Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com
Curry Scores 40 as Davidson Defeats Zags in First Round of NCAA Tournament
3/21/2008 3:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
Story Written By Mike Cranston
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ Davidson fans used to have to go back 40 years to the Lefty Driesell era to tell stories of NCAA tournament success. Now they've got to look no further than their baby-faced sophomore star.
Stephen Curry, the guard the big schools didn't want, put Driesell's powerful Davidson teams of the 1960s in the background with a remarkable performance that made the tiny liberal arts school a postseason player again.
The son of former NBA 3-point specialist Dell Curry hit 8 of 10 3-pointers, scored 30 of his 40 points in the second half and hit the tie-breaking 3 with a minute left to lead the Wildcats to an 82-76 win over bewildered Gonzaga on Friday.
"It was like an opening night, a star performance on Broadway," Davidson coach Bob McKillop. "And he was the star, but he had a great cast with him. The audience was sensational. A lot of music, great songs, lots of dancing."
Displaying his lightning-quick release, Curry ran off multiple screens all day and swished one off-balance jumper after another, making 14 of 22 shots.
His two free throws with 14.5 seconds left iced it for the 10th-seeded Wildcats (27-6), who won their first NCAA game since Driesell took the school of 1,700 students to a regional final in 1969 before leaving for Maryland.
"I take every game the same way. I approach it the same way, so this is nothing different for me," Curry said. "I warm up the same way, I shoot the ball the same way. I don't want to get caught up in the atmosphere."
Curry wanted to play for his father's alma mater, Virginia Tech, but the big schools shied away because of his size.
Well, Curry has grown four inches to 6-foot-3 since signing with Davidson, and now has put the Wildcats into the second round of the Midwest Regional against the Georgetown-Maryland-Baltimore County winner.
"It puts Davidson on the map again," Dell Curry said. "Bob McKillop has put him on a stage to be successful, and I don't think any other school could have done that."
Jason Richards added 15 points and nine assists for Davidson, which extended the nation's longest winning streak to 23 games. Andrew Lovedale had 12 points and one of his 13 rebounds came on the offensive glass, which led to Curry's deciding 3-pointer.
Freshman Steven Gray hit seven 3s and scored 21 points for No. 7 seed Gonzaga (25-8), which blew 11-point leads in both halves to make a first-round exit for the second straight year.
Gray was worn down by the end of the game after trying to chase down Curry. The Zags also tried a triangle-and-2 defense and even played some zone at the end.
"Personally, I don't know if I've ever run off that many screens trying to defend someone," Gray said. "And he knows how to use them. He's very knowledgeable in that way."
Curry, who finished one point shy of his career high, won over the crowd with a day that even included a left-handed bank shot. About the only fan not standing during Davidson's comeback was his father.
Dell Curry watched quietly from the front row, while his wife and most of the neutral fans cheered as Davidson took its first lead on Stephen Rossiter's putback with 8:27 left.
It set up a frantic finish, with Davidson taking a 73-72 lead on Max Paulhus Gosselin's 3-pointer with 4:11 to go. But after Lovedale's free throw, Gonzaga tied it on Jeremy Pargo's driving layup 1:45 left.
Lovedale, who had his first career double-double, then tracked down a Davidson miss, setting up Curry's 3 from the right wing.
"A lot of his points come off plays like this," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few. "It was an offensive rebound or a scramble and he toes up on the line. They're trained to find him in the scramble situation."
Pargo added 18 points and Gonzaga shot 51 percent, but wilted down the stretch in its second straight loss. Austin Daye was 3-for-13 and missed a 3-pointer after Curry put Davidson ahead.
It left Charlotte Bobcats forward Adam Morrison, the symbol of Gonzaga's recent NCAA tournament success, shaking his head behind the bench. And he could only watch as Davidson, playing only 160 miles from campus, celebrated with flare.
Seconds after the final buzzer, Curry and Richards did consecutive chest bumps before meeting their teammates at midcourt. Finally Davidson was able to smile after close losses to Ohio State and Maryland in the first round the past two years.
"He's done it all year for us," said Richards, who leads the nation in assists largely because of Curry. "This game, he showed the whole nation what he's capable of."
GAME NOTES
- Today's win was Davidson's first NCAA Tournament victory since posting a 79-69 triumph over St. John's in the 1969 Tournament.
- Davidson became the first Southern Conference team to win an NCAA Tournament game since Chattanooga defeated Georgia in 1997.
- Davidson's all-time record in the NCAA Tournament is 6-10.
- The Wildcats extended the nation's longest winning streak to 23 consecutive contests. Their last loss came at the RBC Center in a 66-65 setback to NC State Dec. 21, 2007.
- Until this afternoon, Davidson had never defeated a ranked opponent under Bob McKillop. The Wildcats last win over a team in the Top 25 came during the 1973-74 season when Davidson knocked off No. 15 South Carolina, 70-59, Jan. 12, 1974... Gonzaga entered today's affair 24th in the Associated Press Top 25.
- Stephen Curry's 40-point performance set an RBC Center record held previously by Tiras Wade of Louisiana-Lafayette (Dec. 15, 2004).
- Curry's 40-point game today was the first one (a 40-point output) in the NCAA Tournament since Gerry McNamara of Syracuse scored 43 points in 2004 versus BYU
- Curry broke the school record for most points scored at a neutral site (Terry Holland, vs. Mississippi, Dec. 19, 1961 / Rodney Knowles, vs. Rhode Island, March 7, 1966)... It was the second time this season the sophomore went over the 40-point plateau.
- Curry's 30 points in the second half are the most points ever in a half by a Davidson player.
- Curry reached the 30-point mark for the ninth time this season and 13th in his career.
- Curry moved into eighth place on Davidson's all-time scoring list with 1,573. He passed Kenny Wilson (1,569) and Janko Narat (1,539).
- Curry reached double figures for the 60th consecutive contests.
- Andrew Lovedale posted his first double-double of the 2007-08 campaign and the second of his career with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
- Lovedale has started 22 of the last 23 games, all Wildcat wins.
Story Written By Mike Cranston
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ Davidson fans used to have to go back 40 years to the Lefty Driesell era to tell stories of NCAA tournament success. Now they've got to look no further than their baby-faced sophomore star.
Stephen Curry, the guard the big schools didn't want, put Driesell's powerful Davidson teams of the 1960s in the background with a remarkable performance that made the tiny liberal arts school a postseason player again.
The son of former NBA 3-point specialist Dell Curry hit 8 of 10 3-pointers, scored 30 of his 40 points in the second half and hit the tie-breaking 3 with a minute left to lead the Wildcats to an 82-76 win over bewildered Gonzaga on Friday.
"It was like an opening night, a star performance on Broadway," Davidson coach Bob McKillop. "And he was the star, but he had a great cast with him. The audience was sensational. A lot of music, great songs, lots of dancing."
Displaying his lightning-quick release, Curry ran off multiple screens all day and swished one off-balance jumper after another, making 14 of 22 shots.
His two free throws with 14.5 seconds left iced it for the 10th-seeded Wildcats (27-6), who won their first NCAA game since Driesell took the school of 1,700 students to a regional final in 1969 before leaving for Maryland.
"I take every game the same way. I approach it the same way, so this is nothing different for me," Curry said. "I warm up the same way, I shoot the ball the same way. I don't want to get caught up in the atmosphere."
Curry wanted to play for his father's alma mater, Virginia Tech, but the big schools shied away because of his size.
Well, Curry has grown four inches to 6-foot-3 since signing with Davidson, and now has put the Wildcats into the second round of the Midwest Regional against the Georgetown-Maryland-Baltimore County winner.
"It puts Davidson on the map again," Dell Curry said. "Bob McKillop has put him on a stage to be successful, and I don't think any other school could have done that."
Jason Richards added 15 points and nine assists for Davidson, which extended the nation's longest winning streak to 23 games. Andrew Lovedale had 12 points and one of his 13 rebounds came on the offensive glass, which led to Curry's deciding 3-pointer.Freshman Steven Gray hit seven 3s and scored 21 points for No. 7 seed Gonzaga (25-8), which blew 11-point leads in both halves to make a first-round exit for the second straight year.
Gray was worn down by the end of the game after trying to chase down Curry. The Zags also tried a triangle-and-2 defense and even played some zone at the end.
"Personally, I don't know if I've ever run off that many screens trying to defend someone," Gray said. "And he knows how to use them. He's very knowledgeable in that way."
Curry, who finished one point shy of his career high, won over the crowd with a day that even included a left-handed bank shot. About the only fan not standing during Davidson's comeback was his father.
Dell Curry watched quietly from the front row, while his wife and most of the neutral fans cheered as Davidson took its first lead on Stephen Rossiter's putback with 8:27 left.
It set up a frantic finish, with Davidson taking a 73-72 lead on Max Paulhus Gosselin's 3-pointer with 4:11 to go. But after Lovedale's free throw, Gonzaga tied it on Jeremy Pargo's driving layup 1:45 left.
Lovedale, who had his first career double-double, then tracked down a Davidson miss, setting up Curry's 3 from the right wing.
"A lot of his points come off plays like this," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few. "It was an offensive rebound or a scramble and he toes up on the line. They're trained to find him in the scramble situation."
Pargo added 18 points and Gonzaga shot 51 percent, but wilted down the stretch in its second straight loss. Austin Daye was 3-for-13 and missed a 3-pointer after Curry put Davidson ahead.
It left Charlotte Bobcats forward Adam Morrison, the symbol of Gonzaga's recent NCAA tournament success, shaking his head behind the bench. And he could only watch as Davidson, playing only 160 miles from campus, celebrated with flare.
Seconds after the final buzzer, Curry and Richards did consecutive chest bumps before meeting their teammates at midcourt. Finally Davidson was able to smile after close losses to Ohio State and Maryland in the first round the past two years.
"He's done it all year for us," said Richards, who leads the nation in assists largely because of Curry. "This game, he showed the whole nation what he's capable of."
GAME NOTES
- Today's win was Davidson's first NCAA Tournament victory since posting a 79-69 triumph over St. John's in the 1969 Tournament.
- Davidson became the first Southern Conference team to win an NCAA Tournament game since Chattanooga defeated Georgia in 1997.
- Davidson's all-time record in the NCAA Tournament is 6-10.
- The Wildcats extended the nation's longest winning streak to 23 consecutive contests. Their last loss came at the RBC Center in a 66-65 setback to NC State Dec. 21, 2007.
- Until this afternoon, Davidson had never defeated a ranked opponent under Bob McKillop. The Wildcats last win over a team in the Top 25 came during the 1973-74 season when Davidson knocked off No. 15 South Carolina, 70-59, Jan. 12, 1974... Gonzaga entered today's affair 24th in the Associated Press Top 25.
- Stephen Curry's 40-point performance set an RBC Center record held previously by Tiras Wade of Louisiana-Lafayette (Dec. 15, 2004).
- Curry's 40-point game today was the first one (a 40-point output) in the NCAA Tournament since Gerry McNamara of Syracuse scored 43 points in 2004 versus BYU
- Curry broke the school record for most points scored at a neutral site (Terry Holland, vs. Mississippi, Dec. 19, 1961 / Rodney Knowles, vs. Rhode Island, March 7, 1966)... It was the second time this season the sophomore went over the 40-point plateau.
- Curry's 30 points in the second half are the most points ever in a half by a Davidson player.
- Curry reached the 30-point mark for the ninth time this season and 13th in his career.
- Curry moved into eighth place on Davidson's all-time scoring list with 1,573. He passed Kenny Wilson (1,569) and Janko Narat (1,539).
- Curry reached double figures for the 60th consecutive contests.
- Andrew Lovedale posted his first double-double of the 2007-08 campaign and the second of his career with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
- Lovedale has started 22 of the last 23 games, all Wildcat wins.
Players Mentioned
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