Behind Sophomore Jake Davis’s 19 points and 14 rebounds and Senior Scott Ruegg’s 17 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, the Dons cruised past the visiting Pirates 67-53 on Saturday night.

Senior Graham Smith got the Dons going early with a basket off of the opening tip and followed it up with a three pointer as the Dons jumped to a 19-8 first quarter advantage. Ruegg added 7 points and the Dons looked in control.

The second quarter was a different story as Pittsburgh’s Mark Wallace started heating up and a Pirate six-point run cut the Dons lead to 5. A superb low post pass by junior Tate Nelson to Davis resulted in an easy two points for the Dons and the run was stopped. Davis continued to dominate the paint and freshmen Marcus Robinson contributed a three as the Dons took a 27-24 lead into the locker room at half.

The third quarter was all Davis, as he scored 12 points and added 5 rebounds and the Dons broke the game open. Davis scored in a variety of ways–off of pick and rolls, free throws, and offensive rebounds. The Dons picked up the defensive intensity as they went to Coach Henik’s 2-2-1 press and the Pirates were rattled. The Dons took control and ended the third quarter up 51-36.

The Dons continued to press in the fourth quarter and held off a late Pirates run. Sophomore Tyler Murphy came in for Davis and added valuable minutes scoring, eight points in the quarter to seal the win.

Beside Davis and Ruegg, Smith added 11 and Murphy 9 to round out the scoring. The Dons are now 4-3 and play Oakland Tech at Tech on Tuesday in a non-league matchup.