THE BASICS:

RESULT: Davidson 105, Hartford 75
LOCATION: John M. Belk Arena (Davidson, N.C.)
ATTENDANCE: 3,513
RECORDS: Hartford (5-9); Davidson (7-4)


THE LEAD:
Jalen Ross (23), J.R. Lynch (17) and Jason Dunne (16) all finished in double figures, but a stellar offensive performance led Davidson to a 105-75 victory over the Hartford men's basketball team on Wednesday night. The Wildcats shot 56.7 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc in the victory.
 
Jack Gibbs led all scorers with 27 points in the victory, one of six players to finish in double digits for the Wildcats. Peyton Aldridge (18), Jon Axel Gudmundsson (13), Nathan Ekwu (13), Dusan Kovacevic (12) and Will Magarity (10) all finished with at least 10 points in the triumph. Gudmundsson added eight assists, six rebounds and three steals in the contest.

FIRST HALF:
Both teams pushed the pace early on, but the Hawks went blow-for-blow with the Wildcats, opening a 17-13 lead after a Jack Hobbs three with 12:12 on the clock. Lynch and Dunne each added triples of their own in the early rally, with Dunne and Hassan Attia each adding dunks as well.
 
But the home squad began to heat up from the field, as an Aldridge three sent Davidson on a 17-5 run that culminated with a Gibbs four-point play to give the Wildcats a 30-22 edge. The Wildcats eventually pushed the lead to 13 at 44-31, before Hartford responded, cutting it to nine on a trio of occasions before the break. But Aldridge capped off the hot-shooting first half with a three-ball to send the home squad to the locker room up 49-37.

SECOND HALF:
The teams traded threes out of the locker room to a 52-40 score, but the Wildcats locked down on defense and converted on offense to embark on a 10-0 run and balloon the lead to 62-40. Dunne snapped that with a layup inside, but Davidson was able to push the lead to 25, 70-45, with at the 12:20 mark.
 
The Hawks then went on a barrage from deep, with Dunne, Lynch and Ross all drilling shots from downtown to cut the lead back to 70-54. But Davidson delivered another powerful blow, stepping it up on the defensive end to embark on an 11-0 run for an 81-54 lead en route to the final score.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Ross extended his double-figure scoring streak to 28-straight games, dating back to January of last year. He posted his seventh 20-point game of the year.
• Lynch finished in double digits for the fourth game in a row and the eighth time in the last 11 contests. Dunne topped 10 points for the ninth time in the last 10, over which he is averaging 16.5 points per contest.
• Lynch, Ross and Dunne all finished in double figures for the sixth time this season, and Hartford is now 3-3 in those contests. It marked the first time this year that all three have delivered at least 15 points.
• George Blagojevic returned to the lineup for the Hawks after missing the Navy game to injury.
• Hartford closed out the month of December with a 4-2 record.
• Davidson committed just eight turnovers in the game, the fewest the Hawks have forced this season. Hartford opponents came in averaging 15.1 turnovers per contest on the year.

 
UP NEXT:
In the dawn of 2017, the Hawks will continue their three-game road trip with a clash at in-state rival Yale on Monday, Jan. 2. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. in New Haven and tickets can be purchased at YaleBulldogs.com.