Davidson's Andrew Lovedale (41) scored 21 points in the Wildcats win over the Loyola Greyhounds. (Photo by Tim Cowie)

The Davidson Wildcats proved Tuesday night they can win even without Stephen Curry.  The Cats beat Loyola 78-48 with 20 points from Andrew Lovedale, and not a single point from their star point guard in an NIT Season Tip-Off game at Belk Arena.

Curry went from being the leading team scorer Monday night when Davidson beat Florida Atlantic University, 76-60, to not putting a single ball in the net Tuesday night. When Loyola double-teamed Curry, the Wildcats relied instead on points from seven other players. After Lovedale, Bryant Barr was next highest with six three-pointers.

The Davidson-Loyola matchup was part of a double-header Tuesday. Earlier, James Madison beat Florida Atlantic 81-64.

Here’s a report on Tuesday’s game from Davidson sports information:

Davidson Proves It Has More Than Curry

Andrew Lovedale posted 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead four Davidson scorers in double figures in a 78-48 men’s basketball victory over Loyola (Md.) in the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tuesday night in Belk Arena.

The Greyhounds (2-3) double teamed and face guarded Davidson star Stephen Curry, with or without the ball, for the entire 32 minutes he played. Once he realized the defensive scheme, Curry often ran to a corner and stood there with two Loyola players within a foot of him, and a third five feet away for support, while the rest of the Wildcats played 4-on-3.

Though Curry was held scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting, Wildcat guards Bryant Barr, Will Archambault and Aaron Bond were the beneficiaries along with Lovedale. Barr netted a season-high 18 points, Archambault had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists and Bond scored a career-high 11.

Brendan McKillop added six points off the bench and with wide open looks all night, the quartet of guards combined for 48 points, 13 over Curry’s average of 35 a game entering the contest, and shot 56 percent from 3-point range. Steve Rossiter led all players with six assists on the game and added six points and six rebounds.

Curry received a standing ovation from the Belk Arena crowd when he was subbed out with 40 seconds remaining.

Lovedale and Archambault combined for the team’s first 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting, with Archambault coming off the bench to start the game 4-for-4 from the field, including hitting his first two three-point attempts. As a team, Davidson (5-1) recorded its first eight and 16-of-19 points in the paint in the opening 11 minutes of action.

Davidson went on a 12-0 run to close the half and go into the break with a 39-17 lead, and held Loyola scoreless over a combined 7:11 of play over the two halves.

The ‘Cats pushed the margin to 34 points, their largest lead of the game, on a 3-pointer by Bond with 3:12 to play.

For the contest, the Wildcats shot 46.8 percent (29-62) from the field, while holding Loyola to 34 percent on 16-for-47 shooting and forcing 21 turnovers. Davidson connected on a season-high 14 three-point shots in 27 attempts for 51.9 percent.

The 48 points allowed by Davidson was the lowest given up by the team since giving up 47 at Winthrop Feb. 22, 2008, and besting the previous season-low of 64 that came in the contest against James Madison in the second game of the year.

Davidson’s next game is Saturday, Dec. 6, when the Wildcats take on NC State at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte. Tipoff for the non-conference matchup will be at noon, and the game will be televised on Fox Sports Net South.

Game Notes: It was Lovedale’s third consecutive double-double of the year….Davidson is off to its best start since the ‘Cats went 6-1 to begin the 2002-03 campaign… It was the Wildcats’ 21st consecutive win in Belk Arena… It was Davidson’s sixth game in 12 days.

Marc Gignac
Sports Information Director
Davidson College

Comments Disabled To "Lovedale leads Cats over Loyola; Curry scoreless"

#1 Comment By David Boraks On November 27, 2008 @ 12:19 pm