Charlotte, NC – Charlotte ( 3-3) welcomed the visiting Davidson Wildcats (5-2) to Halton Arena Tuesday night in the team’s annual Battle for the Hornets Nest. The Niners entered the contest as winners of the previous two meetings, hoping to snatch its first three-game winning streak against Davidson since 2003-2005.
The Niners were able to keep things close early as 6’11 red-shirt freshman Aly Khalifa hit two three-pointers within the game’s first four minutes the team within striking distance. Four missed shots and one turnover later, Coach Sanchez found his team down 16-8 midway through the half as the Niners struggled offensively. Conversely, Davidson junior guard Hyungjung Lee was able to find his shooting touch from all over the court as the South Korea native enforced his will on offense, scoring from all three levels and vacuuming the energy right out of Halton Arena.
Things began to heat up for Charlotte midway through the second half as the team went on an 8-0 run to erase an 18 point deficit and climb back into the game. Down by 10 with eight minutes to go, Davidson head coach Bob McKillop called a timeout to settle down a noisy Halton Arena. Just over a minute later, Lee hit a dagger from beyond the arc to extend’s Davidson’s lead 63-51 and officially put the game out of reach for the Niners. Lee finished with a career-high 32 points to go along with 14 rebounds.
Davidson head coach Bob McKillop talked about Lee’s performance following the game. “Lee has been making plays for us all year long. You put the ball in his hands and generally good things happen because of his size. He sees open men, can pass over defenders and he can shoot with such a quick release. I think he’s sensational,” said McKilllop.
The Niners have a chance to get back on track Saturday afternoon as the team welcomes another Atlantic 10 conference foe to town with George Washington visits Halton Arena. The Colonials also find themselves off to a slow start as the team is 2-6 and have yet win a game on the road this season.
