to 29-21 with less than a minute left in the half, but the Wildcats' Komalski hit a lay-in at the buzzer for a 31-21 halftime advantage.

Everhart hit all three of his shots for seven points in the first half, but the Bulldogs shot just 36.4 percent, including 1 of 7 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 10 times. Winters scored 11 points in the first half for Davidson, which shot just 32.4 percent in the first 20 minutes.

-- The Citadel stays on the road for its next game, at Georgia Southern at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Eagles are 8-3 overall and 0-1 in the SoCon heading into today's game against Wofford.