Thursday, 08 March 2012 13:12 Mann's dunk was the moment Davidson needed Written by Justin Parker Clint Mann found a wide open path to the basket. Tim Cowie ASHEVILLE — On a night when nearly every shot — including Western Carolina’s off-balance and banked-in three-pointers — was thoroughly contested, the most significant basket of Monday’s Southern Conference tournament final, a dunk by Davidson’s Clint Mann with 1:03 left in the second overtime, was not. And on a night that included many almosts, what-ifs, near misses and potential breakthrough moments, Mann’s dunk turned out to be the moment, the one that lifted Davidson to a 93-91 double-overtime win, the one that secured Davidson’s first Southern Conference championship since 2008 and the one that has the Wildcats bound for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Stephen Curry led them to the Elite Eight. But it wasn’t just that Mann was unchallenged when JP Kuhlman passed him the ball on the right wing, in front of Davidson’s bench, setting the stage for a drive to the hoop. It was that he was alone. All alone. Alone as a man can be in an arena filled with 6,049 people. “We were running something for De’Mon (Brooks) inside, and they really helped on him,” said Mann. “And when I got the ball on the wing, they had doubled him, and no one was guarding me. He did a great job. He sealed the paint wide open, and he gave me an opportunity to use some of my athleticism.” Mann, who finished with 10 points off the bench, rushed in for a thunderous two-handed jam, but not before Brooks, who was posting up, saw the opportunity to shield two defenders from his path. “When he caught the ball,” said Brooks, “he didn’t realize how wide open he was. ... I think I got the seal of my life, and I was yelling, ‘dunk it!’” Brooks could relate to what Mann felt in that moment. At the conclusion of the first overtime, he had a shot to win it, but the ball hit the rim multiple times before bouncing out. “I thought it was in,” Brooks said of the shot. “I was ready to run down the court.” As Mann left the ground and soared to the rim, Western guard Hasouna Mutombo, the nephew of former pro shot-blocking specialist Dikembe Mutombo (who was in attendance), stepped around Brooks and reached out to swipe at the ball in a last-ditch effort to contest the shot. But Mutombo was late getting there, was unable to block the flight of the 6-foot-8 Iowa State transfer, not giving him the opportunity to wag his finger and shake his head like his uncle did so many times —and like Davidson’s Jake Cohen, with seven blocks in the game, could have. Mann was not to be stopped. He landed the dunk to give Davidson a two-point lead. Davidson coach Bob McKillop said Mann did a great job recognizing the opportunity and seizing it. “We tell them they’re unleashed, they are freed up, take what’s there, but you must see the game,” said McKillop. “And if there’s one aspect of the game that Clint has really progressed with, it’s seeing the game. He saw the open lane, he went to the basket, De’Mon had sealed looking for the ball inside, and Clint went in there like a man and threw it home.” Given the punches and counterpunches delivered throughout the 49 minutes of play to that point, it didn’t seem likely Mann’s basket would be the decisive blow. But Mutombo missed a runner on the ensuing possession, and Brooks rebounded. Then Davidson, with a 14-second difference between the shot clock and game clock, also failed to convert when Brooks attempted a turnaround jumper from the right elbow, leaving it short after slipping during his spin. With 13.7 seconds left, Western had one more chance, and the Catamounts, nearly spent from playing four games in four days and two extra periods in the final, decided to go for the win. They couldn’t stand the thought of playing five more minutes. Western’s Trey Sumler dribbled up court to the right, pivoted and tossed the ball to Keaton Cole, a 42 percent three-point shooter, deep at the top of the key. Cole, like Mann, was unaccounted for initially, but his shot was long. “We got our best shooter a really good look, but it didn’t go,” said Western coach Larry Hunter. Mann secured the rebound with three ticks left, passed out to Kuhlman streaking up the left side of the court, and the junior guard whipped the ball high in the air as he crossed midcourt and the horn sounded. In that moment, the Davidson bench exploded — led by high-leaping assistant coach Jim Fox — as the Wildcats’ dream of winning a SoCon title and returning to the NCAA Tournament became a reality. “It’s a dream come true,” said Davidson’s Nik Cochran, still in disbelief. “It’s a dream come true.” Be the first of your friends Tweet 0 Like to like this. Printed from the Charlotte Observer - www.CharlotteObserver.com Posted: Tuesday, Mar. 06, 2012 Balance is the name of game in Wildcats’ win By Scott Fowler PUBLISHED IN: SCOTT FOWLER ASHEVILLE Davidson won its way into the Related Stories NCAA tournament Monday night - 93-91 in double overtime over Western Carolina in a remarkable Southern Conference final - even though it lost a 12-point lead in the final two Related Images minutes of regulation. Davidson won despite star forward De’Mon Brooks’ 8-foot shot at the end of the first overtime going halfway in and then coming back out. “I thought that was in,” Brooks said. “I was ready to run down the court.” Davidson won, finally, when Western Carolina’s long 3-pointer in the final seconds of the second overtime barely missed, allowing the Wildcats to escape with a victory in one of the five best college basketball games I have ever seen in person. The Wildcats showed great resiliency and character. They refused to play the blame game when Western Carolina unleashed a flurry of late 3-pointers and Davidson kept turning the ball over late in regulation to fritter away that huge lead. “What a story this is,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said afterward. But more than anything else I would attribute their victory to balance. That’s why the exhausted, happy Davidson players got to storm the floor for a barrage of hugs as the pep band boomed “Sweet Caroline” when the second overtime had finally ended. For tightrope walkers, money managers and good basketball teams, balance is essential. Davidson had five players score between 10 to 19 points and five players grab six to nine rebounds Monday night. This Davidson team has no Stephen Curry, whose narrow shoulders the last Wildcats’ NCAA team rode within a breath of the Final Four in 2008. But what the 2012 Davidson squad does have are a lot of ways to hurt you, and that’s what ultimately did in the Catamounts Monday. The crowd of 6,049 - helped by the fact that two in-state schools made the final and have campuses less than two hours away from the game site - was rock-concert loud. Western Carolina seemed to have about 60 percent of the fans in its favor and for awhile it looked like the Catamounts - who have made the NCAA tournament only once in their history - would do it again. “We believe! We believe!” the Western fans kept chanting in the frenzied final minutes. But all five Davidson starters average in double figures. Eight players get substantial minutes (and none are seniors). When McKillop sees his team doesn’t have its fastball on a particular night, he still has about four more pitches to throw. JP Kuhlman, for instance. He’s a steady starter who averages a respectable 10.8 points. But on Monday night, he scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds from his guard spot, time and again influencing the game. Or Chris Czerapowicz. He hit huge 3-pointers in both overtimes. Or Clint Mann. The reserve big man had 10 points, including a huge dunk to break a 91-91 tie and end the scoring after Cohen fouled out with 1:24 left in the second overtime. “He took it in there like a man,” McKillop said of Mann on the play. Davidson (25-7) now has a delicious period of waiting - it is still five days before the NCAA field is officially set. But Davidson knows it has qualified for the NCAA for the 11th time. Western Carolina put up a wonderful fight. The Catamounts, winners of seven straight games coming in, were trying to become the first Southern Conference team in the current format to win four games in four days for the championship. But Davidson was more well-balanced. And in a thoroughly amazing game, that’s what finally tipped the scales. Scott Fowler: 704-358-5140; [email protected] Subscribe to The Charlotte Observer. Printed from the Charlotte Observer - www.CharlotteObserver.com Posted: Tuesday, Mar. 06, 2012 Anatomy of a 2OT 93-91 thriller By David Scott PUBLISHED IN: SPORTS ASHEVILLE Davidson’s 93-91 double-overtime Related Stories victory Monday against Western Carolina for the Southern Conference basketball tournament championship will go down as one of the most compelling games in league history.