LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) Jack Gibbs scored 25 points and Peyton Aldridge added 21 points and seven rebounds to help lift Davidson to 70-55 win over Missouri during a losers’ bracket game of the Tire Pros Invitational on Friday.
The Wildcats bounced back from a deflating loss to Clemson on Thursday with an overwhelming performance against Missouri. Sparked by its 3-point shooting, Davidson jumped out to a 17-point lead early in the first half and never looked back.
Missouri, coming off a tough overtime loss to No.11 Xavier a day earlier, made runs late in the first and second halves but could not an offensive flow to keep up with Davidson.
Davidson converted 44 percent from the field and converted 10 of 30 3-point attempts for the game. Missouri made just 3 of 16 3-pointers for the game.
Forward Kevin Puryear led the Wildcats with 12 points and six rebounds while Cullen VanLeer added 11 points and Reed Nikko came off the bench to contribute 10 points.
The Wildcats set the tone early by hitting five of their first eight 3-point attempts to take 26-9 lead in the opening eight minutes. Four different Davidson players drained 3-pointers during that run. Gibbs converted two 3-pointers to give the Wildcats a lift.
Missouri did make a run and pulled within seven points of the lead late in the first half. But Davidson put together a 9-0 run as the Tigers went scoreless the final 4:30 of the half and went into halftime trailing 37-23.
Gibbs and Aldridge led the Wildcats with 12 points, while the team shot 44 percent from the field. But the difference was in 3-point shooting with Davidson converting 6 of 18 from behind the arc compared to just a 1-of-5 showing for the Tigers during the first 20 minutes.
Nikko led the Tigers with six points off the bench while Phillips was 0 for 5 from the field.
BIG PICTURE
Davidson: The Wildcats are streaky shooters but when on they can put a lot of points in hurry. They hit six of their first eight 3-point attempts to jump out to a 17-point lead in the first eight minutes and never looked back. Gibbs was outstanding throughout much of the game as was Aldridge. The score could have been even more lopsided had the Wildcats not had a long stretches of time where either they couldn’t score or they were careless with the ball.
Missouri: After losing to No.11 Xavier by one point in overtime Thursday, the Tigers came out flat against Davidson and never recovered. Leading scorer Frankie Hughes was silent much of the game, going 1 for 11 for two points and three turnovers. Sophomore guard Terrence Phillips, who played brilliantly in the loss to Xavier didn’t have a field goal and finished with one point.
UP NEXT
Davidson: The Wildcats will take on the winner of the Arizona State-Tulane game in the fifth-place game of the Tire Pros Invitational on Sunday.
Missouri: The Tigers will meet the loser of the Arizona State-Tulane game in the seventh-place game of the Invitational on Sunday.
