The latest Buzzkill auction item

Bid on THIS. “I’m really excited about it,” Bryant said this afternoon when he called with the news. Buzzkill.

You having lunch with Stephen?

Help out Bryant and Buzzkill and break bread with No. 30. Auction.

Last night in Memphis

The Grizzlies coach: “I saw Curry sucking air a little bit. I know he was tired as well as the rest of the team.” Struggling. Bryant was in town for the game. On Twitter: Definitely worth the drive to see the old roomie.

Bryant and Stephen in Memphis

From Bryant’s Twitter.

Last night before the game

Claire on Facebook

Her status update: Heartbroken for the Wildcats but grateful to the seniors for a great 4 (or 5) years and proud of the freshmen. Excited to see good friends and celebrate #30 with the Davidson family tonight!

Cats on Main

Three thoughts for now

1. Davidson lost 15 games this year, including this one, not only because of the loss of the kid who’ll play across town tomorrow night for the Golden State Warriors but also the loss of the coach who spent this afternoon coaching his ass off down on the other end of the court.

2. Speaking of No. 30: So no appearance for him to watch his former teammates and classmates and roommates here in the conference quarters. That’s too bad. Would’ve been a cool moment for the school. Would’ve been a cool moment for him.

3. Steve Rossiter, Bryant Barr, Will Archambault, Dan Nelms: Steve was a captain, Will was a 1,000-point scorer, Bryant hit those threes in Detroit. Steve and Bryant were on the court when Jason took the shot. That happened. They were a part of it.

Get it at Buzzkill

Available along with a lot of other really cool auction items at the Bryant-led event on May 2.

Senior night from press row

Lauren:

And years from now, when I think back on this senior class, and when I watch them play in their final SoCon championship in a few weeks and receive their diplomas a few months later (should I get a B.A. or a B.S.?), it won't ultimately be the basketball that I'll remember. It'll be the reasons I am able to say yes, this really is that special of a place, to the so many people that have asked me over the years since the run of 2008. The notes on my desk when I'm "late" for work. The heys from the hallways. The post-game high fives. The pranks. The SID lunches. Dart games and photo shoots. SIDIOTY applications. The graduation announcements. The wedding invitations. I have watched over the years as these four have transformed from shy freshmen into team captains and homecoming kings and ambassadors for the game and the kind of people that leverage their influence to raise thousands of dollars for malaria in Africa.

Just my way of saying, Thanks guys. Make us proud the rest of the way, in basketball and in life.

Davidson 60, UNCG 56

AP:

DAVIDSON -- Brendan McKillop's 3-pointer broke a tie with 27.7 seconds left and Davidson held off North Carolina-Greensboro 60-56 on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats (15-14, 10-7 Southern Conference) led 56-52 with 3:29 left after another McKillop 3-pointer. The Spartans (6-22, 5-12) cut it to 56-54 on a basket by Kendall Toney, then tied it with 56 seconds left after a steal and layup by Kyle Randall.

UNC Greensboro led by seven points, 46-39, with 11:19 left in the second half after an 18-5 run that included seven points by Randall.

DavidsonWildcats.com: Freshman JP Kuhlman scored 14 points to help send the Davidson seniors off with a 60-56 SoCon men's basketball victory over UNC Greensboro on Senior Night at Belk Arena Wednesday. With the win in their final home game, the Wildcat senior class of Will Archambault, Bryant Barr, Dan Nelms and Steve Rossiter has now been a part of 100 career victories at Davidson. McKillop: “I'm thrilled that our seniors were able to finish their career here at Belk Arena with a win.” “Observations.”

Chattanooga 78, Davidson 73

AP:

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Ricky Taylor scored 22 points and Ty Patterson added 20 to help Chattanooga defeat Davidson 78-73 on Monday night, snapping a five-game losing streak.

The Mocs (14-15, 6-10 Southern Conference) trailed 35-32 at halftime, and shot 52 percent from the field in the second half (26 of 56), including 5 of 10 from 3-point range.

Chattanooga outscored the Wildcats 8-3 after halftime, taking its first lead since 6:56 left in the first half, 40-38, on Keegan Bell’s 3 with 17:24 to play.

Davidson (14-14, 9-7) would lead again, 52-50 with 10:03 remaining, but the Mocs scored 11 straight. Jeremy Saffore’s layup put Chattanooga up 61-52 with 6:38 left, and the Wildcats wouldn’t get any closer than six points the rest of the way.

Jake Cohen scored 16 points and Brendon McKillop added 15 for the Wildcats.

Uch at the Roundhouse: The win snaps a season-long five game losing streak. It also snaps an eight-game losing streak to Davidson which had NBA rookie of the year candidate Stephen Curry for the last three seasons. DavidsonWildcats.com: Davidson went on to take a 35-32 cushion into halftime as seven of the ‘Cats 14 field goals in the frame were from long distance. The Wildcats return to action Wednesday, Feb. 24, for the home finale against UNC Greensboro. Davidson will honor its four seniors, Archambault, Bryant Barr, Dan Nelms and Rossiter, before the game. Ty Patterson: “It’s great to get a win after we’ve been so down. And to beat Davidson -- when was the last time we beat Davidson?”

Davidson 61, Furman 58

Saturday afternoon at Belk:

DAVIDSON -- Jake Cohen scored 14 points and Davidson defeated Furman 61-58 on Saturday.

The Wildcats (14-13, 9-6 Southern Conference) led 57-55 with 1:24 to go, and the Paladins missed a shot and had another blocked by Cohen with 9 seconds left. Cohen was quickly fouled and made both free throws for a 59-55 advantage.

Justin Dehm then hit a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left to pull the Paladins (12-15, 6-10) within 59-58. They then fouled Cohen again, who made both shots for the final margin.

Davidson led 53-41 with 5:50 remaining, but Furman went on a 16-2 run to pull within 57-55 on Bryan Barnes' 3 with 1:24 left.

Will Archambault scored 12 points, and the Wildcats scored 22 points off 19 turnovers.

Observer: Cohen was relieved to make the four late free throws. He’s still bothered by two key foul shots he missed in a loss against Cornell at Madison Square Garden earlier this season, helping the Big Red tie the game in regulation and eventually win in overtime. “That was a bad experience,” said Cohen. “I wanted to make sure I made them when it counted this time.” DavidsonWildcats.com: Archambault and Bryant Barr each became the school’s all-time leader in games played with 131.

SoCon Spotlight

Bryant: “I love going to Davidson. It’s a pretty small school, 1,700 kids. I think that’s one of the most exciting things about it. There’s so much support from the school, from your professors and from the community. You look into the stands during a game, and you see people that you go to class with. It’s a small enough school that you recognize almost everybody and you know a lot of people. The people that are in the stands are people that are your friends that you really know well. You end up going to things to support them. I have a couple good friends that come to all of my games. One of them is in the orchestra, so I’ve gone to that. The other one is involved with theatre, so I’ve gone to several of her plays.”

Tonight in Cullowhee

Game notes: The Catamounts are 3-3 in their last six and coming off an 81-76 setback at Elon Monday. ... Western Carolina is 12-1 at home this season with the lone loss coming to Appalachian State a week ago. ... Davidson caps the regular season by playing five games in 11 days. ... Bryant Barr needs two points to reach 700 for his career. Western: Western Carolina is looking for the regular season sweep of Davidson which would be its first two-game sweep of the Wildcats since 1985.

Appalachian 66, Davidson 56

AP:

BOONE -- Donald Sims scored 25 points, making all his attempts from both 3-point range and at the foul line, to lead Appalachian State in a 66-56 win over Davidson on Thursday night.

Sims finished 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 5-for-5 at the charity stripe for the Mountaineers (15-10, 9-4 Southern Conference), who have won back to back games since losing 87-76 to Division II King College on Feb. 1.

GoASU.com: Appalachian State completed its first season sweep of the Davidson Wildcats since 2001 with a 66-56 victory at the Holmes Center Thursday night. DavidsonWildcats.com: Davidson finished the contest shooting 32.8 percent (20-for-61) from the field and 28.1 percent (9-for-32) from deep. ... Barr finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 5-for-7 from downtown. ... Archambault is the 38th player to score 1,000 career points for the Wildcats.

‘No other place’

Claire:

I see more and more faces that I recognize, new students/townspeople/staff, and DCats folks that have -- first virtually, now personally -- welcomed me in.

Let me tell you, it is damn exciting to watch these three freshmen gain those cheers that roar over the announcer's soaring voice, that respect, that taken-in-ness that will last their lives. And it's moving to watch these seniors, my classmates, lead this team. Their determination and focus has started to shine on the court and on the bench, but so has their joy, their appreciation. I catch Will smiling and Bryant hustling on defense, Dan staying on his man, and Steve slapping hands, taking deep breaths, the heart of the huddles in the toughest moments. On Saturday, Will fouled out with ONE FRIGGING POINT to go before he reached 1,000. (one.thousand!) Rob, David, Zach, Carrie, and I had cheered for him unceasingly as he got closer and closer, to the point where I think everyone else in the endzone was turning around to shoot us weird looks, and when that fifth whistle blew it just KILLED us. Even though he'll get it tomorrow, I wanted him to have that moment with us so much. But we all stood and screamed for him, and from the bench he clapped and yelled and grinned. TCC.

Hey. This team is fun. This season is fun.

A treasure trove. “Hi, Claire.”

Makes me want to be there.

Rematch at Appalachian

Game notes: The Wildcats start a two-game road swing at the top two teams of the Southern Conference North Division by traveling to Appalachian State Thursday night. ... Both teams posted wins over the Wildcats in Belk Arena in January. ... Will Archambault is one point shy of 1,000 for his career. ... Archambault and Bryant Barr are now three games played from tying the school career record, held by Andrew Lovedale (130). Appalachian: Buzz Peterson is 4-6 against Davidson.

Bryant and Buzzkill

Got a call today from Bryant Barr. He wants to hear from you.

The second year of Bryant-led Buzzkill is scheduled for May 2. He’d like to know what you’d like to see on the list of items for auction. Jerseys? Basketballs? Memorabilia? Autographed? By whom? Last year he raised more than $16,000 for nets to help fight malaria in Africa. This year he’s shooting for $20,000.

Bryant’s getting married in July. He’s got a job lined up already and will be working as an actuarial consultant for Mercer in Chicago. It’s what he wants to do and it’s where he wants to be.

He said it over and over on Monday, so fortunate, so blessed, and the fact that he plays on the basketball team gives him a platform, and that platform gives him a chance to give back.

Whenever I talk to Bryant, I’m reminded that I’m glad he’s a student at my school, and today we talked for a while about how it’s hard to believe his time at Davidson is almost over.

I don’t think it’s untrue or unfair to say that the high point of his basketball life came two years ago in March. But taking into account everything it means to be a full participant of his place -- basketball, academics, life on campus and in the community -- “every year I’ve spent here has been better than the year before,” he said. “It’s been a hundred times better than what I expected.”

“If I had to do it all over again,” he said, “I’d choose Davidson again in a second.”

Post your ideas for items for auction at Buzzkill here or over on DavidsonCats.com.

Interesting

The Observer: Davidson coach Bob McKillop brought his team to watch Hopewell recruit Jordan Downing and the Titans play Mooresville this week. Downing had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the win. Bryant: Jordan Downing is gonna look really good in that Davidson uniform next year.