CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Stephen Curry scored 26 points, and No. 25 Davidson outscored UNC Greensboro 44-8 in the paint en route to an 82-52 victory over the Spartans in the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament Sunday evening at the North Charleston Coliseum.
The top-seeded Wildcats advance to the title game for the third straight season and will face the winner of Elon and College of Charleston Monday night at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. It was Davidson's 21st consecutive win, the longest current streak in the country.
Curry, the SoCon Player of the Year, was 10-of-17 from the floor and 4-for-8 from 3-point range as Davidson shot 55.7 percent (34-61) as a team. Senior Jason Richards recorded 11 points and six assists, while classmate Boris Meno added 12 points.
The Wildcat defense held UNCG to 35.6 percent shooting from the floor, including 7-of-23 in the second half. The 'Cats held Spartan star Kyle Hines without a field goal until there was 14:18 left in the game. Hines finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, and Kendall Tony scored 12 points for the Spartans.
Leading 15-13, Davidson put a little distance between it and the Spartans with a 15-5 streak capped off by a Thomas Sander steal and two-handed jam to make it 30-18 with 7:58 left in the opening period. Following five unanswered from UNCG to cut the deficit to seven (30-23), the Wildcats ended the half on a 10-3 run to head into the locker room with their largest lead of the frame, 40-26.
To go along with a pair of lengthy first-half spurts, Davidson controlled the glass 18-12, including seven offensive rebounds, which led to 13 second-chance points. The Wildcats also forced 11 miscues in the first 20 minutes of action and outscored UNC Greensboro 24-2 in the paint.
Seven of the Spartans' nine field goals in the stanza came from downtown for a 50 percent clip from deep, while Davidson torched the nets for 52.9 percent (18-34) and hit just 3-of-10 from long range.
The second half was much like the first as the 'Cats used another long run, highlighted by an Andrew Lovedale rejection of Hines, which led to a Max Paulhus Gosselin jam, giving Davidson a 66-42 lead with just over eight minutes to play. The Wildcats added to the margin and owned a 73-46 cushion following consecutive buckets by Curry, the last of which came on a turnaround jumper as he fell to the floor.
Davidson dominated the boards 38-21, with 13 of them leading to 21 second-chance points.
No. 7 Elon 75, No. 6 College of Charleston 61
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Unheralded Elon (14-18), the No. 7 seed in the Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament downed No. 6 seed and hometown favorite College of Charleston (16-17), 75-61, before 6,612 fans at the North Charleston Coliseum. With the win, Elon advances to the tournament’s championship game on Monday night against No. 1 seed Davidson.
Davidson (25-6) downed No. 5 seed UNC Greensboro (19-12), 82-52, to return to the tournament’s title game. The Wildcats have won 21 games in a row and have not lost a game since falling, 66-65, at North Carolina State on Dec. 21.
Montell Watson scored 15 points, one of four Phoenix players to score in double figures. In addition, Brett James (13), Chris Long (12) and Ola Atoyebi (12) reached double digits. College of Charleston’s Dustin Scott led all scorers with 22 points.
Coach Ernie Nestor’s team built a 13-6 lead on a TJ Douglas three-pointer with 14:52 left in the first half. Elon led 39-34 at halftime behind Long’s 10 points. College of Charleston closed to 52-48 on a Scott dunk with 10:44 left but Elon responded with an 8-2 run to take a 60-50 lead with 6:44 remaining. The Cougars could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
Elon’s date in the championship game marks the first time since a team seeded as low as seventh advanced to the title game. No. 7 seed VMI fell to No. 6 seed Chattanooga, 75-61, on March 6, 1988. Elon is the first team with a losing record to advance to the championship game since VMI finished 13-16 in 1988.
Photo Credit: Southern Conference
