HILLIARD, Ohio -- In a game of runs on Friday night, Dublin Coffman (13-0) used the late game ball handling and free throw shooting of junior guards Keaton Turner and Dominiq Penn to take down Hilliard Davidson (9-3), winning 64-54.

On a night where Hilliard Davidson was looking for revenge, they jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. This was sparked by junior big man Gage Keys. Keys scored the opening basket of the game and also converted an and-one to give the Wildcats all of the momentum early.

However, Coffman received instant offense when Turner entered the game midway through the quarter. After scoring inside and knocking down a three-pointer, Turner found Penn in transition to tie the game at seven.

We saw several big plays shortly after, as Davidson senior Christian Gillilan knocked down a three-pointer followed up by a big dunk from Coffman forward Derek Van Vlerah. This frantic end to the frame saw Coffman leading 11-10 going into quarter number two.

The Coffman offense then began to generate some firepower when Turner and senior Luke Bartemes knocked down back-to-back three’s to open up the second quarter. The Rocks surged to an instant 12-0 run and held a comfortable lead of 23-10 with 4:15 to go in the half.

Davidson’s offense went dry for the first half of the quarter, and they did not score their first points of the frame until the 4:05 mark.

The Wildcats woke up in the frame when senior sharpshooter Caleb Stimmel knocked down two three-pointers to cut Coffman’s lead to 28-18. Trailing by 10 points as they neared halftime, Davidson used a quick turn of events to grab a ton of momentum heading into the break.

After Desean Stokes knocked down a three answered by a Coffman basket, senior Jacob Drees threw up a prayer at the buzzer. The turnaround three-pointer from the volleyball line fell through the net, and the Wildcats trailed just 30-24 at halftime.

Davidson carried this energy over to the second half. Sparked by the perimeter defense and slashing of senior Carson Felicetty, the Wildcats took control of the game in the third.

Felicetty did an excellent job of defending Penn all night. Though Dom had his fair share of buckets (this will happen against anyone), the senior gave him problems at time on the perimeter.

Davidson crawled back to tie the game at 37, and another three-pointer from Stimmel gave them their first lead since the opening frame, leading 40-39 going into the final quarter.

Gage Keys opened up the last frame with a score inside to give the Wildcats a 42-39 advantage, but Keaton Turner responded immediately with a floater of his own. The first minutes of the quarter played this way; back-and-forth.

It was an and-one from senior Will Hunter and a tough lay-in from Turner that helped Coffman take control. The duo helped the Rocks to a comfortable 51-44 lead with three minutes to play.

The last three minutes found Davidson missing some easy inside looks that they needed to stay in it, and Coffman took full advantage of this. Turner and Penn were fouled a handful of times to end it and consistently knocked their shots at the line down, helping Coffman secure this one.

This is a tough loss for Davidson, as they missed several opportunities to pull out the upset late. However, this should be a great confidence booster for the Wildcats, proving that they can play with anyone in the area this season.

Drees led the way with 12 points, eight rebounds and four steals in a solid all-around showing. Keys also scored 11 points in an outing where we would have liked to see Davidson get him a little more involved inside. Stimmel also had nine points on three triples and Gillilan chipped in with eight.

Davidson now moves their sights to a big matchup with Olentangy Liberty on next Tuesday.

Turner led all scorers with 22 points off of the bench for Coffman. You will not find a better sixth man in the area, and Turner is slowly creeping up the junior guard rankings this season. This is his second time stepping up on the big stage recently, as he was the driving force to the Rocks big win over Pickerington North last Tuesday night.

Penn followed him up with 14 points on what was a slow night for the junior where he still put up good number regardless. Bartemes also scored 11 points, and Van Vlerah scored eight and did a great job on the glass, snatching 11 rebounds.

Though they looked sloppy at times tonight, Dublin Coffman proved again why they are one of, if not the best team in the area. The Rocks came together late to put away a hungry Davidson team who was looking for the upset.

They now shift focus to next Tuesday’s matchup with Olentangy Orange.