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Curry, Davidson defeat South Carolina 70-63
By PETE IACOBELLI, AP Sports Writer
Mar 17, 2009 - 11:20:50 PM

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COLUMBIA, S.C. - Stephen Curry scored 32 points as Davidson started its latest postseason run with a 70-63 victory over South Carolina on Tuesday night in the NIT.

The stage may not have been as large as the Wildcats’ NCAA tournament upsets a year ago, but Curry was just as spectacular.

The game was tied 51-all after Devan Downey’s driving basket with 9:15 to go. Then Curry scored 13 of his team’s last 17 points over the next 8 minutes as Davidson (27-7) took control.

Andrew Lovedale had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats will play either St. Mary’s or Washington State in the second round.

Downey had 18 points to lead South Carolina (21-10).

Curry pretty much picked up where he left off in the NCAA’s a year ago when he averaged 34 points over four games in leading Davidson into the round of eight before falling to champion Kansas.

This time, Curry opened the game with 25-foot 3-pointer. He scored 12 of team’s first 23 points as the Wildcats opened an 11-point lead.

But Curry picked up his second foul soon after and spent much of the rest of the period on the bench.

The Gamecocks tried several defenders on Davidson’s star junior. Downey, tied for third nationally with three steals a game, started. Zam Fredrick, Evaldas Baniulis and Branden Conrad all took their turns shadowing the NCAA’s top scorer.

South Carolina didn’t help itself with awful shooting. At one point the Gamecocks were 4 of 19 overall while Davidson was 4-for- 6 on 3-pointers.

South Carolina took advantage of Curry’s bench time, closing the half with a 14-3 run. Downey, an all-Southeastern Conference performer, looked out of control most of the half as he began 0-of-3 with three turnovers.

However, his spinning, twisting drive with 2 seconds left moved the Gamecocks within 28-26.

Curry got going quickly in the second with Davidson’s first four points. He only managed a 3-pointer the next 10 minutes as South Carolina rallied at home, where it had lost only twice before this season.

Things began to change in Davidson’s favor when Gamecock coach Darrin Horn was called for a technical foul. Curry made both foul shots to make it 55-51.

Curry continued his hot stretch the rest of the way.

During a stoppage in the last minute, Curry pointed to a group of Davidson fans celebrating the Southern Conference champions’ latest win over a team from a power conference.


Rhode Island 68, Niagara 62

Kahiem Seawright scored 20 points in the second half— including all 10 for Rhode Island during its critical run.

Jimmy Baron scored 20, including hitting six free throws in the final 40 seconds, for the sixth-seeded Rams (23-10), who snapped a two-game losing streak. Seawright finished with 23 points for the Rams, who are making their 13th NIT appearance and improved to 7-6 in tournament-opening games.

Rhode Island, from the Atlantic 10, plays Penn State in the second round.

Anthony Nelson scored 14 for the poor-shooting Purple Eagles, who finished 21-of-59 from the field, and 7-of-27 in 3-point attempts. Third-seeded Niagara (26-9), from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, had a seven-game home win streak snapped.


Penn State 77, George Mason 73

Talor Battle scored eight of his game-high 24 points in overtime and tied the game with a 3-pointer at the end of regulation as Penn State advanced.

Dre Smith hit two foul shots with five seconds left in regulation to give George Mason a 65-62 lead before Battle hurried down the court for his buzzer-beating 3 for Penn State (23-11) of the Big Ten.

Battle hit two more 3s in overtime, scoring all but four of Penn State’s 12 points in the extra frame.

John Vaughn’s deep 3 with 7.7 seconds in OT drew George Mason within 75-73, but Stanley Pringle hit two foul shots with 7.0 seconds left to finally seal the win.

Cameron Long had 16 points to lead the Patriots (22-11) out of the Colonial


Kentucky 70, UNLV 60

Jodie Meeks scored 19 points and Patrick Patterson added 16 as Kentucky got past UNLV in the Wildcats’ first NIT appearance in three decades.

If there was lingering disappointment after the Wildcats snapped a 17-year streak of appearing in the NCAA tournament, it didn’t show in their play.

Kentucky (21-13) scrambled for every loose ball, building a 20-point lead midway through the second half then weathering a late surge by UNLV (21-11) to advance to the next round against the winnner of Creighton and Bowling Green.

With Rupp Arena unavailable due to a scheduling conflict, Kentucky played a game at Memorial Coliseum for the first time since 1976.

Wink Adams led the Rebels with 14 points.


Notre Dame 70, UAB 64

Luke Harangody scored four of his 22 points and had a blocked shot during a decisive 10-point run to lead Notre Dame .

Robert Vaden led UAB (22-12) with 24 points.

Tyrone Nash started the decisive run with a tip-in off a miss by Harangody and a pair of free throws. Harangody gave the Irish a 56-50 lead on a dunk, then blocked a shot inside by UAB’s Paul Delaney III. UAB coach Mike Davis was called for a technical for leaving the coach’s box while arguing that Delaney was fouled.

After Kyle McAlarney, who had 12 points for the Irish (19-14), made a pair of free throws, Harangody capped the run with a basket inside.

The Irish play the winner of the New Mexico-Nebraska game.

The announced attendance was 2,039, the lowest attendance for a Notre Dame NIT game since at least 1992.


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