Luka Brajkovic racked up 22 points and No. 25 Davidson responded a few days after its first loss in about two months, defeating visiting La Salle 77-69 on Saturday afternoon at Davidson, N.C.
Hyunjung Lee and Foster Loyer both provided 14 points for Davidson (17-3, 7-1 Atlantic 10), which hopes to begin another winning streak after its 15-game string ended.
The Wildcats made a bid to stay in the Top 25 despite a two-point home loss to Virginia Commonwealth on Wednesday night. This week’s spot in the rankings marked Davidson’s first Top 25 appearance since the 2014-15 season.
Jack Clark tallied 18 points, Clifton Moore posted 14 points and Khalil Brantley had 11 points for La Salle (6-12, 1-7), which shot 7-for-32 on 3-point attempts.
This was the 1,000th game as coach for Davidson’s Bob McKillop, who’s in his 33rd season holds a 624-376 record. A postgame ceremony to retire jerseys of former coaches Charles “Lefty” Driesell and Terry Holland was planned.
Davidson rebuilt what seemed like a comfortable advantage at 61-46, but the Explorers pulled within 65-57 on Clark’s 3-point basket with less than four minutes to play.
It was as close as 71-67 after a pair of Moore free throws at the 1:41 mark.
The Wildcats were 6-for-6 on free throws in the last 96 seconds, although a turnover during that stretch kept some of the suspense in place.
Brajkovic shot 7-for-10 from the field, making both of his 3-point attempts. Loyer delivered a team-high five assists.
For La Salle, co-team scoring leader Josh Nickelberry struggled in a return to his home state, notching six points on 2-for-11 shooting with a pair of 3-point baskets.
Davidson built a double-digit lead in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the game as it took La Salle almost five minutes to score its first points. The Wildcats extended that gap to 13 points before holding a 37-30 halftime edge
The Explorers have never won in four all-time trips to Davidson.
–Field Level Media
