They left it all on the floor on Monday night.

Rallying from a 35-25 third quarter deficit, the Irish freshman closed to 43-41 and had possession of the ball in the final minute of play before falling to the 9-1 Davidson Wildcats by a final score of 50-43.

It was the best-played game of the season for the Irish frosh. They traded blows -- figuratively speaking -- with a quick, strong and disciplined Wildcats squad who's only loss came last week in overtime versus Reynoldsburg.

The early action gave no hint of the thrills to come late in the game. After two minutes, the Wildcats led 3-0. Jason Tiemeier got the Irish going with a lay-in on a nice feed from Marco St. John. The play was set-up with a nifty pass into the paint by Bradley McDougald. This spurred a 9-0 Irish run.

All four Irish baskets in the first quarter were assisted. The Irish took the lead at 5-3 when Dylan Coscia drove and dished to a wide-open McDougald for a baseline trey. On the next possession, they switched roles -- McDougald hit Coscia with a nice pass for a lay-in and 7-3 lead. The quarter closed on another Coscia dish for a McDougald trey. The other Irish points came on a pair of free throws from St. John after he was fouled on a put back attempt. The Irish led 12-5 after one quarter.

After a Hilliard trey to open the second quarter, St. John made a traditional three point play on a feed from Rainer Duzan. He hit two more buckets, both on fast break feeds from Duzan, who tallied three assists in the quarter. Brandon Brown got in the scoring column with a baseline jumper and the Irish led 21-15 at the half.

The Wildcats came out with more energy on the offensive end and quickly whittled the Irish lead to a single point at 23-22. After Jerod Nawrocki kept a ball alive on the offensive glass, St. John scored on a put back that gave the Irish a 25-22 lead.

Momentum shifted to the Wildcats after consecutive buckets by post player Tyler Backstrom gave them a 26-25 lead -- their first since the initial quarter. Backstrom, who missed most of the second quarter with a bloody nose, tallied 9 of his team high 13 points in the third quarter.

Utilizing the press, Davidson scored 13 consecutive points to take a 10-point lead at 35-25. Brown hit a jumper to stop the run. Duzan and Nawrocki each split a pair of free throws in the final minute to close the gap to 35-29 at the end of the quarter.

The teams traded baskets early in the fourth quarter, but the Irish closed within two points at 39-37 with under five minutes to go on consecutive St. John buckets. The latter came on a pinpoint outlet pass from McDougald that followed a defensive rebound by Tiemeier.

As good teams often do, the Wildcats sandwiched an Irish free throw with a bucket and a pair of free throws to take a 43-38 lead with 2:06 remaining.

Both teams missed buckets, but the Irish were able cut the lead to two again when McDougald split a pair of free throws and made a lay-up in transition to cut it to 43-41 at 1:25.

The Irish regained possession following a Davidson miss, but a long outlet pass sailed wide out of bounds. The Wildcats ran the clock down and point guard Nick Van Dyne hit a short jumper to build the lead to 45-41 with 32 seconds to go.

Fatigued from a hard fought and competitive game, both teams committed three fouls as the clock wound down. Each team tried six free throws. The Wildcats made five and the Irish hit only two for the final margin of 50-43.

St. John led the Irish with 17 points. Other Irish in the scoring column were: McDougald (13), Coscia (4), Brown (4), Tiemeier (3), Duzan (1) and Nawrocki (1). In addition to hitting the glass hard, Tiemeier took a charge in the third quarter that waved off a Davidson basket and held Backstrom in check in the fourth quarter.

A gritty Backstrom, who played the second half with gauze in his nostril to help protect his nose, led the Wildcats with 13. Van Dyne tallied 12 and Eric Fields had 10 points to join him double figures.
The Irish are back in action on Thursday with a 6 p.m. home game against the Olentangy Braves.