Curry scores 40 as Davidson rallies past Gonzaga

Curry scored 30 of his 40 points in the second half Friday to lead the 10th-seeded Wildcats to an 82-76 victory over No. 7 Gonzaga in the first round of the Midwest Regional.

Claiming its first win in the NCAA Tournament since 1969, Davidson (27-6) continued a stellar campaign. The team went 20-0 in the Southern Conference, won the league tournament and holds the nation's longest winning streak at 23 games.

Most of those achievements would likely have gone unnoticed without the work that Gonzaga had done over the past 10 years, building up a program that can consistently contend with the elite conferences.

The Wildcats have begun to follow in the footsteps of the Bulldogs, thanks in large part to the talent of Curry.

Entering the tournament fifth in the nation in scoring, Curry showed his tremendous skill of shooting the basketball by taking over the game when Davidson really needed it.

The son of former NBA player Dell Curry, the sophomore guard sank six 3-pointers and scored 11 consecutive points at one point after the break as the Wildcats overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half.

Falling behind 54-43 after Jeremy Pargo's 3-pointer for Gonzaga with 15:42 remaining, Davidson rallied behind Curry, who completed a three-point play and connected on two shots from the arc to slice the deficit to 58-54 with 12:22 left.

Curry, who fell a point shy of matching his 41-point effort against UNC Greensboro on February 13, knotted the score at 62-62 on another 3-pointer with 9:46 to play.

Finishing 11-of-22 from long range, the Wildcats did miss a chance to take the lead on a 3-point attempt by Max Gosselin with 8:31 remaining, but Stephen Rossiter hit the weak side and laid the ball in after getting the rebound for a 66-65 lead.

Although it was able to take a 70-67 lead on another layup by Rossiter with 6:45 left, Davidson saw the game go back and forth until Curry buried hit final 3-pointer to break a 74-74 tie with 1:04 to go.

Andrew Lovedale, who tracked down an offensive rebound to set up Curry's game-deciding basket, also hauled in Austin Daye's miss from the arc on the other end and was foul. He sank both free throws for a 79-74 cushion with 37 seconds to play.

Curry added three free throws down the stretch to seal the win. He finished 14-of-22 from the field and grabbed five steals.

Jason Richards scored 15 points and handed out nine assists and Lovedale finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats, who shot 49 percent (28-of-57).

Freshman Steven Gray had seven 3-pointers for 21 points for the Bulldogs (25-8), who lost in the first round for a second straight year.

Pargo scored 18 points and Josh Heytvelt added 12 and eight boards for Gonzaga, which made just 8-of-14 free throws.

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