But as important as his scoring was, Springfield coach Isaiah Carson said his defensive performance against Fairmont’s Jack Hendricks was just as important.
Hendricks scored 26 points in the first three quarters, but Davis held him scoreless in the fourth.
“He played a tremendous ball game for (Fairmont), and I think the difference was Danny Davis settling down, locking in and guarding him in that fourth quarter,” Carson said.
The Firebirds were happy to match Springfield’s fast pace and weren’t fazed by a full-court press. Coach Blair Albright’s system thrives on getting as many shot attempts in one game as possible, and Friday’s game was a shootout.
In a game where each team shot at least 50 times, second-chance shots were crucial. Springfield got 14 offensive rebounds compared Fairmont’s two.
“We want to take advantage of every opportunity we get, and offensive rebounds are an extra opportunity for us to capitalize on,” Carson said. “I thought we did that tonight.”
After trailing at halftime, Springfield took the lead for good in the third quarter and survived a Fairmont rally in the fourth. Danny Davis scored nine points in the third quarter to help Springfield take a 56-51 lead.
RaHeim Moss scored a basket off the glass with 3:40 left in the fourth to give Springfield its largest lead of the game at 63-54.
The Wildcats then had to weather the fire. Kellan Bochenek made a 3-pointer with 2:32 left to cut Springfield’s lead to 66-62. Fairmont missed three shots with about 50 seconds left, and after Springfield finally got a rebound, Davis threw down a one-handed dunk on the other end to effectively seal the win.
Davis got some money and two pairs of shoes earlier in the day, but he said the best part was helping the Wildcats earn their 10th consecutive win.
“It was fun to come out here and play our game and that was good, but our defense wasn’t there tonight,” Davis said. “We’ll bounce back from it.”
Moss finished with 18 points the Wildcats.
Springfield, which stays in sole possession of first place in the National East with a 5-1 conference record, plays at Cincinnati Moeller on Saturday night.
“We’ve got to come back with a better defensive performance tomorrow night or I guarantee we’ll get blown out,” Davis said. “But we’ll be ready.”
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