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 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.

UMass tonight at Belk

Game notes: The Minutemen and Wildcats share one common opponent -- Cornell. The Big Red topped UMass 74-61 Nov. 18, and defeated Davidson 91-88 in overtime in Madison Square Garden Dec. 20. UMass. The Republican.

Getting ready for Penn and UMass

Bryant: nice trip home but it’s back to work now. Penn in the NYT.

A couple games

The schedule filling in: Nov. 28 against Rhode Island; Dec. 30 against Massachusetts.

UMass again?

Note from up in Amherst: In other UMass basketball news, associate athletic director Tim Kenney said the school is close to signing a home-and-home deal with Davidson. UMass would play at Davidson, N.C., in the 2009-10 season, Kenney said.