Wildcats Pride

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Stephen Curry scored 26 points and Davidson extended its Southern Conference winning streak by beating Western Carolina 89-65 on Monday night.

Curry lead the Wildcats in every statistical category outside of Andrew Lovedale’s 4 blocks, with 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals.

Lovedale, BrendanMcKillop and Bryant Barr had 14 points each and Max Paulhus Gosselin added 10 for the Wildcats (19-3, 12-0), who have now won 42 consecutive regular-season league games. 

That leaves Davidson just two short of the Southern Conference record of 44 straight wins, set by West Virginia between 1956-1960. 

Harouna Mutombo scored 15 points and Brandon Giles had 11 for the Catamounts (11-10, 6-5), who turned the ball over 20 times — leading to 20 Davidson points — and shot less that 40 percent from the field (21 of 53) for the fourth time this season. 

Curry, scored 20 points in the first half, staking the Wildcats to a 49-31 halftime lead.

Photo Credit: Tim Cowie

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DAVIDSON, N.C. – Stephen Curry scored 21 points, surpassing 2,000 in his career, and Davidson beat Samford 76-55 on Saturday to continue its dominance in the Southern Conference.

Curry is the third player in Davidson history to hit the 2,o00 point plateau, joining legends John Gerdy and Fred Hetzel in the record books.

Davidson’s star guard hit 5 of 6 3-pointers, added eight assists and got plenty of help from his teammates as the Wildcats (10-2, 3-0) cruised to their 33rd straight league win.

Will Archambault and Ben Allison added 12 points apiece for Davidson in a tuneup for Wednesday’s game at No. 5 Duke. The scoring spark off of the bench came with a flourish as Archambault scored three 3-pointers in four possessions and Allison continued to attack the basket with strength.

Bryan Friday scored 10 points for the Bulldogs (5-6), who shot 36 percent and fell to 0-2 in their first season in the Southern Conference. 

Curry became the third player in school history to surpass 2,000 points when he hit a 3-pointer in transition with 3:35 left in the first half. It came in just the junior’s 82nd game, another remarkable accomplishment for the Wildcat star.

The victory was also a milestone for Davidson head coach Bob McKillop who picked up his 350th win building on his record as the Wildcats’ and Southern Conference’s winningest coach.

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CHARLESTON, S.C. – Stephen Curry registered 29 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and Davidson held off a late-game rally by the College of Charleston to earn a 79-75 Southern Conference victory at Carolina First Arena Monday night.

It was Davidson’s 32nd consecutive league victory. Will Archambault collected 14 points and seven rebounds for the ‘Cats (9-2, 2-0 SoCon), and Steve Rossiter tallied 11 points and eight rebounds. Andrew Lovedale finished with nine points and seven boards.

Andrew Goudelock led the Cougars (10-2, 2-1 SoCon) with 22 points to go along with seven rebounds. Jermaine Johnson posted 16 points and 13 boards, and Marcus Hammond scored 11. Tony White Jr. added 10 points.

The Wildcats used a 14-2 run to break a 63-63 tie and take a 77-65 cushion on a dunk by Max Paulhus Gosselin with 3:45 remaining in the contest.

Charleston came roaring back, and a Goudelock runner from the baseline made the margin 77-75 with 51 seconds left. Curry was fouled in the act of shooting on Davidson’s next possession but connected on 1-of-2 free throws, leaving the score at 78-75.

The Cougars’ Goudelock got a good look at a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but it would not go down. Curry hit 1-of-2 from the foul line with five seconds left for the final margin.

The Wildcats pushed a one-point lead to 11 at halftime by capping the first frame with a 12-2 run. Rossiter and Curry each had four points during the stretch.

Trailing by 10 early in the second half, Charleston used a 14-6 spurt to trim the margin to 52-50 on a 3-pointer by White with 14:19 to play. The game went back and forth from there with three ties and two lead changes.

The Wildcats return to action at Belk Arena Saturday when they host Samford at 2 p.m.

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The Davidson College Wildcats forgot to set their alarms for the Wooden Tradition vs. Purdue on Saturday.

The team started the game 0 for 10 from the field and found themselves in a 21-0 deficit early in the first half, a margin they could not recover from.

For the Boildermakers, it was the opposite of their start against Duke earlier this month, in which Purdue fell behind 7-0 and never challenged the Blue Devils in a 76-60 loss.

“I thought this was a great team victory for us,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “Our guys did a very good job defensively, not just the three guys that guarded Stephen Curry. I thought everybody was ready to play.”

Will Archambault scored 13 points and Andrew Lovedale scored 10 for Davidson (8-2).

Painter said he could tell his players were prepared for Davidson. 

“You can see when guys are hooked up,” he said. 

Purdue ran out to a quick 7-0 lead, and Curry missed his first three shots before the Wildcats called an early timeout. Purdue kept the pressure on, and a 3-pointer by Grant increased the lead to 12-0. Back-to-back baskets by Johnson made it 21-0 with 13:05 left in the first half. 

Davidson finally scored on a putback by Lovedale. 

Wildcats star Stephen Curry missed his first eight shots, but his ninth was a 3-pointer, part of a 13-2 run that trimmed Purdue’s lead to 27-15. 

Purdue fired right back with 3-pointers by Moore and Grant. An alley-oop dunk by Johnson on a pass from Moore made it 41-19. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Marcus Green late in the first half increased Purdue’s lead to 47-24 at the break. 

“We had a run to start the game, then they made their run,” Hummel said. “When that happens, you’ve just got to be ready to punch them back in the mouth. That’s how we responded.” 

Curry shot 3-for-18 from the field in the first half, went 1-for-9 from 3-point range and had three turnovers. Purdue shot 57 percent in the first half, while Davidson shot 25 percent. The Boilermakers made 7-of-11 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes. 

Purdue hit three quick 3-pointers at the start of the second half to increase its lead to 58-29. Another alley-oop dunk by Johnson, this one on an inbounds pass from Grant, made it 66-44 with just under 11 minutes left. The Boilermakers led by at least 15 points the rest of the way. 

Curry never got on track. 

“Curry missed a couple shots early,” Painter said. “I thought the first two or three times, the first looks were very good looks, then after that, I thought our guys did a great job.”

Game Photos:

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The Davidson College Cheerleaders are some of the unsung heros of the basketball season.

The team gives an incredible amount of dedication to support their team.

We have posted a few Davidson Cheerleading photos, to show our appreciation for the team…

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Chattanooga served notice that Davidson’s defense of its Southern Conference title won’t be easy.

Stephen Curry scored 31 points in the second half as the Wildcats (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 23 AP) held off a rally in the final two minutes Saturday night to beat the Mocs 100-95 in both teams’ league opener.

Curry, the preseason All-American and nation’s leading scorer, finished with 41 points for Davidson (8-1, 1-0). The Wildcats overcame 37.1 percent shooting in the first half to win their sixth straight game.

“We were trying to take care of business, but they attacked us from the start,” said Curry, who recorded his fifth career 40-point game and third this season. “They hit some tough shots, but we found a way to win down the stretch.”

Steph Curry drives to the basket during Davidson's defeat of UTC

Will Archambault added 20 points, Brendan McKillop 12 and Andrew Lovedale pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds for the Wildcats.

Davidson — which won the Southern Conference title last year before making its run to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament — also extended its league winning streak to 31 straight games, dating to February 2006.

But it wasn’t that easy against the Mocs (1-8, 0-1) — picked to win the league’s North Division title in a preseason coaches poll — who fought back from a 14-point deficit to have a chance at regaining the lead.

“It’s a great lesson for our guys,” Wildcats coach Bob McKillop said. “Every game in the Southern Conference, as always, is going to be a battle. No matter what our rankings are, no matter who we’ve beaten, historically Southern Conference games are battles for us. … They always have been and will always be.”

Davidson — which was picked to win the South Division title — fought back from a 10-point deficit midway through the first half to swap the lead with Chattanooga seven times.

The Mocs last led with 12:26 remaining, when Stephen McDowell’s jumper put them ahead 58-57. But Curry nailed a 3-pointer nine seconds later, followed by Steve Rossiter’s hook shot, to put the Wildcats back on top.

The Wildcats eventually pushed their lead to 92-78 on Curry’s 3-pointer with 2:20 remaining.

Davidson's Andrew Lovedale Blocks Shot

But McDowell scored 11 points in a 17-5 run that cut the Davidson lead to 97-95 with 24.5 seconds left. Curry went 3-of-4 from the free throw line over the final 18 seconds to seal the win.

“Curry’s special. I thought we did a good job on him, and he scores 31 in the second half,” Chattanooga coach John Shulman said. “And their other kids made big shots when they had to.

“We’ve been through the rough stretch of our schedule now. … When — not if, when — we decide to defend and rebound and be the team like we did last year, we’re going to be very good.”

McDowell finished with 31 points for the Mocs, who lost their fourth straight game to an AP Top 25 opponent. Kevin Goffney added 15 points, Keyron Sheard had 13 and Ty Patterson 11.

Chattanooga also lost to Tennessee in its season opener on Nov. 15, and to both Memphis and Southern California in the Puerto Rico Tipoff Classic on Nov. 20-21.

See more photos of the game below…

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