LYNCHBURG, Va. – Redshirt-sophomore Jorden Davis (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy (Roanoke)) scored a game- and career-high 29 points to lift visiting Guilford College past the University of Lynchburg in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)-basketball action Wednesday night.
With leading scorer and rebounder Kyler Gregory sidelined by illness, the Quakers (16-7, 8-6 ODAC) rolled out a guard-heavy rotation, which Davis found very much to his liking. The two-way guard shot eight-of-14 from the floor and got to the free-throw line 10 times where he made all 10 tries to match the school’s single-game free-throw percentage record.
Guilford sophomore forward Liam Ward matched his career scoring high with 19 points and also grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds. He drained a personal-best four three-pointers (in 7 shots) for the second straight contest.
With Davis and Ward pacing the offense, the Quakers delivered one of their better defensive games of the season. The Hornets (13-10, 8-6 ODAC) entered the contest ranked second among ODAC scoring leaders (78.6 ppg.), but the Quakers limited their hosts to 22-for-60 shooting (36.7%) from the floor, including 7-for-26 (27%) from three-point range. Lynchburg missed 10-of-12 second-half three-point shots.
Guilford limited Lynchburg to three points over the game’s first seven minutes and opened a 12-3 edge. A Reggie Davis (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) layup got the Hornets to within 19-13 nine minutes before the half, but Guilford reeled off the game’s next nine points, six by Jorden Davis, and held a 37-28 halftime lead. Davis (14) and Ward (9) accounted for 23 of the Quakers’ points and combined to make 9-of-13 shots from the floor.
A Tharon Suggs three-pointer brought Lynchburg to within 39-34 a minute into the second half, but the Hornets drew no closer. Guilford locked down on defense and ripped off a 31-12 run that opened a 24-point margin with eight minutes left in regulation. Davis had 11 during the outburst, including nine straight. Ward drained three three-pointers in that time.
Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers host league-foe Hampden-Sydney College under the direction of former Guilford standout Caleb Kimbrough ’08 Saturday (2/15) at 3:00 p.m.
Courtesy of Dave Walters
Guilford College Athletics