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Curry carries Davidson past NC State

Dec 6, 2008 - 10:00 PM DAVIDSON, North Carolina (Ticker) -- North Carolina State had no plan to stop Stephen Curry.

Curry rebounded from the first scoreless game of his career to match a career high with 44 points as 24th-ranked Davidson posted a 72-67 victory over North Carolina State on Saturday.

In the Wildcats' last game November 25, Loyola of Maryland double-teamed Curry the entire game, limiting the superb junior to just three shots.

The Wolfpack had no answer for Curry, who made 15-of-32 shots and 10-of-13 free throws as he reached the 44-point mark for the second time this season.

Curry's scintillating performance came with Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James in attendance. The nation's leading scorer, Curry drilled a 30-foot jumper with just over a minute remaining, then made the clinching free throws with 4.1 seconds to go.

The 3-pointer by Curry, which came off an offensive rebound, gave the Wildcats a 70-66 lead. The shot brought James, who was seated courtside, to his feet.

"I stared at him after and then I pointed at him," Curry said. "Then my teammates came and we all went back to the bench. There was a little excitement."

NC State coach Sidney Lowe praised Curry.

"He's not just a shooter. He's a basketball player," Lowe said. "That makes it tough when you have someone who can shoot the ball the way he does. But at the same time, if you try to take things away from him, he's clever enough and smart enough to go to something else."

Behind the jaw-dropping performance from Curry, the Wildcats (6-1) were able to rally from an early 16-7 deficit as they beat the Wolfpack for just the second time in the last 38 meetings.

Curry's driving layup with under 10 minutes remaining gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 53-52.

Andrew Lovedale added 12 points for Davidson, which endured a 66-65 loss to NC State last season before reeling off 25 straight wins en route to reaching a regional final of the NCAA Tournament.

Brandon Costner scored 18 points and Ben McCauley 16 for the Wolfpack (4-1), who were meeting a ranked opponent for the first time this season.

Costner scored eight of his points in the game-opening surge to give the Wolfpack an early cushion. However, the Wildcats chipped away and were within 41-37 at halftime behind 21 points from Curry.