March 3, 2009 by Jordan Keyser | A10CollegeHoops

CHARLOTTE, NC — Richmond’s Kevin Anderson sliced down the lane and hit a contorting lay-up with 8 seconds to play to win the game for the Spiders, 64-62.

Lamont Mack had a career night for the 49ers, with a career high 32 points, as well as a career high 14 rebounds. Despite his stellar performance, Mack was obviously not satisfied with the outcome. Mack had a chance at a game winning three-pointer, but the shot rimmed out at the buzzer.

“I definitely had a good look. It just didn’t go in.” Mack said dejectedly. “It hurts. Me and Charlie wanted to go out on a win on senior night and we really wanted to get coach his 200th win (at Charlotte.)”

The game once again pitted two of the A-10’s best point guards against each other, with Richmond’s Anderson and Charlotte’s Dijuan Harris. In a reversal of Charlotte’s last game against Fordham, Harris was the one who was outplayed on both sides of the ball this time. Harris, who was 4th in the country in assists coming into this game, managed only 4 the entire game, as well as only 4 points. Anderson led the way for Richmond with 24 points and tacked on 6 rebounds.

According to 49er head coach Bobby Lutz, Anderson was the difference.

“We had no answer for Anderson tonight, that’s what it came down to. No matter what we did, no matter what adjustments we made, we couldn’t stop him. He was the difference tonight.”

Despite Anderson’s great guard play, it was a poor ball-handling night for both teams, with both squads having more turnovers than assists. In spite of the loss, Charlotte managed one of their best rebounding games of the season, with +14 ratio over Richmond, as well as a +10 ratio on the offensive boards.

With the loss, Charlotte falls to 11-18 overall and 5-10 in the conference. Their loss puts a trip to Atlantic City for the A-10 Conference Tournament in jeopardy. Their final game of the season is at St. Bonaventure on Saturday. Their postseason hopes, as well as St. Bonaventure’s, most likely will be determined by the outcome of the game.

Richmond closes their season out at home against 18th ranked Xavier on Saturday.

February 21, 2009 by Patrick Gill | A10CollegeHoops

RICHMOND, VA — The Richmond Spiders rode Kevin Anderson’s 15 second half points and stifling defense to a  victory over the Charlotte 49ERS on Saturday night at the Robins Center. Following a mediocre first half Richmond (6-6 A-10, 14-13) dominated Charlotte in the second half to continue their recent surge.

For the first twenty minutes of the contest it seemed Charlotte had solved their season long quandary of playing away from home. Despite their 2-10 mark away from the friendly confines of Halton Arena the 49ERS were clicking on all cylinders going into intermission. Their best player Lamont Mack seemed unstoppable, they were 6-11 from beyond the arc, and possessed a four point advantage.

However, in the second half the road demons that have possessed Charlotte all season returned. The Spiders active match-up zone flustered the 49ers from the outset of the period. Following a Charlie Coley dunk that gave Charlotte a 41-38 lead the 49ers would only score two points the next seven minutes.  “They have good size overall in their zone. They do good job of getting to shooters,” Charlotte head man Bobby Lutz said of the Spiders.

During the pivotal stretch the home team used two Anderson steals, a gravity defying block by Cedric Francis Martel and Ryan Butler’s lockdown defense to stake their claim to a 49-43 advantage with 8:14 remaining. Butler had 4 second half blocks but Richmond Head Coach Chris Mooney believed his diving steal with 12:57 remaining was the turning point in the contest. “The play of the game was when Ryan Butler dove on ground at half court and threw it ahead to Kevin Anderson.”

The Spiders would never trail again but needed several big plays by Anderson to repel the resilient 49ERs. With Richmond clinging to a two point lead with 3:34 remaining the sophomore point guard hit a three from the top of the key and then connected on four straight foul shots to put Charlotte out of their misery.

Richmond has responded from a midseason slump by winning 3 of their last 4 games with the only blemish being a close loss at Dayton. Ryan Butler believes the combination of a favorable schedule and a young team hitting their stride bode well for the Spiders as they approach the stretch run. “Hopefully we can win out and get a good seed in the A-10 tournament. We just want to continue to get chances to show teams we can play.”

February 8, 2009 by Jordan Keyser | A10 College Hoops

CHARLOTTE, NC – The University of Dayton may be known as the Flyers, but the Charlotte 49ers were the high-flying team Sunday, coming out on top 79-66.

Although Chris “Top Flight” Wright is known nationally for his dunking ability, it was Charlotte’s Charlie Coley and Rashad Coleman who delivered the pulse-racing highlights. Coley flushed several great alley-oops delivered by Dijuan Harris, while Coleman threw down two dunks off offensive rebounds. Coleman also added punctuation to the victory by slamming a one-handed windmill with 3 seconds left in the game.

Dayton’s Wright, who many consider a potential 1^st round NBA draft pick, was virtually shut-out by Lamont Mack and the Niners stingy defense, scoring only 5 points the entire game. Wright also committed 5 turnovers and eventually fouled out of the game. Mack’s counter-performance of 20 points may have had something to do with who he was going head to head with.

“They were definitely cocky,” said Mack. “Chris Wright is a great player, and I give him respect for that, but I feel I’m a great player too.”

Dijuan Harris netted his 3^rd straight double-double, with 13 points and 12 assists. Regarding his performance, Harris had this to say:

“They did a good job subbing in guards and trying to wear me down throughout the course of the game. I countered that by using my 4-man to help me bring the ball down the court and picking my spots when they gave them to me. I think I did a good job handling the pressure tonight, and I came out with 12 assists and 1 turnover.”

Dijuan Harris salutes the crowd's standing ovation.

The first half was marked by physical defense. The refs seemed to let the players play, and many possible fouls were not called, much to the dismay of the hometown crowd. The crowd became overly boisterous and unruly. This built to a swell, and the team was charged with a technical foul for their performance. Charlotte swung the momentum back their way late in the half by drawing a pair of charges.

Chris Johnson dominated the first half for the Flyers, netting 13 points and 7 boards in just 11 minutes on the floor.

It was an overall impressive team performance for the 49ers, with timely buckets being scored by number of players. From Charlie Coley’s alley-oop dunks, to Coleman’s put-backs to Mack’s timely 3-pointers, everyone contributed for the Niners.

“It was a great team performance. We really feel like this is the Charlotte 49ers that we can be,” said Head Coach Bobby Lutz.

In all, 9 players scored for the 49ers.

Charlotte heads to St. Louis to face Coach Rick Majerus and his Billikens on Wednesday night. Up next for Dayton is a home game against 9^th ranked Xavier, also on Wednesday.

Press Conference with Dijuan Harris, Lamont Mack, Rashad Coleman and Coach Bobby Lutz

Charlie Coley's electrifying dunks were not enough.

February 5, 2009 by Jordan Keyser | A10CollegeHoops

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With their postseason hopes possibly hanging in the balance, The Rhode Island Rams pulled together late and toppled the Charlotte 49ers, 71-64.

The Rams (16-7, 5-3 A-10) came into the game with an RPI ranking of 63: right on the cusp of being a bubble team. Despite trailing early and often, the Rams rallied behind star Jimmy Baron, who scored all of his 19 points in the second half. Despite controlling the tempo for most of the game, Charlotte (7-14, 1-6 A-10) simply could not stop Baron when it mattered the most.

Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron couldn’t agree more.

“Jimmy really did a great job in the 2^nd half of attacking the bucket. He kept moving off screens and really stepped up. I’m really proud.” Coach Baron said of his son’s performance.

49er’s head coach Bobby Lutz sang his praises as well.

“Baron really stepped it up in the 2^nd half. I thought we played him very well defensively, but he hit the big shots. The credit goes to him.”

The 49ers lead by as much as 11 late in the first half, but an 8-0 run by the Rams to close out the half stopped the bleeding.

“After (the 8-0 run) I thought we were in great shape,” said Coach Baron.

The Rams came out of the locker room firing early and silenced the crowd. A rim-rattling, 2-handed tomahawk dunk by Charlotte’s Charlie Coley quickly changed that. Despite adding several other jams that energized the home crowd throughout the second half, the biggest play Coley was involved in was a possible no-call on a dunk attempt with under a minute to go.

“I definitely felt like it was a foul; I definitely felt a push in the back, but that’s how it goes,” said Coley. “(The game) was really physical. A lot of trash talking and scrapping.”

One of Coley’s other electrifying dunks was an alley-oop from Harris that brought the Niners within 1-point, with only 2 minutes left to play. But like all big-time players do, Baron stepped up in crunch time and stole a lazy pass for an easy lay-up, which put the Rams up for good. He added a runner down the lane only seconds later, which proved to be the final dagger.

DiJuan Harris played all 40 minutes and netted his second straight double-double for the 49ers, with 10 points and 10 assists. It was his third double-double of the season.

Coley finished with 13 points and 7 boards in the losing effort, while Lamont Mack contributed 17 points and 7 boards, nearly identically matching his averages for A-10 play (17.8 ppg 7.0 rpg).

Kahiem Seawright’s 14 points and 9 rebounds complimented Baron’s 19 second-half points for the Rams.

URI heads to Philadelphia on Sunday to face Temple and possible A-10 POY candidate Dionte Christmas. Charlotte faces Dayton and Chris “Top Flight” Wright on Sunday at home.

January 28, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – B.J. Raymond scored 23 points, Kenny Frease added 17 points and No. 10 Xavier beat Charlotte 69-47 on Wednesday night for its ninth straight win.

C.J. Anderson had 10 points for Xavier (18-2, 6-0 A-10), which limited the 49ers to just four field goals in the first half. The Musketeers outrebounded Charlotte 48-28.

Xavier improved to 6-0 all-time against Charlotte. The Musketeers have not lost since Dec. 23 when No. 13 Butler beat them 75-64 at Cintas Center.

Charlotte (6-13, 1-5 A-10) was led by senior Charlie Coley who scored 12 points.

It was a rough 24 hours for Charlotte, who had its initial flight into Cincinnati canceled due to Tuesday’s winter storm. The 49ers flew to Dayton late Tuesday, then endured a two-hour bus ride Wednesday on icy roads before arriving at Cintas Center just before their shoot-a-round. Under normal conditions, the drive to Cincinnati would take 45 minutes.

Charlotte missed its first six shots as the Musketeers raced to a 7-0 lead.

The 49ers attempted to rally behind senior Lamont Mack, who scored the 49ers’ first seven points.

Mack, who matched his season high of 23 points in three of the past four games, had three of Charlotte’s four field goals in the first half. He finished with 11 points.

Raymond and Dante Jackson hit consecutive 3-pointers to put Xavier ahead 18-7 with six minutes remaining in the first half.

Five straight points from Frease, including a one-handed dunk off a pass from Terrell Holloway, gave the Musketeers a 26-11 lead.

Xavier’s defense limited Charlotte to just 16.7 percent shooting (4-for-24) and forced eight turnovers in the first half.

Frease, playing his first game since being named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, matched Raymond’s 10 points lifting the Musketeers to a 31-13 halftime lead.

A 3-point play by Frease gave Xavier its largest lead, 34-14 early in the second half.

Raymond’s fourth 3-pointer put the Musketeers ahead 44-23 with 13:08 remaining.

Charlotte forward An’Juan Wilderness, who was listed as questionable Wednesday after missing five of the past six games with a stress fracture in his foot, did not play.

 January 19,  2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Ahmad Nivins had 25 points and 10 rebounds, going 13-for-13 from the free-throw line in the second half, to lead Saint Joseph’s to a 78-69 victory over Charlotte on Sunday.

Tasheed Carr added 17 and Darrin Govens had 11 for the Hawks (9-7, 3-0 Atlantic-10), who won their season-best fourth in a row.

Nivins finished 13-of-15 from the free throw line as Saint Joseph’s hit its final 19 free throw attempts and finished 22-of-26.

Lamont Mack scored 23 points and Charlie Coley added 12 for Charlotte (5-11, 0-3), which dropped its fifth straight. Ian Andersen had 11 and DiJuan Harris contributed a career-high 11 assists.

A three-point play by Nivins gave Saint Josephs a 66-55 lead with 6:17 remaining. The 49ers responded with a 9-2 run — with four points from RaShad Coleman — to close within 68-64. They got within 70-66 on a dunk by Coley with 2:32 left, but the Hawks scored the next eight points to seal the win.

January 14, 2009 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ruben Guillandeaux scored 14 points and LaSalle defeated Charlotte 68-61 on Monday in Atlantic 10 action.

Terrell Williams had 10 points and 11 rebounds for LaSalle (9-6, 1-1), which outrebounded Charlotte 50-25.

Rodney Green and Yves Mekongo Mbala added 11 points each and LaSalle scored 27 second-chance points to Charlotte’s five. It was LaSalle’s first victory against Charlotte in five tries since the 49ers (5-10, 0-2) joined the conference. The Explorers have won four out of their last five.

Lamont Mack had 23 points, Charlie Coley added 11 and Phil Jones chipped in 10 points for the 49ers, who lost their fourth straight.

Charlotte was 4 of 21 from 3-point range, and, despite the descrepency in rebounding, took a 51-50 lead on a 3-pointer from Phil Jones with 6 minutes left.

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.

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.

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.