On this day: Steph Curry plays his last college game at Davidson

It was hyped as a clash of mercurial, sharp-shooting guards: Saint Mary’s Patty Mills and Stephen Curry of Davidson.

Fourteen years after the fact, no one has asked for a refund.

The March 23, 2009 matchup was worthy of an NCAA Tournament matchup. But both Saint Mary’s (28-6) and Davidson (27-8) suffered the mid-major curse on Selection Sunday. Both had to settle for the NIT. Both won their first-round game. Say this for Gaels fans — they understood the magnitude of the second-round game. They sold out McKeon Pavilion (capacity 3,500) on the Saint Mary’s campus in record time.

And for good reason. Curry was the NCAA scoring leader at 28.7 per game, and already had a reputation for shooting the long ball. Mills, the Australian recruited via coach Randy Bennett’s vegemite express, was averaging 18.2. It was likely that one was going to play his final college game.

It was a tight first half (36-33 Gaels) played in front of a raucous crowd. Saint Mary’s pulled away in the second half for an 80-68 victory. Mills had 23 points and 10 assists. Curry finished with 26 points and nine rebounds (and, uncharacteristically, six turnovers). The two stars wished each other good luck, pretty sure they would meet again in the NBA.

“Hostile crowd, big atmosphere, it was definitely a fun game for all involved,” Curry said.

While Saint Mary’s earned another game, Curry, a junior, was done for the season. Asked about his future, he executed the conversational equivalent of a cross-over dribble.

“I haven’t thought about it,” he said. “I tried to put it off until our season is over. I’ll just have to get together with all the people involved in the decision, but I don’t have a timeline or anything like that.”

We know the rest of the story.

Another tearful college finale

The Curry/Mills game was held on the third anniversary of another Bay Area college basketball game of note. It was an interesting 2006 Sweet 16 matchup at Oakland’s Oracle Arena between UCLA and Gonzaga, which featured NCAA scoring leader mop-topped Adam Morrison.

Gonzaga, a perennial Tournament Cinderella, took it to UCLA in the first half, establishing a 17-point lead. UCLA mounted a furious comeback late in the game. A UCLA steal resulted in a layup for Luc Mbah a Moute. The one-point lead was the Bruins’ first lead of the game. There were 8.6 seconds to play. Morrison’s emotions were starting to overcome him. UCLA made a free throw to make it two-point game. A three-quarter-court pass somehow found Gonzaga center J.P. Batista, whose desperate 3-pointer missed the mark.

At that, Morrison fell on the court in a heap, sobbing. He had to be escorted from the floor.

UCLA coach Ben Howland couldn’t fathom what had gone on in the final seconds.

“I can’t even remember,” he said. “Was that Morrison that threw it away that last play? I don’t know if they had any timeouts or not. I don’t know.”