Men's Basketball Opens Three-Game Road Trip at Chattanooga Thursday

Davidson Wildcats (14-4, 8-0 SoCon) vs. Chattanooga Mocs (9-12, 3-5 SoCon)

Date: Jan. 26, 2012 - 7 p.m.
Site: The McKenzie Arena (10,928 capacity) - Chattanooga, Tenn.
Audio: John Kilgo calls the action with Logan Kosmalski and Ken Hall on the Davidson Radio Network (1660 AM, 1350 AM, 1450 AM, 104.7 HD3, online at DavidsonWildcats.com and mobile devices with Radio.com and TuneIn Radio Apps)
Video: Live on MocsVision
Web sites: Davidson (DavidsonWildcats.com), Chattanooga (GoMocs.com)

Full game notes (PDF)
Live audio

Layup Line
• Davidson opens a three-game road swing at Chattanooga Thursday night in McKenzie Arena.
• It's one of two meetings this season, both of which will take place a little over a week apart. The Wildcats play the Mocs Feb. 4 in their next home contest.
• Davidson has won 16 of its last 17 SoCon regular-season games, including 11 straight, dating back to last season.
• The Wildcats are 24-7 in their last 31 games overall, dating back to last season. Davidson is on a current seven-game win streak.
• The Wildcats are coming off an 80-51 home win over The Citadel Saturday.
• Davidson is 5-3 on the road this season, including 3-0 in conference play.
• The Wildcats are averaging 85.5 points a game through their seven conference contests and shooting 50 percent from the field.
• Davidson ranks third in the country in team free-throw shooting, knocking down 79 percent from the charity stripe.
• The 'Cats, who were picked first in the South in the SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll, lead the division with a 8-0 record.
• Chattanooga has lost its last three, all on the road, and are coming off an 88-87 setback at Elon last Saturday.
• The Mocs, who were picked to win the North in the Preseason Coaches Poll, are 9-2 at home, including 3-0 in home league games.

Series History
• Chattanooga leads the all-time series 32-21, but the Wildcats have won nine of the last 10.
• The series began with a 93-87 Chattanooga victory in 1978.
• The Wildcats are 5-13 against Chattanooga in The McKenzie Arena and 16-13 under Bob McKillop.
• Last time: Nik Cochran and JP Kuhlman each scored 16 points, and Davidson held Chattanooga to 31 percent shooting in the second half to earn a 73-59 win in Belk Arena.
• Cochran added five rebounds and four assists to his stat line, while Kuhlman had seven rebounds and four assists. Jake Cohen recorded 10 points and nine rebounds, and Brendan McKillop posted 12 points and five boards.
• Omar Wattad scored a game-high 29 points to lead Chattanooga, making 10-of-19 from the field and 6-of-13 from 3-point range.
• After struggling offensively in the first half, the Wildcats shot 44 percent, including six triples, and hit 11-of-15 free throws in the second frame to score 45 points. Meanwhile, Davidson's defense held the Mocs to 10-of-32 from the floor and 4-of-18 from long distance. Cochran's point total was part of a Davidson bench that outscored Chattanooga 29-7.
• Clinging to a one-point lead in the second half, Clint Mann's layup ignited a 21-3 run to open a 60-41 cushion with 8:42 remaining. Cochran scored eight points during the run, and Jordan Downing added a big triple from the wing. The Mocs got the margin down to 14 points twice but would get no closer.
• Last time in McKenzie: Cohen led four Davidson players in double figures in the scoring column with 16 points, but the Wildcats fell 78-73 in the last meeting against Chattanooga.
• Cohen finished with seven rebounds, and 14 of his points came in the second half.
• McKillop tallied 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Cochran recorded 13 points and four boards.
• Will Archambault finished with 10 points, and Bryant Barr scored eight.
• The score was tied 52-52 coming out of the under eight-minute media timeout, but Chattanooga netted nine straight points to open a 61-52 lead.
• Davidson cut the margin to six once and five once, on 3-pointers by Cohen and Kuhlman, over the next two minutes, but each time, the Mocs had an answer on the offensive end.
• After a pair of Cohen free throws made the lead seven with 3:47 to go, Ricky Taylor and Ty Patterson combined for the next six points of the game to make the cushion 12.

Claw Marks
• The Wildcats rank third in the nation in team free-throw percentage (.790). Nik Cochran, De'Mon Brooks, Jake Cohen and JP Kuhlman all rank in the top-10 in the SoCon.
• Davidson has made 20 or more free throws in seven games this season.
• According to NCAA RPI, Davidson's non-conference strength of schedule ranks fifth in the country.
• By defeating Kansas 80-74 Dec. 19, the Wildcats defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since topping Wisconsin 73-56 in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
• It was Davidson's first win over a ranked opponent in the regular season since defeating No. 15 South Carolina Jan. 16, 1974.
• It was the 'Cats' first win over a ranked opponent on the road since defeating No. 17 St. John's 88-84 Jan. 4, 1972.
• JP Kuhlman has been named to the Cousy Award watch list. The award is given annually to the nation's best point guard.
• Davidson returned seven of its top eight scorers and four starters from last season. Players who accounted for 81 percent of the team's scoring and 87 percent of the team's rebounding are back in uniform this year.
• The 'Cats have won 30 of their last 33 against non-conference competition at Belk Arena and are 38-6 since 2003.
• Davidson hit all of its free throws (14-for-14) against Duke Nov. 18, for the first time since 2008 (Appalachian State, 6-for-6).
• The Wildcats have led at halftime in 16 games this season.
• Davidson has a 6-4 record in non-conference games with one non-league game left (BracketBuster).
• Davidson did not give up a 3-pointer at UNCW Nov. 26 (0-for-3).
• The 'Cats' game against Georgia Southern Jan. 7, was the 300th in Belk Arena, which opened in 1989. Davidson won the contest 96-74.

In-Season Honors
• Three different Wildcats have been named SoCon Player of the Week this season.
• Jake Cohen has won the award three times. He was named SoCon Player of the Week Dec. 6, after averaging 21 points and six boards in a pair of league wins over Wofford and Furman. He also earned the honor Jan. 10, after averaging 19 points and 7.5 rebounds in two wins, and Jan. 17, after averaging 23.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in two wins. In addition, CollegeSportsMadness.com named him its SoCon Player of the Week Jan. 10, and CollegeHoops.net named him SoCon Player of the Week Jan. 23.
• Nik Cochran earned the honor Dec. 20, after leading Davidson with 21 points in an 80-74 win over No. 12 Kansas. CollegeSportsMadness.com also named him National Mid-Major Player of the Week and SoCon Player of the Week.
• JP Kuhlman was named SoCon Player of the Week Nov. 29, after scoring 21 points to lead Davidson to a 70-67 victory at UNC Wilmington.
• De'Mon Brooks was named All-SoCon for the month of November by CollegeHoops.net. The sophomore has also been named to the CollegeHoops.net All-SoCon Team (Pre-league play edition).
• Chris Czerapowicz was named the CollegeSportsMadness.com SoCon Player of the Week Jan. 2, after netting a career-high 23 to lead Davidson to a 75-70 victory over Penn.

Davidson Milestone Watch
• Fellow juniors Jake Cohen and JP Kuhlman have registered their 1,000th career point. Cohen's came against Western Carolina Jan. 12, and Kuhlman topped the mark at Appalachian State Jan. 14. Both players were Preseason All-SoCon selections.
• Jake Cohen is 48 blocked shots away from breaking the school record. Frank Ben-Eze needs 17 to crack the top-10.
• Cohen needs 121 rebounds to crack the top-20.

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