Wildcats Pride

After leading his team to 20 straight wins in the Pennsylvania Central league, Davidson recruit Jake Cohen faced stiff defense, clutch shooting, and the first defeat of the year on Monday.

Cohen’s Conestoga Pioneers faced off against rival Lower Merion with their undefeated season on the line. Conestoga had won the previous three match-ups and looked to be firing on all cylinders again as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game.

The game was a game of runs for both teams, however, and it was Lower Merion’s Oliver Cohen (no relation) who capped a comeback with a layup to secure the 46-44 win.

One of the keys to Lower Merion’s success was their ability to contain Jake Cohen. The 6′10″ senior was held to only 9 points, well below his season average, by the Ace’s Harley Williamson who admitted that the assignment was “difficult”.

“He is respected in the Central league,” said Williamson, “and he is a great player. It was hard.”

Despite the loss, Conestoga will remain the top seed going into the league championship when they will play Upper Darby at home.

Every college basketball fan knows that Davidson has some of the best (if not the best) outside shooters in the college game.

More loyal Davidson fans are excited about a presence down low that Davidson has not had in a long time.

The Big Easy…

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Davidson recruit Jake Cohen continues to impress in his senior year.

The 6′10″ forward has lead Conestoga to the only undefeated team in the Pennsylvania Central League after beating Penncrest (the other previously unbeaten team)

The Deleware daily times broke down the four reasons Conestoga is so good this year and Wildcats fans will be happy with number 4

“1. They traveled more than 3,000 miles to a holiday tournament in San Diego, where they beat three teams handily, including one nationally ranked (and previously unbeaten) team.
2. They are 7-0 in the Central, and have beaten all takers by an average of 18.3 points per contest.

3. They knocked off Penncrest, which looked untouchable after taking care of business against all six of its Central opponents prior to Wednesday.

4. Oh yeah, and the Pioneers (12-0, 7-0) have Jake Cohen (pictured), a 6-10 senior forward who has committed to Davidson.”

According to head coach, Mike Troy, the most encouraging sign for the team (and for Davidson) is the development of the players.

“It’s a credit to the players. They’ve all bought into what we’re trying to do,” said Troy. “I’m happy with how Jake has progressed, but I’m happy with how all the kids have progressed.”

Every win shows more about the Davidson recruit’s consistency and leadership.

2008 Was one for the memory banks if you are a Davidson Wilcats fan.

2008 will also be considered breakout years for Stephen Curry and Jason Richards, the dynamic guard duo in the wildcats backcourt.

So, in honor of the new year, who do you think will have the best 2009 in the front court?

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Davidson recruit and Conestoga Senior Jake Cohen lead his team to a championship at the Surf ‘N Slam Tournament in San Diego over the holiday break.

Cohen’s game high 23 points accounted for 43% of his team’s offense as they downed Wood Creek, 53-44.

Cohen’s team remains undefeated as they continue play after the holiday break looking to continue their domination of Philadelphia hoops.

Jake Cohen is a commited member to the Davidson Wildcats 2009 recruiting class.

Although there was not much for Canucks to cheer about on the hardwood in 2008, The Canadian Press is happy with a couple of Davidson Wildcats.

The paper believes Will Archambault’s and Max Paulhus Gosselin’s contributions as Davidson ran through the Elite Eight during the NCAA tournament were the highlights of Canadian basketball in 2008.

The paper notes that after the tournament, the players “returned to a hero’s welcome in Davidson. A sign in front of the town library read: ‘Be Proud,’ while the window on the Main Street bank had the message ‘Thanks Cats.’”

Apparently, that same pride for the two Quebecers has spread beyond Main Street to throughout Canada.

After a tough loss to the Purdue Boilermakers, Davidson coach Bob McKillop has said that he would like to take pressure off of star Stephen Curry and let some other players handle the point position.

During that game, the responsibility fell on two players, senior Max Paulhus Gosselin and Sophomore Brendan McKillop. Their stats were as follows…

McKillop - 8 points, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 turnover.

Paulhus Gosselin - 4 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 turnover.

So who should get more time at the point guard position moving forward?

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A lot has been said about Davidson’s freshman forward Frank Ben-Eze.

The highly touted recruit has generated plenty of buzz around the Davidson community, and what’s more impressive, is he’s done it without a minute of playing time.

That all changed against Purdue on Saturday night.

Ben-Eze, who is coming off of a torn ligament in his knee finally saw some playing time against the Boilermakers, and in an area where Davidson usually struggles, the offensive glass, Ben-Eze made it look Easy as the ball seemed to fall into his hands.

“The Big Easy” as he will henceforth be called on this site, played 8 minutes recording 3 rebounds (all offensive) and one block.

If he were to average those stats for an entire game, the big guy would put up 15 rebounds and 5 blocks, an inside presence the Wildcats surely could use.

“The Big Easy” was in for the only real run Davidson made during the game and showed why he will be such an important commodity to the team moving forward.

The Davidson College Wildcats forgot to set their alarms for the Wooden Tradition vs. Purdue on Saturday.

The team started the game 0 for 10 from the field and found themselves in a 21-0 deficit early in the first half, a margin they could not recover from.

For the Boildermakers, it was the opposite of their start against Duke earlier this month, in which Purdue fell behind 7-0 and never challenged the Blue Devils in a 76-60 loss.

“I thought this was a great team victory for us,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “Our guys did a very good job defensively, not just the three guys that guarded Stephen Curry. I thought everybody was ready to play.”

Will Archambault scored 13 points and Andrew Lovedale scored 10 for Davidson (8-2).

Painter said he could tell his players were prepared for Davidson. 

“You can see when guys are hooked up,” he said. 

Purdue ran out to a quick 7-0 lead, and Curry missed his first three shots before the Wildcats called an early timeout. Purdue kept the pressure on, and a 3-pointer by Grant increased the lead to 12-0. Back-to-back baskets by Johnson made it 21-0 with 13:05 left in the first half. 

Davidson finally scored on a putback by Lovedale. 

Wildcats star Stephen Curry missed his first eight shots, but his ninth was a 3-pointer, part of a 13-2 run that trimmed Purdue’s lead to 27-15. 

Purdue fired right back with 3-pointers by Moore and Grant. An alley-oop dunk by Johnson on a pass from Moore made it 41-19. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Marcus Green late in the first half increased Purdue’s lead to 47-24 at the break. 

“We had a run to start the game, then they made their run,” Hummel said. “When that happens, you’ve just got to be ready to punch them back in the mouth. That’s how we responded.” 

Curry shot 3-for-18 from the field in the first half, went 1-for-9 from 3-point range and had three turnovers. Purdue shot 57 percent in the first half, while Davidson shot 25 percent. The Boilermakers made 7-of-11 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes. 

Purdue hit three quick 3-pointers at the start of the second half to increase its lead to 58-29. Another alley-oop dunk by Johnson, this one on an inbounds pass from Grant, made it 66-44 with just under 11 minutes left. The Boilermakers led by at least 15 points the rest of the way. 

Curry never got on track. 

“Curry missed a couple shots early,” Painter said. “I thought the first two or three times, the first looks were very good looks, then after that, I thought our guys did a great job.”

Game Photos:

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Red-shirt freshman Ben Allison has really been coming on for the Wildcats in recent games.

No game bigger than the impressive performance he had on national TV in the Jimmy V Classic.

The big man is starting to play very big. That fact, combined with his English accent makes him a perfect target for a good nickname, but what will that nickname be?

Wildcats Pride has come up with a few options…

Big Britain

The Tower of London

Prince Benjamin

However, we would love to hear your ideas for Ben’s nickname. Add your ideas to the ‘comments’ section below and we will later vote on the most popular names.