Perhaps it was fitting that a kid from Neptune, N.J., was
looking to the heavens for omens on the night before Davidson's
Southern Conference tournament final against Appalachian State.
Said Wildcats guard Mark Donnelly, who wears his favorite
number, 5, on his jersey, "This is my fifth year, I'm on the
fifth floor of my hotel in room 505. Hopefully the stars are
aligned for us this time."
Certainly the stars had been uncooperative in the past. Two
times in the last four years the Wildcats had roared through the
regular season only to reach the conference finals and lose. In
1993-94 they went 13-5 in league play but then lost by a point
to Tennessee-Chattanooga; in 1995-96 they were 14-0 in the
conference before getting upset 69-60 by Western Carolina. On
Sunday, however, Davidson (20-9) beat Appalachian State 66-62 in
Greensboro, N.C., to earn its first NCAA bid since 1985-86,
thanks in large part to the 17 points, nine rebounds and
infectious energy of junior sixth man and tournament MVP Ben
Ebong. "Think of all the times we came to this point and fell on
our face," said Donnelly after the game. "I don't know if it
would be as gratifying if there weren't so many struggles to get
here."
Unlike the dominating Wildcats team of two years ago, which won
its league games by an average of 16.1 points, this one had a
number of close calls. "We had to fight and scrap and claw for
everything we got," says coach Bob McKillop. "This team has a
remarkable resilience about it."
Part of that is thanks to the electric Ebong, a 6'6" native of
Nigeria who grew up in Omaha, Neb., where his parents moved when
he was a year old. Though Ebong has a penchant for mishandling
good passes and is about the only Davidson player who can't
shoot the three (five Wildcats made three-pointers against
Appalachian State), he provides a huge lift off the bench and
the kind of frontcourt depth that will make Davidson dangerous
in the NCAAs. "Ben sets the tone with the aggressiveness he
plays with," says Donnelly. "It'll snap you out of any fog."
Issue date: March 9, 1998
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