Cardiac ‘Cats Survive Double OT Thriller with Western Carolina, Win SoCon Championship

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Western Carolina forced overtime by erasing a 12-point Davidson lead in the final two minutes of regulation, but a dunk by Clint Mann with 1:04 remaining in a second extra session and a solid defensive effort was the difference as the Wildcats prevailed, 93-91, to win the Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship Monday night.

The victory gives the Wildcats the league's automatic NCAA tournament berth.

With the game tied 91-91, Mann caught the ball on the wing and took a wide-open lane to the basket for a dunk. The Wildcats got defensive stops on two Western Carolina possessions to seal the win.

On the Catamounts last shot, Keaton Cole's 3-point try came off the side of the rim, Mann corralled the rebound and threw an outlet pass to JP Kuhlman, who raced down court to run out the clock.

De'Mon Brooks and Kuhlman led Davidson (25-7) with 19 points and eight rebounds each. Jake Cohen had 17 points, seven rebounds and seven blocked shots, while Nik Cochran had 16 points and six boards. Mann finished with 10 points.

Cole scored 21 points for Western Carolina (17-18), and Tawaski King tallied 20 points and 10 rebounds. Mutombo finished with 20 points, and Trey Sumler scored 18.

After Brooks scored a layup to give Davidson a 12-point cushion in late regulation, King hit two free throws for Western Carolina, James Sinclair and Sumler knocked down three consecutive triples, and Cole was fouled on a 3-point try from the wing.

Cole hit three free throws with 11.8 seconds left to tie the game at 78-78. Cochran was stripped on a drive to the basket on Davidson's last possession of regulation, sending the game to the extra session.

The 'Cats had a chance to win it at the end of the first overtime, but Brooks' turnaround jumper rolled off the rim, sending the game to another period.

Hanging on to a 59-55 advantage with 9:49 to go in regulation, Kuhlman and Cohen scored four points each in an 8-2 run that opened a 67-57 lead for the Wildcats. The teams traded baskets from there, and a Cohen triple from the wing put Davidson ahead 72-60 with 4:49 remaining.

The Catamounts had two chances to cut into the lead, but went 1-for-3 from the free-throw line on consecutive possessions. Cole was fouled on a 3-point try and made all three from the line, but Cohen and Brooks answered with buckets for Davidson, keeping the margin at 12.

After Davidson took its first lead of the game mid-way through the first half, Cole got fouled on a 3-pointer, made the bucket and the free throw to spark a 15-2 Catamount run. Cole capped the stretch with a fast-break layup, and Western Carolina led 30-18 midway through the first frame.

Davidson responded by scoring the next 16 points, with 10 coming from Kuhlman. Brooks' two free throws put Davidson back on top, and Kuhlman netted a triple to make the score 36-32. After a mad scramble for a rebound on Western's trip down the floor, Cole got the ball on the wing and hit a triple, and Davidson settled for a slim 36-35 cushion at the break.

The Catamounts came out of the gates on fire in the second half, hitting seven of their first 10 shots, and Mutombo scored 10 of their first 15 points to open a 15-8 lead early. Davidson stormed back with eight straight points, and a Will Reigel layup gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 16-15.

Game Notes: Cohen's seven blocked shots were one shy of the school record… It's Davidson's 11th SoCon title and the sixth under Bob McKillop… It was Davidson's 18th appearance in the finals; and the 'Cats are 11-7 all-time and 2-2 in Asheville… Davidson improved to 11-7 in SoCon Tourney games in Asheville.

2012 SoCon All-Tournament Team
First Team
De'Mon Brooks- Davidson
Jake Cohen- Davidson
JP Kuhlman- Davidson
Harouna Mutombo- Western Carolina
Trey Sumler- Western Caorlina

Second Team
Jack Isenbarger- Elon
Eric Ferguson- Georgia Southern
Trevis Simpson- UNCG
Keaton Cole- Western Carolina
Tawaski King- Western Carolina

Most Outstanding Player
De'Mon Brooks

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