Newspaper: Charlotte Observer article

Curry on target in Wildcats' win
KEVIN CARY

DAVIDSON - After Davidson's 100-89 win against Illinois-Chicago, coach Bob McKillop said freshman Stephen Curry has a target on his back.

The way the Davidson guard and the rest of his teammates shot in the second half, that target will get a lot bigger.

Curry made nine of 10 shots and scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half to lead the Wildcats past the Flames. The son of former Charlotte Hornet Dell Curry, he led a charge that saw the Wildcats sink 70 percent of their shots in the second half and score 61 points.

No one expected that kind of offense from Davidson before the season.

The Wildcats graduated seven seniors and had only 18 points of offense returning. But three key returnees and two freshmen made the Wildcats sizzle in the second half.

Davidson made eight of 10 3-point shots after halftime and once Curry started cooking, the Flames couldn't keep up. He was 2-of-9 in the first half, but a 3-pointer along the left baseline five minutes into the second half restored his confidence.

He sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key with eight minutes left to give Davidson (3-1) a 79-69 lead. He happily bounced up and down after that shot, then slid along the baseline after swishing another 3 from the right corner on Davidson's next possession.

"These tapes of Stephen are going to go around the country," McKillop said. "Everyone is going to know about him. But he has the toughness to respond to that."

The other Wildcats also got hot. Thomas Sander hit three 3-pointers, matching his career total entering the game. Point guard Jason Richards (nine assists) penetrated and found open players such as Boris Meno (17 points) and freshman William Archambault (19).

Archambault hit four 3-pointers, including a 25-footer for a 93-78 lead with four minutes left.
"We have this game in practice called `bolts of lightning,' " Archambault said. "You get hot and you keep shooting it. Coach said he was going to kill me if I didn't make that shot, but hey, I made it."

So did everyone else on the Wildcats.

Davidson shot 58 percent and made 12 3-pointers, including three by Curry. He also had nine rebounds and four assists, but his second half shooting was something he said his dad could be proud of.

"He's probably wondering why I didn't do it in the first half," Curry said. "But I just got a lot of confidence in the second half. You just feed off of that."