By Dylan Branscome
January 2, 2025 – The 51视频 STORM win in a thriller against the #17 ranked Montgomery College Raptors, 95-92, at Brinkley on Thursday night in their first game in the 51视频 New Years Classic.
Davidson was led behind Dane Stewart (22 points) and Lamonte Cousar (21 points, 9 rebounds) and 53% shooting in the second half to grab their 13th win on the season to advance to 13-1.
The STORM came out hot, starting on a 12-2 run behind Jamaal Chrisp and Will Gray threes. Davidson was also able to get past the Raptors鈥� defenders with ease, whether it be off the dribble or losing their man on a backdoor cut. This is where Stewart got some points early, notching seven in the score sheet before the 10-minute mark.
Montgomery didn鈥檛 falter though, as the seven first-half threes and a 22-point first-half performance from Christopher Levy helped keep them in the game and eventually take a 4-point lead, 54-50, going into the half. In fact, the Raptors outplayed the STORM in most categories for the first half. They shot 48% from the field compared to Davidson鈥檚 40%, 43% from three compared to 23%, and 73% from the free throw line compared to 55%.
The STORM had a double-digit lead with about three and a half minutes to go, and the Raptors all of a sudden went on an impressive run to take the lead. 鈥淲ell, they鈥檙e talented,鈥� head coach Matt Ridge said at halftime. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e number seventeen in the country for a reason. When I was at Chapel Hill, Coach (Dean) Smith鈥檚 main concern was when you get out to such a big lead early, you subconsciously think it鈥檚 going to be easy, and it鈥檚 certainly not.鈥�
The second half opened up to Montgomery continuing their quick offensive style to get out to a 10-point lead early, essentially sucking the air out of Brinkley, which is a tall order. However, the STORM did not falter easily either, going on a 12-2 run of their own to tie it with 15 minutes to go.
Stewart truly started to take over in this half, and it all started with a huge three to cut a deficit to one point, and then forcing a turnover the next possession, which then led to an Aden Taylor layup to give the STORM the lead late. He would then get six straight points, none of them easy, to give Davidson a six-point lead with 3:45 to go. Javier Ortiz then hit a tremendous three to give the STORM another cushion after a bucket from Montgomery, to go up by seven with 2:30 left.
鈥淒ane was incredible on both ends,鈥� Ridge said post-game. 鈥淚 also think Javier (Ortiz) came off the bench and gave us some good minutes defensively, also hitting a big three. So I was proud of Javier being able to play at a high level, and obviously Dane is incredible.鈥�
Stewart was also able to hold Levy, who had 22 at the half, to just seven 2nd-half聽points, once again proving his defensive prowess in man-to-man.
Davidson also shot significantly better in the second half, improving each shooting statistic by at least 12%. Field goal percentage increased by 12% (40% to 52%), three-point percentage doubled (23% to 50%) and free-throw percentage increased by 20% (55% to 75%), while the Raptors鈥� percentages decreased drastically.
The STORM return to action in their next game in the 51视频 New Years Classic at Brinkley Gym against the Henry Ford Hawks, who are ranked 20th in the nation, at 7:30 PM EST tonight.