SoCon Men’s Basdketball Recaps for February 6, 2008

DAVIDSON 74, ELON 64

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Stephen Curry recorded his third straight 30-point game at home with 36 points and the Davidson Wildcats held off Elon 74-64 for their 12th straight victory in Southern Conference men’s basketball action Wednesday evening at Belk Arena.

The Wildcats improve to 16-6 overall and 14-0 in the SoCon, while the loss drops Elon to 7-15 overall and 5-9 in the league.

Curry was 12-of-18 from the field, 3-for-7 from 3-point range and 9-for-9 from the free throw line, and the sophomore stepped up when it mattered most along with senior backcourt mate Jason Richards. The duo netted the Wildcats’ last 12 points after Elon cut an 11-point Davidson lead to 62-58 with 3:16 to play.

Curry traded 3-pointers with TJ Douglas before Richards knocked down four-straight free throws on consecutive trips down the floor. After a Brett James free throw, Curry split a double team on the wing, dribbled through traffic and nailed a pull-up jumper with a minute to go that made the margin 71-62 and effectively put the game away.

Richards finished with 16 points, four assists and five rebounds, while Thomas Sander netted eight points. Boris Meno added seven points, six rebounds and four blocked shots off the bench.

Despite committing nine turnovers and being outrebounded (19-14) in the opening period, Davidson led at the break 31-26 thanks to a 19-6 run and 13 points from Curry.

Along with Curry’s impressive first-half numbers of 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting, Meno came off the bench to contribute four points, five rebounds and matched his previous career high for blocks with four.

The Wildcats stretched their advantage to as many as 12 on two separate occasions early in the second half, but Elon would not go away and slowly chipped away, cutting the deficit to 65-61 following Douglas’ fourth trey of the frame with 2:30 left.

Douglas finished with 12 points as four Phoenix scored in double digits. Adam Constantine had 13 points and nine rebounds, while James finished with 13 points and 11 boards.

Davidson continues it brief homestand with a 3 p.m. TV contest vs. Charleston Saturday. Elon travels to Spartanburg, S.C., Feb. 9 for a 7 p.m. tip with Wofford.