DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Stephen Curry quickly pushed the ball at every opportunity. He whipped passes to open teammates for 3-pointers, and fed the post to his athletic big man, Andrew Lovedale.

All that didn't prevent him from showing off his trademark quick release and sweet shooting stroke, as he piled up 30 points and a career-high 13 assists in No. 21 Davidson's 97-70 rout of Winthrop on Friday.

"I guess he's really struggling at handling point guard, huh?" coach Bob McKillop said.

Three days after Curry scored a career-high 44 points in a loss at No. 12 Oklahoma, the nation's leading scorer made five 3-pointers and continued his seamless transition from shooting guard, committing only three turnovers.

"So far it's been working," Curry said. "It's clicking, our chemistry is growing every game. We know where we are on the court and where everybody likes the ball. It comes from practice and working really hard."

Curry and Lovedale combined to overwhelm Winthrop in the second half. Lovedale, an athletic big man from Nigeria who wasn't introduced to basketball until he was a teenager, had a career-high 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in helping the Wildcats (3-1) to their 18th straight win at home.

But on a team with Curry, those performances are often overshadowed by the baby-faced guard who has embraced his new role as playmaker -- months removed from becoming a national darling after his NCAA tournament performance.

"How many easy passes did he make?" McKillop said. "How many singles did he hit? How many bunts did he make? Yet he took that drive to the basket. He pulled up and took that 3 in transition. ... That's a dimension that Steph adds to that position."

It meant a frustrating night for the Eagles (1-3). Coach Randy Peele wanted to pressure Curry at every opportunity, but found the first-team All-American too elusive.

"He's really good with the ball, and he's faster with the ball than what you realize," Peele said. "He's really hard to contain."

Cameron Stanley scored 13 of his career-high 20 points in the first half for Winthrop, which built a six-point first-half lead before going cold. The Eagles shot 39 percent, and this time couldn't contain Curry and keep it close.

Curry's lowest scoring game in his remarkable sophomore season came at Winthrop last season, when he got into early foul trouble and was held to 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting in Davidson's win.

Winthrop used a variety of defenders this time, but Curry hit 8 of 16 shots, and 9 of 10 free throws. Curry, who scored 25 or more points for the eighth straight game, did much of his damage with his passing, finding open teammates for 3-pointers.

Davidson made 13 of 32 3s and shot 49 percent overall, while Curry padded his stats. He has 35 assists in 11 turnovers in four games.

"I'm still making mistakes out there, making careless turnovers," Curry insisted. "I've got to figure out how to control the ball a little better. I think in transition I've got it pretty much where I need to be."

The Charlotte-area schools, separated by about 40 miles on Interstate 77, were playing for the second straight year after a long drought in the series.

The Eagles, who have made the NCAA tournament four straight years and upset Notre Dame in the first round two years ago, are rebuilding after losing their top three scorers from last season.

Winthrop silenced the sellout crowd early, building a 22-16 lead, but soon faded.

After Davidson rallied to take a 41-35 halftime lead, Curry quickly put the game out of reach. Curry capped a 12-2 run to start the second half when he stole the inbound pass under Winthrop's basket, raced into the frontcourt and drained a long 3-pointer from the right wing.

Davidson poured it on from there, outscoring Winthrop 56-35 in the second half.