Davidson men’s basketball wins Hornets’ Nest Trophy with 85-81 victory against Charlotte
The Hornets’ Nest Trophy exchanged hands yet again Wednesday night at Halton Arena. This time, making the trip up I-77 North to Davidson, where Matt McKillop earned his first head-coaching victory in the local rivalry by beating Charlotte, 85-81.
In a game that felt eerily similar to last season’s buzzer-beating defeat at the hands of the 49ers, the Wildcats’ second-half surge, led by a career-best 30-point performance from senior David Skogman, proved just enough to steal the victory.
“It was a great environment, as we are used to seeing through the years. I’ve been a part of this as a fan, player and assistant, and I’m pretty excited that it’s my first time taking home the Hornets’ Nest Trophy,” McKillop said. “Hard-fought win in a rivalry game, and that’s come to be expected. Obviously, the last one was down at our place, and Jackson Threadgill made a buzzer-beating three off of an offensive rebound in overtime. This felt like it might be going in that direction there towards the end.”
Charlotte rallied in the game’s waning minutes, ripping away multiple jump balls as the less-than-aesthetically pleasing trophy sat courtside. But following his triple to cut the Wildcats’ lead to just three, Charlotte guard Lu’Cye Patterson’s luck ran short — and so did his shot — airballing the game-tying attempt with 18 seconds to play.
Skogman would put the 49ers’ comeback attempt to bed on the free-throw line, cementing his career night and signifying the Buffalo transfer as the Wildcats’ best player.
“We had a rough game on Friday at Saint Mary’s, and we really challenged David. One of the things we challenged him with is that he’s a terrific shooter, but you don’t shoot when you’re open enough. He was challenged to shoot the ball, and clearly, he did it today,” McKillop said of Skogman, who shot a career-high 17 field goal attempts — connecting on 11 of them.
“Not only that, but he made a great assist to Connor Kochera late to give us the biggest lead of the game, made his free throws and attacked and finished inside,” McKillop continued. “That’s the player we believe that he can be, and hopefully, we see that night in and night out.”
Entering the action, Charlotte (4-3) posed the seventh-best defense in the nation, holding five of its six opponents to season lows in scoring. Aaron Fearne’s team was surrendering just 58 points per game on the season, but a troublesome defensive performance allowed the Wildcats 57 points with 12 minutes remaining. And Davidson (4-3) didn’t let up, connecting on a season-high 12 three-pointers at a 52.2% clip.
“Close games like that, little things hurt you. We’ve played two games now where we’ve had opportunities to win and don’t do the little things well enough at the right time,” Fearne said. “We’ve been very, very good defensively, and in the second half, we basically didn’t guard anybody. They shot the lights out. They’re a very difficult team to defend, and they have been for years. They really test you defensively and discipline-wise.”
Davidson’s perimeter-centric offense has given opponents trouble for decades. Fearne didn’t notice a change in pace or style from the legendary Bob McKillip to his son, Matt, who has led the Wildcats to a victory against Maryland earlier this season.
Fearne and McKillop, who have both taken promotions from assistants to head coaches in the past two seasons, had nothing but respect for each other following the close finish. They even shared a moment talking hoops in the tunnel following the game.
“They run the same stuff they’ve ran for the last six years we’ve played them. Why would you change it? I would do what they’re doing, too,” Fearne said of McKillop. “He’s doing a great job with it, and obviously, he is going to try to find his own identity. His dad was here for a long time, and he was a part of it as an assistant.
“He also has to find his own way of doing what he does, and that will take a little bit of time with a different voice and different ways to deliver message,” Fearne continued. “He’ll add his tweaks, but they’ve always been difficult to prepare for, and they’re difficult to play against. We have had a lot of games kind of like that, which makes them fun. It was a pretty fun environment down the stretch, and we just came out on the wrong side.”
McKillop was weary of Charlotte’s pack-line defense, as well as Dishon Jackson, Charlotte’s transfer center from Washington State. Jackson was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, totaling 12 points and dominating inside when he was on the court. But the Wildcats’ five-out offense forced Fearne’s hand, opting for better shooters and quicker defenders to match Davidson’s ball screen-heavy offensive attack.
“Coach Fearne is clearly known for his defense, and maybe today wasn’t the best indication, but we were very concerned with how we were going to score because of how good they’ve been defensively. We felt that we were a little different than some of the teams they’d played, so we believed that some of our offense would work,” McKillop said. “He’s a terrific coach and a terrific basketball mind, and for them to put in this type of offense and defense and be pretty good at each of them says a lot about them and the program they have.”
While it was the first Hornets’ Nest matchup between the two head coaches, both have years of experience in the rivalry. McKillop was looking forward to bringing home the trophy for the first time as head man, and Halloween may be coming a month late for his children, Hazel, Rosie and Charles.
“I’ve been a part of this rivalry for a very long time since my father came here in 1989. We played two games a year at Independence Arena. I witnessed a lot of great games, a lot of heartbreaking games, and I’ve played in some heartbreaking games as well as some great ones. I’m really excited. I’m going to try and get that trophy away from our players and put it on my nightstand tonight. Maybe scare my children.”
