Courtesy: Davidson Athletics
DAVIDSON, N.C. – In addition to Jack Gibbs scoring 37 points, Jordan Barham and Brian Sullivan added 22 points each, to lead Davidson past Eastern Washington, 96-86, in game one of the 2015 Gotham Classic Wednesday at Belk Arena.
The Wildcats torched the nets for 65.5 percent in the second half to finish thegame at 59.6 percent, which included a 13-of-26 effort from long range.
Gibbs, who entered fifth nationally in scoring, went over the 35-point plateau for thefourth time in his career, while finishing 12-of-17 from the floor with six3-pointers. The reigning A-10 Player of the Week also had 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
Like his backcourt mate, Sullivan canned six treys and grabbed 6 boards in 39 minutes of action.
Sophomore Nathan Ekwu also turned in a solid all-around performance with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks for the Wildcats, who led by as many as 18 on multiple occasions.
The two teams traded the lead eight times in the opening minutes before Davidson (6-1) used a 9-2 spurt capped off by a Sullivan triple to go up 30-21. After the Eagles cut the deficit to two, the Wildcats responded with another run, highlighted by a Gibbs’ 3-pointer at the buzzer, to take a 47-39 lead into the half.
Gibbs led all scorers with 23 points at the break.
Davidson used a 17-4 streak early in the second half to stretch the margin to double digits, where it would stay the rest of the way.
Austin McBroom led the Eagles (5-4) with 33 points on 12-of-19 shooting, while Venky Jois tallied a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Along with their Dec. 20 meeting with Pittsburgh at Madison Square Garden, the Wildcats will host Western Carolina (Dec. 12) and Morehead State (Dec. 23) as part of the event, which features 10 games with all five teams playing each other.
Up Next
Davidson will continue its first-ever appearance in the Gotham Classic with a 7 p.m.contest against former league-rival Western Carolina Saturday at Belk Arena.
