SALISBURY – The Davie War Eagles saved their best for crunch time Saturday morning and pulled away from Mooresville 66-55 in the opening round of the Moir Christmas Classic.

In a tight battle that was tied five times in the second half, Davie (4-5) finally found some separation with two minutes left on a three pointer from the top of the key by Jordan McDaniel. Dylan Shoffer then added a jumper to make the score 57-52 and Davie converted 5 of 8 foul shots down the stretch to seal it. The Blue Devils (5-4) were seeded third in their inaugural Moir tournament appearance but were outscored 11-4 with the game on the line.

“It was a great game because we have not been able to close out a lot this year,” said Davie coach Mike Absher. “But we had good possessions and made free throws coming down the stretch.”

Mooresville had the early advantage behind former South Rowan player Christian Holbrook and Jay Davis, leading by as many as eight in the first half. But Davie cut it to 25-24 at the half and pulled ahead early in the second half on a pair of baskets by Holden Poole. That set the stage for the multiple lead swaps until the War Eagles found a way to come through in crunch time. Nic Starnes had the key foul shots in the final minute to secure the win, hitting four of six.

McDaniel topped the winners with 20 including three of six from behind the arc. Starnes added 13 and Shoffner had 9. Davis was the only Blue Devil in double figures with 13 while Holbrook added 9.
“We tell our guys this is tournament basketball,” Absher said. “You have got to win one to get to the next one. That was our goal today.”

Davie advances to the 4:30 semi-final contest Monday against seventh seed East Rowan.

DAVIE CO. (65): McDaniel 20, Starnes 13, Shoffner 9, Poole 7, Mua 7, Slabach 5, Wall 4, Miller, Redmond, Bennet, Wall.
MOORESVILLE (55): Davis 13, Holbrook 9, Vanderburg 7, Daniels 7, Lee 7, Usry 4, Beatty 4, Hull 2, Dukes 2, Ingram, Greenwell.

DAVIE 8 16 17 24 – 65
MOORESVILLE 13 12 17 13 – 55