By Dylan Branscome
January 15, 2025 – The Davidson-Davie STORM grabbed another Region 10 victory, 86-75, over the Guilford Tech Titans at Brinkley Gym on Wednesday night. Davidson now improves to 8-0 in conference play and 16-1 on the season.
They were led by a 22-point performance from Lamonte Cousar and 15 points while shooting 3/5 from three for Kobe Parker, and also forcing 19 turnovers.
The STORM were able to grab 20 points off of those turnovers, and some of them lead to highlight dunks from the likes of Dane Stewart and Jaylen Roberts towards the beginning of the game. While the Titans weren’t great from the field (37%), they made shots when it mattered to halt any runs that Davidson would try and build.
“We’ve got to defend better,” said head coach Matt Ridge at halftime. “We’re not getting enough fast break opportunities and we’re not getting stops and pushing it. When we did, we looked good.”
This, and some poor three-point shooting from Davidson (13%) would lead to a tight first half, the score being 44-39 heading into the break. Davidson only dressed eight players because of some injuries and illnesses, and Guilford took advantage, getting some players into foul trouble early for the STORM. Parker actually notched his fourth foul in the first half, leading to him sitting much of the second.
The second half was around the same tempo-wise from both teams, but the Titans ended up making it a one-possession game with efficient shot-making and some careless possessions by Davidson.
But the shooting woes of the first half for the STORM slowly started to wither away, as Parker was able to start hitting huge threes down the stretch. He hit back-to-back triples to give Davidson a thirteen-point lead with four minutes to go.
“He (Parker) was certainly well-rested,” Ridge said post-game. “That little sequence from Kobe was really fun. When the ball goes in, everything looks a lot better.”
This was then followed by a Cousar block and another three, but from Jaylen Wilkerson this time, giving the STORM the much-needed cushion for the rest of the game. This important run, combined with Cousar’s impressive finishing around the basket, helped get Davidson the victory.
Davidson was also able to outscore Guilford in bench points 41-9, an impressive margin that shows just how deep this team truly is.
The STORM return to action on the road in another Region 10 bout against the number two team in the conference, the Pitt Community College Bulldogs, on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 3:00 PM EST in Winterville, North Carolina.