January 7, 2009 | AP Press

PITTSBURGH, PA – Aaron Jackson scored five of his 30 points in the last 1:16 and Duquesne rallied after repeatedly giving away leads to defeat Charlotte 76-71 in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams Wednesday night.

Bill Clark had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Dukes (10-4), who trailed 69-67 after Javarris Barnett dunked off a missed shot with 5:19 to play. The 49ers (5-8) scored only two more points after that, Charlie Coley’s free throws with 48 seconds remaining, in losing for the second time in six games.

Coley scored 17 points and Ian Andersen and Lamont Mack had 15 each.

Jackson scored to give Duquesne a 71-69 lead with 1:16 remaining and then made three of four free throws during the final 25 seconds, giving him 1,022 career points in his 100th game.

Duquesne led by as many as seven points in the first half, then couldn’t hold separate leads of six and five points in the second half before ending a four-game losing streak to Charlotte that dated to 1993.

January 3, 2009 | AP Press

COLLEGE PARK, MD — Greivis Vasquez scored 27 points and fueled a second-half surge that carried Maryland to its seventh straight victory, 85-75 over Charlotte on Saturday.

The Terrapins (11-2) trailed by 11 points in the first half, were down 3 at halftime and tied the game with 14:51 remaining before Vasquez drilled a 3-pointer to spark a 16-point run. The run gave Maryland a 65-49 advantage with 11:27 to go.

Vasquez went 8-for-19 from the floor, made four 3-pointers and sank all seven of his free throws. He fell one point short of matching his career high.

Landon Milbourne scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half and Maryland improved to 9-0 at home.

RaShad Coleman led Charlotte (5-7) with 21 points, but he made only two baskets after halftime. The 49ers, who came in with a four-game winning streak, were outscored 47-34 in the second half.

December 30, 2008 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charles Dewhurst scored all 13 of his points in the second half as Charlotte pulled away for a 79-68 victory over Long Island on Tuesday night.

Tied at halftime, the 49ers (5-6) opened the second half by hitting eight of their first nine shots during a 21-9 run to take command.

Dewhurst, who scored eight points during the run, was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line over a 12-second span to give the 49ers a 53-36 lead with 11:33 left.

The 49ers held the Blackbirds (4-7) to 35.6 percent shooting (21 of 59) in winning their third straight game.

Lamont Mack added 15 points for Charlotte, Charlie Coley chipped in 14, DiJuan Harris had 13 points and 10 assists and RaShad Coleman had 11 points.

Kyle Johnson scored 26 points and Jaytornah Wisseh added 21 for Long Island, which outrebounded Charlotte 41-36.

December 21, 2008 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — DiJuan Harris scored 20 points and Charlotte had five other players in double figures to beat Youngstown State 100-80 on Sunday.

RaShan Coleman added 16 points and Charlie Coley III had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the 49ers (4-6), who led by as many as 28 points in their third consecutive win.

Phil Jones had 13 points and Lamont Mack and Ian Andersen scored 11 each for Charlotte, which broke the 100-point mark in a game for the first time in four seasons.

Vytas Sulskis hit five 3-pointers and scored 20 points for the Penguins (2-8), who lost for the sixth time in their last seven games. Kelvin Bright had 16 points and Sirlester Martin 14.

Charlotte shot 67.9 percent from the field in the first half (19 of 28) to take command, then extended its lead to 28 points twice in the second.

December 10, 2008 | AP Press

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Lamont Mack had a season-high 19 points and eight rebounds to lead Charlotte to a 70-64 victory over Mississippi State on Wednesday night.

Charlotte (3-6) dominated the contest, leading by as much as 20 points midway through the second half. A 21-4 run by Mississippi State (6-3) in the final six minutes closed the gap but never endangered the outcome.

The Bulldogs shot only 30.9 percent from the field (17 of 55) in the game, including 6 of 26 from beyond the arc.

Mack scored in double digits for the seventh time this season. Dijuan Harris added 11 points for the 49ers and RaShad Coleman and An’Juan Wilderness both chipped in 10.

Dee Bost was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs with 15 points, and Barry Stewart and Romero Osby each chipped in 10.

The 49ers had a 36-20 lead at the break.

December 6, 2008 | AP Press

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Ian Andersen came off the bench to score 18 points including six 3-pointers to lead Charlotte to a 66-64 victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday.

An’Juan Wilderness had 17 points and DiJuan Harris had a game-high five assists for Charlotte (2-6), which shot 41.7 percent from the field for the game.

Charlotte trailed 32-31 going into the break, but came back to outscore Southern Illinois (3-4) 35-32 in the second period.

Tony Boyle led the Salukis with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Bryan Mullins had 13 points for Southern Illinois while Carlton Fay and Wesley Clemmons each added 12 points. Clemmons had four 3-pointers.

The game was tied 11 times and the lead bounced back-and-forth eight time in a tight match.

The Salukis shot 40.4 percent from the field and were able to make 24 points off turnovers.

November 30, 2008 | AP Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Josh Akognon scored 26 points to lead Cal State Fullerton to a 92-84 overtime victory over UNC Charlotte in the seventh-place game of the 76 Classic on Sunday.

Marcio Lassiter added 13 points and Papa Guisse grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds for the Titans (3-4), who broke a three-game losing streak and made a season-high 12 shots from 3-point range.

DiJuan Harris and Ian Andersen each scored 15 points for the 49ers (1-6), who lost their sixth consecutive game and are off to their worst start since the 1984-85 season.

Aaron Thompson made a lay-in to give Fullerton a 77-75 lead with 3:17 left in overtime. Charlie Coley had a chance to tie the score but missed two free throws with 1:31 remaining.

Akognon then converted two free throws and Lassiter made a 3-point shot to extend the Titans’ lead to 82-75 with 54.5 seconds left in overtime.

Fullerton led by as many as 12 points but failed to score in the final 4:02 of regulation, as Charlotte used a 7-0 spree to force a 73-73 tie. An’Juan Wilderness made a follow shot with 49 seconds to play to tie the score.

November 28, 2008 | AP Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Marshon Brooks scored five of his 12 points in the final 2:58 as Providence rallied for a 67-62 victory over UNC Charlotte in the 76 Classic on Friday.

Jonathan Kale and Weyinmi Efejuku added 12 points apiece for the Friars (4-2), who forced 13 turnovers in the second half.

RaShad Coleman scored a career-high 19 points for the 49ers (1-5), who have lost five consecutive games for the first time since 1989. Lamont Mack added 12 points and DiJuan Harris tied his career best with 10 assists.

Charlotte, which led by as many as 10 points, held a 62-57 lead with 3:15 to play before Providence scored the final 10 points. Five of the points resulted from turnovers.

Jeff Xavier’s steal and lay-in enabled the Friars to force a 62-62 tie with 1:33 left. On Charlotte’s ensuing possession, Geoff McDermott made a steal and passed to Brooks for another lay-in that gave Providence a 64-62 lead with 1:03 left.

The Friars will play Saint Mary’s for fifth place and the 49ers will face Cal State Fullerton for seventh place Sunday.

November 27, 2008 | AP Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jeff Pendergraph had 23 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 14 Arizona State beat Charlotte 84-56 Thursday night in the first round of the 76 Classic.

James Harden made all 11 of his free throws and scored 15 points for the Sun Devils (4-0), who never trailed and opened with four straight wins for only the third time in 22 seasons.

Charlotte guard RaShad Coleman came off the bench and scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half, including the final nine before the break for the 49ers (1-4).

November 27, 2008 | AP Press

At times this season, James Harden has been a one-man offensive show for Arizona State. The Sun Devils will likely need a more balanced performance on Thursday night when they take on the Charlotte 49ers in the first round of the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif.

With the rest of his teammates hitting only 26.5 percent of their shots, Harden went 12-of-19 from the field and had a career-high 33 points with 12 rebounds on Sunday in the 14th-ranked Sun Devils’ 61-40 win against Pepperdine.

Harden, whose previous high was 27 points in a 99-90 overtime victory versus California on Jan. 17, had as many points (33) as Pepperdine did when he exited the game in the second half.

“My teammates did a real good job of finding me,” said the 6-foot-4 guard, who scored the team’s first 17 points of the second half.

Harden is averaging 25.0 points and has accounted for 37.5 percent of the Sun Devils’ offense this season. The team’s four other starters shot a combined 2-of-16 against the Waves as Arizona State (3-0) made a season-low 39.6 percent of its attempts from the field.

“Obviously, James was the difference for us with his offensive production,” coach Herb Sendek said.

Harden is hitting 61.0 percent (25-of-41) of his shots and Arizona State is shooting 50.4 percent this season. The Sun Devils, though, will be facing a Charlotte team that’s held its opponents to 40.6 percent shooting.

Defensively, Arizona State has improved each game. Against Pepperdine, the Sun Devils had a season-best 13 steals, forced 20 turnovers for the second time this season, and held the Waves to 26.7 percent shooting.

Arizona State has held opponents to 35.3 percent shooting through three games.

While the Sun Devils go for their first 4-0 start in three seasons, Charlotte looks to avoid its first four-game losing streak since it dropped its final four of the 2004-05 season.

Since their season-opening 77-59 win against UNC Greensboro, the 49ers (1-3) have dropped three in a row by a combined five points.

In Saturday’s 71-70 loss to Clemson, Charlotte forced 17 turnovers and held the Tigers to a season-low 41.8 percent shooting, but missed 12 of its 19 free-throw attempts.

“It was an exciting game,” Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz told the school’s official Web site. “This is the best team we’ve played so far and I think this is the best we’ve played. The foul line was the difference. Seven-of-19 from the foul line in a game that’s this close – that’s a huge difference.”

Charlotte had made 83.6 percent (61-of-73) of its free throws in the first three games.

Junior guard Ian Andersen scored a career-high 21 points on seven 3-pointers Saturday, while Charlie Coley – the 49ers’ leading rebounder at 6.3 per game – posted a season-high 11 boards with nine points.

In the teams’ only previous meeting on Dec. 30, 2000, Arizona State defeated the 49ers 91-78 in the consolation game of the ASU Holiday Classic.

The winner of this game faces either Providence or Baylor on Friday night in the semifinals.