Wildcats Pride

Davidson Wildcats (2-5, 1-0 SoCon) vs. College of Charleston (3-2, 1-0 SoCon)
Date: Dec. 5, 2009
Time: 4 p.m.
Site: Carolina First Arena (5,100 capacity) - Charleston, S.C.
Audio: John Kilgo and Ken Hall call the action on the Davidson Radio Network (1350 AM, 95.7 FM [joined in progress] and online at www.DavidsonWildcats.com)
Video: Broadcast live on Comcast Sports Southeast with Warren Peper and John Kresse calling the action.

Team Matchup

Davidson                                            Charleston
66.3              Scoring Average              67.2
65.1               Scoring Defense             69.8
+1.1           Avg. Scoring Margin         -2.6
.422                        FG %                     .432
.423                     Opp. FG %                .433
.392                        3-PT %                  .361
.331                   Opp. 3-PT %               .255
.684                         FT %                     .708
10.6              Off. Rebounds Avg.           7.8
34.9               Total Rebound Avg.          32.4
33.1          Opp. Total Rebound Avg.      43.0
+1.7         Avg. Rebounding Margin      -10.6
15.1                    Assists Avg.               12.0
4.9                      Steals Avg.                 6.0
14.1                 Turnovers Avg.             15.4
2.9                      Blocks Avg.                 4.6

Team Leaders

Cohen 13.7                  Points          Goudelock 18.0

2 tied at 5.0              Rebounds           Simmons 9.5

McKillop 3.9               Assists            Goudelock 3.2

Will Archambault scored 21 points and Jake Cohen added 20, leading Davidson to a 74-63 win over The Citadel in the Southern Conference opener for both teams on Thursday night.

Davidson arrived with a new starting lineup which paid huge early returns for head coach Bob McKillop. Freshmen, Cohen and J.P. Kuhlman started the first games of their careers and combined for 39 points against The Citadel.

The visiting team was hitting shots from everywhere in the gym.

Archambault connected on six 3-pointers and Cohen hit four for the Wildcats (2-5, 1-0), who finished 15-for-27 from beyond the arc. Kuhlman sank three from long range. 

The Citadel (5-4, 0-1) finished 6-for-25 from 3-point range. 

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a layup and a free throw from Cameron Wells. 

But Archambault got the 3-point parade going early for the Wildcats, hitting a pair from beyond the arc to put Davidson up 6-3 3 minutes into the game. They led the rest of the way. 

Zach Urbanus and Wells scored 23 apiece to lead the Bulldogs. 

Davidson has won two of three since dropping the season’s first four games. When asked about the new additions the Wildcats have made, Citadel coach Ed Conroy called the pair of starting freshmen “sensational”.

Site: Carolina First Arena (5,100 capacity) - Charleston, S.C.
Audio: John Kilgo calls the action on the Davidson Radio Network (1350 AM, 95.7 FM and online at www.DavidsonWildcats.com)

The Wildcats travel to Charleston, S.C., to open a three-game stretch in the Charleston Classic at Carolina First Arena. Their tournament begins Thursday against South Florida at 7 p.m. The ‘Cats have played one game in Carolina First Arena, which opened last year, a 79-75 Davidson victory over College of Charleston before a capacity crowd. Tonight’s contest starts a stretch in which the Wildcats play five games in 10 days. Davidson will meet either La Salle or South Carolina in its second game of the tournament Friday, Nov. 20, at either 7 p.m. or 9:30 p.m.

Davidson Team Statistics:

                                          Davidson                     Opponents

SCORING                                 62                                73

Points per game                   62.0                             73.0

Scoring margin                    -11.0

FIELD GOALS-ATT                 24-51                           22-53

Field goal pct                        .471                             .415

3 POINT FG-ATT                    6-17                             9-24

3-point FG pct                       .353                             .375

3-pt FG made per game         6.0                               9.0

FREE THROWS-ATT                 8-9                             20-25

Free throw pct                       .889                             .800

F-Throws made per game     8.0                              20.0

REBOUNDS                               31                                27

Rebounds per game              31.0                             27.0

Rebounding margin              +4.0

ASSISTS                                     17                                13

Assists per game                   17.0                             13.0

TURNOVERS                             16                                10

Turnovers per game             16.0                             10.0

Turnover margin                   -6.0

Assist/turnover ratio            1.1                               1.3

STEALS                                        2                                  9

Steals per game                     2.0                               9.0

BLOCKS                                      1                                  4

Blocks per game                     1.0                               4.0

Team Leaders:

Points:                   Allison, Ben         13.0

Rebounds:             Allison, Ben          7.0

Assists:                  Kuhlman, JP         6.0

Steals:                    Two tied at          1.0

Blocks:                   Cohen, Jake         1.0

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Maybe Butler had opening-day jitters.
Or perhaps the problem was just facing another strong mid-major program so early in the season.

Whatever the explanation, the Bulldogs (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP) strung together a 15-4 closing run to pull away from Davidson 73-62 on Saturday.

“It’s a lot of fun, but I’m sure there are some anxious moments and that’s OK,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “This game is not going to define who you are, win or lose, but it gives you a lot to work on.”

Clearly, the Bulldogs (1-0) have plenty of things to clean up before heading to Northwestern on Wednesday.

Butler, which has gone to three straight NCAA tournaments and came into the game with the highest preseason ranking in school history, has built its reputation on playing almost flawless basketball.

It has consistently ranked among the national leaders in fewest turnovers, points allowed, 3-pointers and free-throw differential. On Saturday, the Bulldogs struggled with all of those facets early.

The Bulldogs committed seven of their 10 turnovers in the first half, a span in which it also committed 11 fouls and was shooting only 31.8 percent through the first 16 1/2 minutes.
Eventually, the players started playing Butler basketball.

Gordon Hayward finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, Willie Veasley added 15 points and Matt Howard and first-time starter Shawn Vanzant each scored 10.

 Each contributed to the two key runs that changed the game — the first late in the first half, the other coming midway through the second half.

 ”I don’t know about the expectations, I just think we had so much time playing against one another, we were just excited for the season to start,” Veasley said. “As a group, we were ready. You could tell with our fight throughout the game, we were just anxious.”

Davidson took advantage of the miscues but eventually wore down.

The Wildcats, playing their first game since losing Stephen Curry to the NBA, were led by Ben Allison with 13 points and Brendan McKillop with 11.

They jumped to a quick 20-10 lead in the first half and still led by 10 with 3 1/2 minutes to go in the half. Then, after falling behind early in the second half, they rallied to take a 58-56 lead with 9:37 left before succumbing to Butler’s decisive run but didn’t have enough to close it out.

After losing 59 percent of its scoring and 44 percent of its rebounding from last season, coach Bob McKillop called it an encouraging start.

 ”When you see 18 points off [our] turnovers, that’s the story of the game to me, their ability to create some chaos on the catch, I would say led to eight to 10 points,” said McKillop, who has five straight 20-wins seasons. “But it’s a new experience for all of us. Everyone is adapting to new roles.”

Butler is the exception. It didn’t lose anybody from last season’s team, which made its third straight trip to the NCAA tournament.

With the Bulldogs out of sync, the Wildcats still had a 31-21 lead with 3 1/2 minutes to go in the half. That’s when things began to unravel.

Shelvin Mack started the closing flurry with two free throws, and Vanzant hit a 3. After Mack drove in for a layup, then connected on 1 of 2 free throws, Veasley hit back-to-back 3s to give the Bulldogs a 35-33 lead.

Hayward closed out the half with two more free throws to make it 37-35 and suddenly Davidson was in trouble.

“We let our guard down a little bit, I think it came a little too easy, we took shots too early and they capitalized on every one,” McKillop said.

The Bulldogs were only getting started.

Veasley opened the second half with another and two free throws from Howard made it 42-35.

Davidson, however, hung around, closing to 54-52 with 11:33 to go and finally taking a 55-54 lead when JP Kuhlman hit a 3 with 10:42 left.

After trading a basket for another Davidson 3, Butler finally took charge.

Hayward’s layup with 9:20 to go ignited a 12-0 run that sealed the outcome.

“It’s great opening against a team like this,” Stevens said. “You have to do everything well to compete against them. I’m talking about entering the ball out of bounds, moving from side-to-side. I’m a real admirer of the program. These are two good teams.”

The Davidson Wildcats have been at the top of the Southern Conference consistently for the past handful of seasons. However, after losing the team’s leading scorer, leading rebounder and defensive player of the year some skeptics have emerged. Davidson has been picked third in the Southern Conference South Division despite their history and reputation.

Coach Bob McKillop, in his 21st season at the helm has been tasked with changing the minds of the skeptics and surprising the doubters. In addressing the team during the preseason, Coach McKillop is not concerned with these prognosticators for the simple fact that “they don’t know what they don’t know”.

Davidson will begin changing minds during their first exhibition game of the season at home vs. Lenoir-Rhyne. The Wildcats are reloaded and ready with talented freshman J.P. Kuhlman and Nik Cochran in the backcourt, and newcomer Jake Cohen adding tremendous depth to the front.

The three fresh faces will be guided by a corps of veterans including Bryant Barr, Will Archambault and Steve Rossiter who have been at the top for their entire careers and have no intention on falling off now.

With a new look and some new faces, there may be a few question marks to open the season, but with Coach McKillop on the bench and level of talent and intelligence on the court, Wildcat fans are optimistic and revved up for the season opener.

After an eventful offseason, with the Golden State Warriors drafting former Davidson guard Stephen Curry in the first round of the NBA draft and oversea trips for the returning players and coaching staff, the Davidson College basketball team is getting tuned up for the new season.

The Wildcats recently released the roster for the upcoming season. Personnel that coach Bob McKillop hopes will keep the team at the top of the Southern Conference.

Below is the complete roster including three incoming freshmen in the form of #5 J.P. Kuhlman, #12 Nik Cochran and #15 Jake Cohen. Also joining the squad is Sophomore transfer, #40 Clint Mann, who will sit out the ‘09-’10 season in accordance with NCAA rules.

After weeks of deliberating, Davidson superstar Stephen Curry has decided to declare for the NBA draft. He has not hired an agent, but he plans to do so.

His decision was announced live from Davidson College Thursday morning.

Curry has vaulted Davidson into the national spotlight by leading the team to the elite eight in the 2008 NCAA tournament, and leading the nation in scoring in 2009.

Curry says that the decision comes “After much personal reflection” and that his “dream was to always play in the NBA and that dream has now become a viable option”.

Now that Davidson’s 08/09 season is over, we have decided to reflect back on some of the thoughts we’ve had this year.

- Unfortunately lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same spot in consecutive years

- The Miami Heat may have picked up a more valuable player than they even realized last year

- Steph Curry can hit a shot from anywhere outside of the opponents 3-point line

- Liberty’s aggressive recruiting and a younger brother’s desire to blaze his own path will cause Davidson fans to always wonder ‘What if’

- If Frank Ben-Eze didn’t want to play basketball, he could have been an all-american in volleyball leading the nation in kills

- Apparently the playoff beard in Canada doesn’t just apply to hockey

- Will Archambault earned a starting spot either by repairing his troubled knees or by cutting his hair, we’ll never know.

- Steve Rossiter worked all year hitting jumpers from farther and farther out just so he could impress us by drilling his only 3 pointer in the last game of the year

- Ray Beltz might be in the running for team MVP

- Will Archambault has sharp elbows

- Nigeria’s basketball courts will be played with exclusively red and white shoes thanks to one of the coolest charities in the world

- The White Lobster is a good enough nickname to get you your own superfan, t-shirt and plenty of media attention

- Frisbee dogs are by far the best halftime show

- Ben Allison should play in Madison Square Garden every game

- Matt McKillop has the same tailor as his father

- The Southern Conference tournament, to put it as politically correct as possible, needs to be reworked so that DeJuan Blair doesn’t run over the conference.

- Apparently Ticketmaster now knows who Davidson is.

- Steph Curry and Queen were a match made in heaven

- Bob McKillop is actually capable of receiving a technical foul

- The triangle and two denial will not earn you a spot in the NCAA basketball hall of fame

- Thanks to the seniors Max Paulhus Gosselin, Andrew Lovedale and Can Civi

- Wait till next year

Do you have any other thoughts on the season? If so, please share them below

MORAGA, Calif. – Davidson guard Stephen Curry tallied 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists, but the Wildcats fell 80-68 in the second round of the NIT at Saint Mary’s Monday night.

Davidson ends the season with a 27-8 record, and the senior class of Can Civi, Andrew Lovedale and Max Paulhus Gosselin finishes their careers with 105 victories, the most in school history. The 2008-09 campaign was the fifth straight season Davidson topped the 20-win mark and the ‘Cats’ fifth consecutive postseason appearance.

Patrick Mills led the Gaels (28-6) with 23 points and 10 assists, while Omar Samhan posted 18 points and nine rebounds. Diamon Simpson collected 12 points, a game-high 15 rebounds and four steals, and Wayne Hunter posted 12 points and six rebounds.

Will Archambault had 10 points and five rebounds for Davidson, and Lovedale collected nine points and 10 boards.Steve Rossiter had eight points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.

The Wildcats shot 11-of-24 from 3-point range in the game but hit for just 36.8 percent from the field overall. Meanwhile the Gaels shot 47 percent for the contest and outscored Davidson 40-20 in the paint.

The ‘Cats whittled a 13-point Saint Mary’s lead down to seven following a Brendan McKillop 3-pointer with 2:07 to go. Davidson got a defensive stop, and McKillop drew a foul going to the basket. The sophomore missed both free throws, but Davidson got the rebound. Carlin Hughes stole a pass intended for Curry spotted up from 3-point range on the wing, and the ‘Cats would get no closer. The Gaels went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line inside the last 46 seconds to seal the win.

Davidson trailed 36-33 at halftime, and a Curry 3-pointer on the first possession of the second half tied the game. After a Curry trey made the margin 49-47 in favor of Saint Mary’s, the Gaels used a 14-5 run to pull ahead 63-52 with 9:31 to go. The ‘Cats got the margin down to seven on a Curry jumper with 5:52 remaining, but the Gaels answered by scoring the next six points, to make the margin 73-60 with 4:44 to play.

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP)—Seth Curry, the high-scoring younger brother of Davidson star Stephen Curry, says he is transferring out of Liberty to seek a higher level of competition.

Curry, 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, led the nation’s freshman with a 20.2 scoring average.

Liberty went 23-12 this season, finishing with an 88-65 loss to James Madison on Monday night in the CollegeInsider.com tournament. Curry scored eight points in the loss.

“This is a difficult decision that I have reached after close consultation with my family and others close to me,” he said in a statement released through the school. He said the decision “is based on my desire to develop as an athlete to the fullest of my potential and take advantage of new opportunities that may be available to me in a higher rated conference.”

There was no indication in the release whether Curry has already decided where to transfer, and the school said Curry would not have any additional comment Tuesday.

Coaches at other schools are not permitted to comment on potential transfers.

Liberty coach Ritchie McKay said that he’s disappointed with Curry’s decision, but that he understands and does not fault him for seeking to play against a higher level of competition.

Like his brother, who is one of the best-known players in college basketball, the younger Curry splashed onto the scene as a scorer.

He scored 23 and 18 points in his first two college games, then had 26 as the Flames won 86-82 at Virginia, just their second victory in eight games in the series.

His season high of 35 points also came on the road, leading the Flames to a 91-80 victory at Virginia Military Institute before the largest crowd in VMI’s history.