Audio clip
Bob McKillop
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Davidson showed no jitters or signs on nervousness about playing in the Southern Conference basketball tournament after an undefeated SoCon season.
The 25th-ranked Wildcats (24-6, 20-0) extended NCAA Division I’s longest men’s winning streak to 20 games with an 82-49 drubbing of Wofford in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Stephen Curry, the SoCon player of the year, led Davidson with 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting. Reserve guard Bryan Barr almost matched Curry with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the 3-point line.
The duo often go headto-head in shooting competitions. Curry, one of the nation’s best shooters, usually wins. He made 88 3-pointers during the season.
“Steph is a phenomenal shooter, and when we compete ... it allows me to push myself,” Barr said. “I think I win my fair share, but I have to be feeling pretty good to beat Steph.”
Drew Gibson scored 24 points for the Terriers (16-16, 8-12), who finished with their best overall record since joining the SoCon in the 1997-98 season.
UNC Greensboro 63, Appalachian State 46
Forward Kyle Hines scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Spartans’ win.
UNCG (19-11) faces Davidson in a semifinal at 6 this evening.
“Davidson is obviously a great team,” Hines said. “For us to win, we’re going to have to go in there and battle and play a complete game.”
Saturday, UNCG opened a 10-point lead and led 28-21 at halftime. Ben Stywall scored the Spartans’ first bucket of the second half. Then Hines scored 13 straight points as they got the lead back to 11.
“We had a tough time getting our offense going today,” Appalachian State coach Houston Fancher said. “They forced us into some tough shots. You get in a situation down here where if you don’t make shots you tighten up. We tightened up.”
Women
Coll. of Charleston 65, Georgia Southern 53
The Cougars pulled off a morning upset. This was the No. 5 seed beating the No. 4, but the Eagles had won both of their regular-season games by more than 15 points. Saturday, however, with a spot in the semifinals and a date with UTC on the line, the College of Charleston surged in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Georgia Southern (17-13) led 25-22 less than a minute into the second half, when the Cougars (14-15) began a 16-2 run that put them up 38-27 with 12:38 remaining. The Eagles cut the lead to 57-51 with 1:11 to play, but the Cougars made enough free throws in the closing stretch to seal the win.
Elon 68, Davidson 49
The final 11:25 belonged to the sixth-seeded Phoenix, outscoring the third-seeded Wildcats 29-12 to advance to today’s semifinal against No. 2 seed Western Carolina. Kitara McMoore carried much of the load for Elon (12-19) with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Tiffany Davis added 15 points.
John Frierson is in his fifth year at the Times Free Press and fifth year covering University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletics. The bulk of his time is spent covering Mocs football, but he also writes about women’s basketball and the big-picture issues and news involving the athletic department. A native of Athens, Ga., John grew up a few hundred yards from the University of Georgia campus. Instead of becoming a Bulldog he attended Ole ...
David Uchiyama is a sports writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press who began his tenure here in May 2001. His primary beats are UTC athletics — specifically men’s basketball and athletic department administration — and golf, which includes coverage from the PGA Tour to youth events. He also covers other high school sports, outdoor adventures, and contributes to other sections of the newspaper when necessary. David grew up in Salinas, Calif., and began working ...
