CHARLESTON, S.C. -- SoCon Tournament MVP Stephen Curry scored 23 points to lead three Davidson players in double figures as the No. 23/25 Wildcats won their third straight SoCon Championship with a 65-49 victory over seventh-seeded Elon Monday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.
This is the 10th SoCon Tournament title for Davidson, and the fifth under Coach Bob McKillop in his 19 years at the helm. The Wildcats will now await Selection Sunday next week to find out their seed and destination for their fourth NCAA Tournament since 2002.
It was Davidson's 22nd consecutive victory, the longest current streak in the country, and the win improved the 'Cats to 26-6. Senior Thomas Sander posted 11 points and six rebounds while junior Andrew Lovedale collected 10 points and five boards. Senior Jason Richards had a game-high 11 assists for his 15th career contest with 10 assists or more.
The top-seeded Wildcats become the first SoCon team to finish the regular season and tournament undefeated since College of Charleston ran the table in 1998-99. Davidson also set tournament records for fewest points (150) and field goals (51) allowed.
After Elon trimmed a 10-point deficit to five, Davidson responded with a 7-0 run. Following a 30-second timeout by the Wildcats, Boris Meno started the spurt with a layup, and Bryant Barr ended it with a trey from the corner to put the game out of reach.
Like its first two contests in the tournament, Davidson never trailed in the opening 20 minutes of action and pushed the lead to 23-14 on a deep three-pointer from Curry at the 7:11 mark. A Chris Long layup cut the Phoenix deficit to 23-18, but the Wildcats stretched their lead back to eight (30-22) thanks to a Lovedale layup with just four seconds left in the half.
Curry connected on 5-of-9 attempts in the period, but his club only shot 43.3 percent (13-30) overall and 33.3 percent from long range. Davidson continued its impressive play on the defensive end, holding Elon to just nine first-half field goals and a 33.3 percent clip.
Davidson opened the final stanza on an 11-4 run capped off by consecutive layups from Max Paulhus Gosselin and Richards to extend the 'Cats advantage to 45-30 with 13:25 left. The Phoenix made the most of a Davidson scoring drought by scoring nine unanswered to make it 45-39.
After Elon's largest run of the night, Davidson pushed the lead back to double digits (49-39), but the Phoenix refused to go away as T. J. Douglas' three-pointer from the corner put his club within striking distance, 51-46 with just under five minutes remaining in the contest.
Douglas led the Phoenix with a career-high 18 points while Brett James chipped in 13.
The Wildcats finished the game shooting 45.5 percent (25-55), while holding Elon, who was playing its fourth game in as many days, to just 35.2 percent (19-54) from the field. Both clubs hit seven buckets from behind the arc.
Joining Curry on the all-tournament first team was Richards, while Sander was named to the second team.
Elon was represented on the all-tournament first team by Montell Watson and Brett James. Ola Atoyebi was named to the second team.