JP in the Jacksonville paper

Alumni watch: Former Providence basketball standout JP Kuhlman enjoyed a brilliant rookie season for Davidson.

Mid-Major Freshman All-America

JP.

Jake: also SoCon Freshman of the Year

The writers’ pick. First time it’s different than the coaches’ choice: DavidsonWildcats.com.

JP: SoCon Freshman of the Year

Back on Dec. 4 in Charleston: These two rookies. And: The Southern Conference Freshman of the Year is going to be a Davidson Wildcat. Today: Kuhlman joins current assistant coach Landry Kosmalski and Stephen Curry as the only Wildcats to claim the coaches’ Freshman of the Year accolade. With Jake, of course, on the all-rookie team, too: It’s the first time Davidson has had two players on the All-Freshman Team since 2003, when Ian Johnson and Brendan Winters earned the honor. Telep in August. JP in Jacksonville. JP Kuhlman from St Paul's Middle School ...: Florida Hoops.

Davidson 99, Elon 96

AP:

ELON -- Davidson’s Brendan McKillop and Steve Rossiter hit 3-pointers in the last 3 seconds of a double-overtime win over Elon on Saturday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.

The Wildcats (16-14, 11-7 Southern Conference), who overcame a 14-point second-half deficit, trailed by three with 14 seconds left in the second overtime period. McKillop tied the game at 96 and Rossiter knocked down the game-winner 2 seconds later after Elon’s Adam Constantine turned the ball over.

McKillop and Jake Cohen scored a career-high 24 points, while JP Kuhlman’s 24 matched his career-high.

Davidson won its 15th straight against Elon (8-22, 5-13), whose first-year coach Matt Matheny was an assistant for 16 years with the Wildcats.

Burlington: An exhausting classic rocked by wild swings of energy and dripping with emotion seemed destined for a third overtime. ElonPhoenix.com: ... in front of a raucous crowd of 1,934 on Senior Night at Alumni Gym. After a Brendan McKillop three-pointer tied the game with two seconds remaining, Rossiter stole the inbounds pass and let go of a prayer before the final horn sounded. DavidsonWildcats.com: McKillop had a career-high seven 3-pointers. … It was the largest second-half deficit the ‘Cats have come back from this season. … It was Davidson’s third overtime game this season, and the ‘Cats are 2-1. … Cohen also had a career high nine rebounds. Highlights. Hot Click.

Another thing

There’s a bit of cold-blooded in Jake Cohen. JP too. Also Brendan.

Live from Elon

1. That was worth 22 hours in the car.

2. I’d say the same thing had Elon won.

3. Not gonna lie. I feel bad for Matt.

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.”

A note on JP

This year in the two games against Georgia Southern he scored 42 points on 16 shots.

Davidson 84, Ga. Southern 74

AP:

DAVIDSON -- JP Kuhlman scored a career-high 24 points to lead Davidson to an 84-74 victory over Georgia Southern on Saturday night.

Kuhlman was 10-for-14 from the free throw line and Jake Cohen added 18 points as the Wildcats (12-11, 7-4 Southern Conference) won their fourth straight game.

DavidsonWildcats.com: Will Archambault collected 12 points and five rebounds, while Brendan McKillop scored 15 points. Freshman Nik Cochran added nine points off the bench. ... Archambault fouled out in the contest, leaving the senior one point shy of 1,000 for his career. ... Davidson is now 6-2 against SoCon South Division opponents. JP: “We knew coming into this season, that we would have an equal opportunity. That is the way we want to play, and we were able to do it again tonight.” McKillop: “We attacked the pressure. If you let the pressure put the brakes on you, then you’re going to be in trouble, because then you play right into the hands of the press. We will always try to attack the press and take advantage of the floor space that opens up as a result of the pressure.” Highlights.

Davidson 86, Charleston 71

AP:

DAVIDSON -- Will Archambault scored 24 points, freshman JP Kuhlman matched a career-high with 19 and Davidson rallied to beat College of Charleston 86-71 on Thursday night to send the Southern Conference-leading Cougars to their second straight loss.

Charleston’s seven-game winning streak, which included its stunning victory over North Carolina, was snapped Monday at Western Carolina. Despite 22 points apiece from backcourt mates Andrew Goudelock and Tony White Jr., the Cougars (13-8, 8-2) faded down the stretch as they played without center Jeremy Simmons (knee) for a third straight game.

After trailing 23-9 early and by five points early in the second half, Davidson (10-11, 5-4) broke up a close game with an 8-1 spurt behind Archambault. His bucket with 2:56 left put the Wildcats ahead 78-71 and his 3-pointer with 1:22 left made it 82-71.

Jake Cohen added 15 points for the Wildcats.

DavidsonWildcats.com: Archambault scored a season-high 24 points for Davidson (10-11, 5-4 SoCon) on 8-of-9 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 3-point attempts and 4-of-5 free throw attempts, while adding five rebounds, three assists and a block. Freshman JP Kuhlman matched his career-best scoring total of 19 points by going 8-for-14 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc, while adding three rebounds and three assists. McKillop: “This is one game. The challenge that any teams have in college basketball is endurance and consistency.” More: “This was a team that lost Stephen Curry, Andrew Lovedale, Max Paulhus-Gosselin, and a team that no longer had any of the majors players in that Elite 8 run. For us to think that we could stay with Big Ten and A-10 and Big East teams, I thought that was a good statement for where we were headed. But it really impacted our confidence.” Cremins: “They’re tough. Stephen Curry may be in the NBA, but they’re still a good basketball team.” Live 5. Highlights. After the game.

Davidson 91, Georgia Southern 87

AP:

STATESBORO, Ga. -- JP Kuhlman scored 18 points as all five Davidson starters scored in double figures in a 91-87 win over Georgia Southern on Saturday.

Steve Rossiter and Brendan McKillop each added 15 points for the Wildcats (9-11, 4-4 Southern Conference). Will Archambault had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, Jake Cohen added 11 points and Ben Allison came off the bench to score 12 for the Wildcats.

Davidson led by nine points at halftime and built a 21-point lead at 82-61 on a 3-pointer by Archambault with 6:46 remaining.

The guys shot 59 percent from the floor and 58 percent from three, which is great, and 55 percent from the free throw line, which is not. First double-double for Will in his career. Brendan was really good today. JP had 18 points on seven shots. Observer. Savannah: “We knew going into the game that 45 percent of their shots are from 3-point range.” DavidsonWildcats.com: Rossiter became the 30th player in school history to record over 500 career points and rebounds.

Wofford 68, Davidson 62

AP:

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Noah Dahlman scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half and Wofford defeated Davidson 68-62 on Saturday night.

The Terriers (12-7, 4-2 Southern Conference) trailed 50-48 with 8:07 remaining before going on an 8-1 run. Wofford led 56-51 on Noah Dahlman’s three-point play with 5:46 to go.

The Wildcats (7-10, 2-3) tied the score for the seventh time on JP Kuhlman’s three-point play with 1:36 left. But Jamar Diggs hit a free throw and Dahlman had a steal and a layup to make it 63-60 with 1:07 left as Wofford pulled away.

Physical? McKillop: “Yes. They shot 44 free throws and we shot 22.” Spartanburg Herald Journal: The Terriers, down nine points in the second half when Young was slapped with a technical for arguing with an official about a call, went on a 14-0 run Saturday night and held on to beat Davidson in the Benjamin Johnson Arena. Wofford (12-7, 4-2 Southern Conference) has won eight of its last nine games. The Terriers had lost seven straight to Davidson (8-10, 3-3) and 11 of 12. Blog: Happy Stephen’s gone.

Tomorrow night at Wofford

Game notes: Rossiter needs four rebounds and 18 points to become the 30th player in Davidson history to reach 500 in each category for his career. ... Kuhlman has scored in double figures in each of the last four games. ... The Wildcats have won 31 of their last 32 regular season Southern Conference games on the road.

Davidson 86, Furman 81

AP:

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Will Archambault scored 15 points, including four in the final 14 seconds, helping Davidson hold off Furman 86-81 on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats were up 11 points with just over 1 minute remaining when Amu Saaka almost single-handedly put the Paladins back in the game. He hit two 3s and a free throw in the span of about 30 seconds, sparking a 13-2 Furman run in less than a minute to pull within 82-80.

But Archambault dunked it home to put Davidson up 84-80, grabbed a rebound and hit both free throws after being fouled to seal it in the final seconds.

JP Kuhlman added 14 points for the Wildcats (8-9, 3-2 Southern Conference), Steve Rossiter had 13 and Jake Cohen 11.

McKillop: “I’m going to look at the bright side. They made terrific 3-pointers. We missed free throws. We could have hung our heads, but we didn’t. With the crowd pressure, all of that, it could have been 'poor us.’ We could have had a pity party. But we stayed within the system.” Davidson. Furman.

An oddity?

In some SoCon notes:

Davidson’s recent three-game winning streak -- between Dec. 21-30 -- came with a bit of an oddity. Three Wildcats led the team in scoring in those three games. In the first, against Hofstra, Jake Cohen had 18 points. Brendan McKillop’s 19 points led the way against Pennsylvania. And J.P. Kuhlman scored a team-high 18 against UMass.

More like a necessary part of the plan. (Also, note to AP, ESPN, etc.: It’s not J.P. It’s JP. JP JP JP.)

Davidson 66, Samford 56

AP:

DAVIDSON -- Brendan McKillop scored 20 points and Davidson rallied to defeat Samford 66-56 on Monday night.

The Wildcats (7-8, 2-1 Southern Conference) trailed 41-37 with 11:33 left but scored nine unanswered points to lead 46-41 on JP Kuhlman’s 3-pointer with 7:18 remaining.

The Observer: Utter embraces the confusion, and adds to it. Observations. DavidsonWildcats.com: Brendan McKillop scored a career-high 20 points, and Davidson held Samford to 23.5 percent shooting from the field in the second half to post a 66-56 Southern Conference victory over the Bulldogs in Belk Arena Monday night. On DavidsonNews.net: “I’ve very, very pleased with the victory. We played great offense.”

Davidson 63, UMass 61

AP:

DAVIDSON -- JP Kuhlman hit two free throws with 4 seconds left to lift Davidson to a 63-61 victory over Massachusetts on Wednesday night.

Kuhlman, a freshman, finished with 18 points to lead the Wildcats (6-8), who led 61-55 with 2:19 remaining before UMass (6-7) scored six straight to tie the score at 61 on Ricky Harris' jumper with 12 seconds left.

Kuhlman drove to the basket and was fouled by UMass' Anthony Gurley. Kuhlman hit both ends of the 1-and-1 for a 63-61 lead.

The Republican: An inside shot by UMass center Sean Carter, following a pass with one second left, just before the game-ending buzzer sounded, fell off the rim and harmlessly to the floor. McKillop: “We made big shots, big plays at big times. A lot of great things happened out there. We had to take this game away.” Derek Kellogg: “They made two foul shots to win it, we missed a layup to tie it.” Bryant: Big win tonight...big foul shots by JP, white lobstah back in the stands! 3 in a row! Stephen: Great win by my Davidson Wildcats over UMass today. UMass. DavidsonWildcats.com.

An e-mail this morning

From a fan:

My wife and I drove home from New England this week and were discussing how much more fun this season is. Hoping for a win is a hell of a lot more enjoyable than fearing a loss.

We were at the Hofstra game and I was struck by how Coach McKillop is resculpting some identities. I love Bryant coming off the bench as a sparkplug. I love how economical Steve has become. He is always THERE. Avoids mistakes and is beginning to remind me of Thomas just a little. I loved the bounce pass Nik fed to Cohen to ice the game. He was very cool in a tight spot. I loved how coach stuck with JP during the Hofstra game. I loved how he had Frank in the line-up down the stretch. I love how coach is not relying on Will as our primary scoring threat and how Will is becoming a much more productive all-around player.

It’s a fun year! Big game tonight.

Like this.

Cornell 91, Davidson 88

AP:

NEW YORK -- Ryan Wittman capped a season-high 29-point performance by hitting a 30-footer at the overtime buzzer and Cornell beat Davidson 91-88 on Sunday in the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden.

JP Kuhlman of Davidson made the first of two free throws with 6.6 seconds left to tie it at 88. Jeff Foote rebounded the miss of the second free throw and found Wittman, who let his game-winner go with plenty of time.

Cornell will play the winner of the Hofstra-St. John’s game in Monday night's championship.

The shame of it, of course, is that this could’ve been a galvanizing win for this group, against an experienced team that knows what it’s doing, and now it will have to be a galvanizing loss. McKillop put it bluntly with Kilgo after the game -- had a chance to win that game in regulation, had a chance to win that game in overtime, didn’t win that game -- and that’s disappointing. I feel bad for the coaches and the kids. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: For Davidson, always, but especially in years like this year, a season’s “success” or “failure” comes down to what happens over the course of three days in the first week of March. What happened this afternoon up at the Garden was a step in the right direction with that in mind. DavidsonWildcats.com.