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 31, 2009 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ian Andersen scored 19 and LaMont Mack added 18 to lead Charlotte to a 70-53 victory against Winthrop on Saturday night.

DiJuan Harris added 14 points and 10 assists for Charlotte (7-13), which had lost seven of eight coming into the game.

Charlotte took control with a 30-10 first-half run, and shot 65 percent in the second half to seal the win.

The 49ers had lost two straight Atlantic 10 road games by 20 points or more before tonight’s home contest.

Andre Jones and Charles Corbin scored 13 apiece for Winthrop, which connected on its first five 3-point attempts, then closed the first half by missing seven of eight from long range.

The Eagles (6-14), who opened the season 1-11, had won four of five before the loss. Reggie Middleton added 10 for Winthrop.

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 24, 2009 by John Lamb | A10CollegeHoops

PHILADELPHIA – For the second game in a row the Temple Owls showed that they do not need their senior All-America candidate to be on top of his game for them to win.

The Owls (11-7, 3-1 A10) cruised to an 80-53 victory over the visiting Charlotte 49ers (6-12, 1-4) on Saturday night thanks to 19 points from senior guard Semaj Inge. He tied a career high that was set earlier this season at Penn State.

Inge was efficient from the floor as he shot 8-for-12. He also hit a career-high three three-pointers. The guard credited freshman Juan Fernandez for his success.

“The first Juan came over and played with us I just thought he was an outstanding passer so I just knew if I found those spots that I could get myself the ball I knew he would get it to me,” said Inge, who came into the night averaging just 6.5 points per game.

Dionte Christmas, who scored only eight points before being pulled from Temple’s 65-40 victory over the Saint Louis Billikens due to a cut over his eye, was not his normal self. He scored 12 points but missed five of his seven three-pointers and eight shots overall.

Still, it was evident from the outset that the 49ers were focusing their defensive efforts towards Christmas and Ryan Brooks. This allowed Inge to step up and deliver a big-time effort for the Owls.

“It looked like they were trying to hedge their defense towards Dionte and Ryan Brooks and it left Semaj open and he certainly knocked it out,” said Fran Dunphy, who guided the Owls to the 1,700th win in the program’s history.

Sophomore forward Lavoy Allen had another complete game for the Cherry and White. He put together the fifth double-double of the season – and the sixth of his young career – with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Allen also tied a career high with four blocks.

Fernandez once again drew oohs and aahs from the 5,700 in attendance. He dished out four assists but also committed three turnovers. To his defense, two of them were passes that should have been pulled in by his teammates. Dunphy, however, would like Fernandez to make plays without trying to impress everybody.

“I’d like him to get rid of the ’style point’ idea,” said Dunphy. “As coach Chaney and I have discussed, Pepe [Sanchez] did the same thing when he first got in there and Coach Chaney said he had to cure him of it so I’ll try my best to cure Juan of it. The spectacular will come when your as solid as you can possibly be.”

Brooks added 11 points and six rebounds. Senior co-captain Sergio Olmos played his best game since the Owls upset of Tennessee in December. He scored six points and picked up an assist in just 13 minutes on the floor.

The 49ers looked unmotivated from the start, which was surprising considering they came into the game on a high note after an impressive 69-64 overtime victory against the University of Massachusetts Minutemen on Wednesday night. Their only lead of the night came when DiJuan Harris hit a free throw to make it 1-0 with 17:50 left in the first half.

The Owls outscored Charlotte 43-16 from that point on to take a 26 point lead into the locker room at the half. Dunphy was impressed with the way his defense played the first 20 minutes of the game.

“We talk about that a lot as a group how we have to hang out hat on our defensive play because some nights you are going to come out and knock it out like we did on Thursday and we weren’t shooting it very well tonight,” said Dunphy. “I thought we had some decent looks but the ball didn’t go down. I was pleased about how we guarded, especially in the first half.”

Lamont Mack had an off night for Charlotte as he scored 12 points on just 3-of-15 shooting. He did pull down a team-high nine rebounds. Phil Jones led the 49ers in scoring with 14 points, one point under the career high mark he set against Tulsa earlier this season.

This game had some extra meaning for the Owls as the legendary John Chaney, who collected 516 wins and 17 NCAA appearances in his 24 years patrolling the sidelines on North Broad Street, was inducted into the Temple Hall of Fame in a ceremony before the game.

His successor on the sidelines had nothing book good things to say about Chaney after the game.

“He has an aura about the city of Philadelphia,” said Dunphy. “I went over the the receptions earlier today and listened to other people talk about him whether it was Governor Rendell or Peter Liacouras. He is revered around here and should be. For him to be inducted into the Temple Hall of Fame – it probably would’ve come long before this if he would’ve accepted it but knowing him he probably didn’t want to hear about it. He is a great man and as I have said to a couple of different people he has done so much for so many that you are never going to hear about and I think that is the quality of his person.

Both teams will be back in action on Wednesday as Charlotte will travel to Cincinnati to take on Xavier and the Owls will head north play the University of Rhode Island.

POSTGAME AUDIO: (right click and save as… if you have trouble opening files)
Ryan Brooks and Semaj Inge Post Game Audio
Fran Dunphy Post Game Press Conference

John Lamb can be reached at johnlamb@a10collegehoops.com

January 21, 2009 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Lamont Mack scored 23 points and Charlotte won its first Atlantic 10 Conference game of the season in a 69-64 overtime win against Massachusetts on Wednesday night.

Ian Andersen scored 13 for Charlotte (6-11, 1-3), including a 3-pointer that tied the game with 33.3 seconds left in regulation. He also hit four foul shots in overtime.

Ricky Harris scored 19 and Luke Bonner had 15 for Massachusetts, which saw its eight-point lead disappear in the final 5:30 of regulation. Anthony Gurley scored 10 for Massachusetts (7-10, 2-2).

Massachusetts regained control with a 18-0 run midway through the second half, taking the lead on David Gibbs’ drive at 43-42. Charlotte’s skid at the end of the second half began with a foul on Mack after a missed dunk by Tony Gaffney and a technical foul on coach Bobby Lutz.

 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 10, 2009 | AP Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Justin Hurtt hit a career-high five 3-pointers and scored 15 points to lead Tulsa to a 65-50 victory over Charlotte on Saturday.

Jerome Jordan added 16 points and Ben Uzoh had 11 for Tulsa (11-5), which shot 42.1 percent from the field (24 of 57 ) to win its third straight.

Phil Jones scored 15 points and Lamont Mack added 10 for the 49ers (5-9), who shot just 25.9 percent from the field and trailed by as many as 19 points in losing their third consecutive game.

Tulsa was called for 28 fouls and five players finished with four fouls. However, Charlotte was only 20 of 38 from the free-throw line.

The 49ers cut a 13-point halftime margin to 41-31 on Mack’s two free throws with 15:12 left.

But the Golden Hurricane responded with an seven-point run, capped by Uzoh’s steal and dunk, to push their lead to 48-31 with 12:30 remaining.

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.