Davidson Men Secure 75-65 Win in Battle of First Place Teams
2/3/2007 10:27:37 AM | Men's Basketball
Sports Information - Joey Beeler
Recap | Box Score | Postgame Audio
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Stephen Curry scored a game-high 29 points including seven treys, and Boris Meno added 20 to lead Davidson to a 75-65 victory over UNC Greensboro in Southern Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon in front of 4,588 fans at Belk Arena. The win was the fourth straight for the Wildcats and 16th in their last 17 as they improved to 20-4 overall and 11-1 in the league. UNCG had its six-game SoCon streak snapped, falling to 12-10 and 9-3.
This afternoon's triumph marks the third consecutive campaign Davidson has reached 20 wins and seventh time under Head Coach Bob McKillop. The last time the Wildcats strung together three straight 20-win seasons was from 1968-70.
Curry, a freshman from Charlotte, N.C., connected on 11-of-20 from the field to finish with at least 23 points for the fourth consecutive game while reaching 20 for the 11th time this season.
Meno hit his first nine shots before misfiring on his final two attempts, reaching double digits for the 17th time in his career. The other Wildcat to reach the 10-point plateau was Jason Richards who finished with 17, 14 of which came in the second half.
Trailing 49-48 early in the second stanza, Richards scored seven straight to begin a 17-2 Wildcat run, while Curry capped it off with the last eight, including a couple threes to give Davidson a 65-51 advantage with 7:49 to go.
Richards' final bucket with 4:25 left gave the Wildcats' their largest lead (72-57) and put the game out of reach.
UNC Greensboro shot 51.7 percent (15-of-29) in the opening period and got 14 points from the league's leading scorer, Kyle Hines, to lead at the break, 37-33. Voted Co-Preseason Player of the Year by SoCon head coaches, Hines missed just two of his 11 attempts and added six boards in the period.
Not to be outdone, Curry, who ranks second in the conference behind Hines in scoring, kept Davidson close with 16 points before intermission. The 6-1 shooting guard was 6-of-12 from the floor, including four of the Wildcats' five three-pointers.
Davidson held Hines to just one field goal in the final 20 minutes of action to finish with 18 points. On the strength of six trifectas, Matt Kovisto also recorded 18 points off the bench for the Spartans while Kevin Oleksiak added 12.
In the second stanza, Davidson shot 56.3 percent overall and forced 13 Spartan miscues while turning them into 16 points. The Wildcats concluded the game 31-of-64 (48.4 percent) including nine from long range.
UNCG shot 52.1 percent (25-of-48) and 10-of-22 from downtown, but managed 13 fewer attempts than the Wildcats in the second half.
Behind nine Meno boards and eight from Thomas Sander, Davidson controlled the rebound column, 35-26.
Along with outscoring the Spartans 22-6 off turnovers, the Wildcats dominated the points in the paint, 45-23.
Davidson will conclude its brief homestand with a 7 p.m. tip-off against Chattanooga Tuesday, Feb. 6 at Belk Arena. The Spartans return to the hardwood Monday as they travel to Spartanburg, S.C., for a 7 p.m. start.
