SPORTS

 

DAVIDSON — Guard Foster Loyer scored 27 points in his Davidson debut, Sam Mennenga recorded his first career double-double and the Wildcats rolled past Delaware 93-71 to open the season Tuesday night in Belk Arena.

Loyer hit all six of his 3-point attempts in a career-high performance and scored 11 straight points in the decisive 30-6 first-half run that put the Wildcats in control for good.

“He’s just a great leader,” Mennenga said of Loyer. “He’s a great floor general. He shot the ball well, but he did so much more than that. He ran the game.”

Delaware, the overwhelming preseason favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association title, led 16-12 early before the Wildcats took over, scoring 18 of the game’s next 20 points. Luka Brajkovic’s 3-pointer from the top of the key was the go-ahead bucket and gave the Wildcats a 19-18 edge at the 9:16 mark. Loyer followed with a trey in transition, off a pass from Grant Huffman, and then hit a pull-up jumper, giving the Wildcats eight points on three possessions. Loyer added two more 3-pointers in the next two minutes to push the lead to 30-18.

A Mennenga trey made it 39-22, and Michael Jones’ trey from the left wing completed the 30-6 run, making it 42-22 with 3:03 left in the half.

Davidson’s lead peaked at the 8:29 mark of the second half, following a Nelson Boachie-Yiadom fast-break dunk, which made it 79-47.

Mennenga scored 13 points to go with 10 rebounds and also had five assists.

Hyunjung Lee added 15 points, five boards and five assists, and Jones scored 13 points.

Davidson shot 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from 3-point range, including 75 percent (9-of-12) in the first 20 minutes. The Wildcats finished with a 16-1 advantage in fast-break points and led 28-9 in points off turnovers.

Dylan Painter led Delaware with 17 points.

Up Next
The Wildcats travel west to face San Francisco on Saturday night.