DAVIDSON 90, ELON 78
By Joedy McCreary, North Carolina Sports Editor, The Associated Press
ELON, N.C. (AP) – Davidson is difficult enough to beat when Stephen Curry is putting up big numbers. But the rest of his teammates are clicking, too, and that's why the Wildcats once again are starting to look like a tough out in the tournaments.
Curry scored 26 points and reached the 2,500-point mark for his career, but four teammates also reached double figures Monday night to help Davidson tune up for the postseason with a 90-78 victory over Elon.
"We just want everyone to have confidence that, if they get an opportunity to hit a shot or make a play, they've got to be willing to do it," Curry said. "Going into the tournament, it's do or die. People are going to play you different ways and you've got to adjust, so they're taking the ball out of my hands and my teammates have got to step up.
"And if they do what they did tonight," he added, "they'll be fine."
The nation's leading scorer hit the 20-point mark for the 15th straight game to lead the Wildcats (25-6, 18-2 Southern Conference), but he wasn't the only one filling up the stat sheet.
They shot 63 percent in the second half while at times revving up the potent offense that carried them within a missed 3-pointer of last year's Final Four.
Now they're ready for the ride to begin again, starting with an attempt to claim a fourth straight SoCon tournament title. They've secured the top seed for the event that begins Friday in Chattanooga, Tenn.
"You do want that feeling, Monday night, 11 o'clock, when you win the championship," Curry said. "But there's a lot of work that goes into that, so we've done what we need to do so far."
Bryant Barr scored 18 points, Steve Rossiter added 17, Will Archambault finished with 13 and Andrew Lovedale had 11 for Davidson, which won its third straight overall by claiming its 14th consecutive victory in the series.
"I have a great confidence and belief and trust that this is something that we can have every night," Wildcats coach Bob McKillop said. "All of these guys are very capable. We've been in search of this for a significant portion of the year. For them to play with the confidence they did ... I think we answered a lot of questions."
Monty Sanders scored 17 points, Brett James had 16, Ola Atoyebi had 13 and Chris Long scored 10 for the Phoenix (10-19, 7-13). They only briefly led and went on to lose for the sixth time in nine games.
Yet, Elon kept things tight for most of the way, at least before the middle of the second half, when Curry and his Davidson teammates flashed the quick-strike potency that made them such a difficult draw during last year's NCAA tournament.
The Phoenix had the ball, trailing by three with about 16 minutes remaining when TJ Douglas missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it. Curry and Barr knocked down 3s roughly 30 seconds apart to start the 18-5 run that put Davidson in control.
Curry converted a three-point play before getting his teammates involved, with Archambault capping the surge with a 3 from the left corner that extended the lead to 61-45 with just fewer than 11 minutes remaining.
Elon didn't get closer than eight the rest of the way.
"Obviously, nobody expected them to make as much as they did," James said of the Wildcats' supporting cast. "We know Curry's going to shoot 20, 25 times. He's got to. Nobody else on the team really does score, in all seriousness, except for Lovedale. But we had the right game plan. The stuff didn't end up going our way, and they pulled it out."
Working mostly against 5-foot-9 freshman Josh Bonney, the 6-3 Curry once again showed off that sweet stroke that has made him the frequent target of opposing student sections and a bonanza at the box offices.
Curry finished 8-of-16 shooting and hit just two of his six 3-point attempts, but that was enough to silence a sold-out crowd of 1,710 that included temporary seating inside the Phoenix's intimate gym.
Curry entered needing 12 points to become the 59th player to score 2,500, and he took care of that milestone by halftime. Seconds after the Phoenix pulled within one, Curry swished a 3 from the right wing to push the Wildcats' lead to 34-30.
"Steph was Steph – as always, he filled up the stat sheet," McKillop said.
Elon took its only lead roughly four minutes in when Sanders' 3-pointer made it 5-4. Curry countered with a jumper from the free-throw line about 45 seconds later to put Davidson ahead to stay.
ELON NOTES: Monty Sanders tied a career high with 17 points and set a new career high by making five 3-point field goals ... Brett James established a new career high by making nine free throws ... Elon recognized its three seniors – Sanders, James and Ola Atoyebi – in a Senior Night pregame ceremony ... The Phoenix connected on a season-high 11 3-pointers.
“Early in the year, we were playing good defense and not making free throws,” Elon coach Ernie Nestor said. “Now, we’re making foul shots and not playing well on defense. If we take 29 threes, 11 is not going to beat them. When you make a mistake against an excellent basketball team, they will make you pay for it.”
–ELON–
