Foster Loyer scored 16 his team-high 18 points in the second half as Davidson rallied for a 69-60 win over South Carolina in the consolation bracket of the Charleston (S.C.) Classic on Friday.
Loyer finished 5 of 14 from the field, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range, while teammate Sam Mennenga had 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting and added six rebounds. Connor Kochera finished with 12 points, with Desmond Watson chipping in nine points and four rebounds.
The Wildcats (4-1) trailed 34-27 with 17:56 remaining before outscoring the Gamecocks 42-26 the rest of the way.
Down 38-37 with 14 minutes to go, Davidson went on a 16-4 run during which Loyer hit three 3-pointers, the last giving the Wildcats a 53-42 lead with 9:15 to play.
Davidson shot 26-for-58 (44.8 percent) from the field, including 9-for-25 (36 percent) from 3-point range, in addition to going 8-for-9 from the free-throw line.
South Carolina (2-2) was led by Chico Carter, who scored a game-high 26 points by going 9 of 14 from the field, including 6 of 8 from beyond the arc. Gregory Jackson II added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Hayden Brown scored 10 points.
The Gamecocks shot 22-for-56 (39.3 percent) from the field, including 6-for-18 (33.3 percent) from distance.
After the Wildcats took a 23-16 lead on Watson’s jumper with 9:19 left in the first half, the Gamecocks closed on a 13-2 run to take a 29-25 lead into halftime.
Carter scored 12 first-half points for South Carolina, which shot 11-for-28 (39.3 percent) from the field, including 4-for-11 (36.4 percent) from beyond the arc.
Davidson was led by Watson’s nine first-half points, while Mennenga added six.
The Wildcats shot 11-for-27 (40.7 percent) from the field, including 3-for-10 (30 percent) from deep, before intermission.
Davidson will play Old Dominion (3-2) in the consolation-bracket final on Sunday. The Gamecocks will meet Furman (2-2) on Sunday in a consolation game between teams that dropped their first two contests in the event.
–Field Level Media
