Update #13: ASU cut the lead again to as little as three points, but a Nik Cochran free throw with 2.6 seconds to play ended the contest, as Davidson took a hard-fought 83-79 win over ASU. Omar Carter finished with 17 points, with 15 points from Jamaal Trice and 14 from Andre Williamson. De'Mon Brooks finished with 19 for Davidson, with 21 from Jake Cohen.
That's the story from Boone. Thanks for following the AJ-T Sports Blog!
Update #12: With a few ticks under three minutes to play, ASU trails 74-70. De'Mon Brooks has came back to life for Davidson with 14 points, while both Andre Williamson and Omar Carter are in for the Mountaineers with four fouls each. This one appears to be going down to the wire.
Davidson scores five more points and took a 79-70 lead, but a Carter three-pointer cut the lead to six points at 79-73. A huge offensive rebound and basket by Davidson pushed the lead back to eight, though, effectively sealing the game.
Update #11: ASU has seized its first lead of the game on an Omar Carter jumper with 4:44 to play, staking ASU a 70-69 lead over Davidson. Both teams are leaving it out on the court in this SoCon battle.
Update #10: Davidson's lead is only a pair at 66-64. ASU has ratcheted up the defensive intensity and GJ Vilarino has stepped up with six points in the second half. A trio of DC players have four fouls, as does ASU's Williamson. Just over seven minutes remain in this highly entertaining contest.
Update #9: ASU is within three points at 61-58. Davidson has cooled off from three-point range, and ASU's offense has warmed up, with three point plays from GJ Vilarino and Jamaal Trice. Just over nine minutes remains in the contest, and it's anyone's ballgame.
Update #8: ASU trails by seven with just under 15 minutes to play. Davidson continues to make its living from the perimeter, but has also found success in the paint.
Update #7: At halftime ASU is paced by 12 points from Andre Williamson and six points each from Nathan Healy and Jamaal Trice. Davidson is led by Jake Cohen and Clint Mann with eight points apiece. and seven from Czerapowicz. Both teams shot more than 50 percent in the first half, but ASU is only 10 of 17 from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes.
Second half is coming up!
Update #6: ASU trails Davidson 46-40 at intermission as a Chris Czerapowicz three-pointer at the horn doubles the Wildcat lead.
Update #5: ASU gets a three-pointer from Jamaal Trice and four points from Nathan Healy to slice the Davidson lead to 43-40 (a 10-3 ASU scoring run) with a little under 90 seconds to play in the first half.
Update #4: Davidson's lead has been as high as 10 points at 40-30, but ASU continues to chip away, starting with defense. ASU trails by only five with around two minutes to play in the opening half. There is a video uploaded of some footage from the first half.
Update #3: Davidson has built a 29-22 lead, forcing an ASU timeout. De'Mon Brooks has seven points to pace the Wildcats, as Davidson has shot well from the field thus far (12-for-21). ASU has shot 9-for-14 from the field and still finds itself trailing by seven points with just under eight minutes to play in the half.
Update #2: Davidson maintains a three-point edge at 22-19. Andre Williamson has six early points, while seven different Wildcats have already registered points slightly more than eight minutes into the contest.
Update #1: Davidson holds a 14-10 advantage early in the first half. Jake Cohen has six to lead the Wildcats, while Tab Hamilton has gotten off to a good start for ASU with five points.
It's a big-time rivalry in Boone this afternoon as ASU hosts Davidson in Southern Conference hoops action. ASU is coming off a home win two nights ago over Furman, while Davidson easily handled Western Carolina in its last contest.
Davidson has three starters averaging double-figures scoring, while Appalachian leads the league in blocked shots. The Wildcats sit atop the SoCon North Division with a 5-0 conference mark, while ASU looks to continue its climb to the top of the standings.
We'll be updating the contest throughout the afternoon. Thanks for reading!
