Charlie Coley (L) and Leemire Goldwire look to carry the Niners in the A-10 Tourney. |
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GAME NOTES: #6 Seed Charlotte vs. #11 Seed Rhode Island
March 11, 2008
Atlantic City, N.J. -
2008 Post-Season Guide in PDF Format 
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
A-10 Tournament
#6 Charlotte 49ers (18-12; 9-7)
vs. #11 Rhode Island (21-10; 7-9)
Wednesday, Mar. 12, 2008; 9:00 p.m.
Boardwalk Hall (9,017); Atlantic City, N.J.
Radio: WFNA, 1660 AM
The Coaches:
Bobby Lutz, Charlotte
Career: 367-215 (19th year)
at Charlotte: 186-124 (10th year)
(49ers all-time winningest coach)
Jim Baron, Rhode Island
Career: 314-307 (21st year)
at URI: 108-105 (7th year)
Series Record: Charlotte leads, 4-2
(H: 2-0; A: 1-2; N: 1-0)
This year: Charlotte won 74-64 at URI
Notes: Leemire Goldwire scored 34 points and Lamont Mack added 19 and the pair hit six three-pointers each as Charlotte scored the road win in the regular-season finale. Charlotte shot 38% from the field while the Rams shot 33%. Charlotte is 1-2 vs. the Rams since the 49ers joined the A-10. Bobby Lutz is 4-2 vs. Rhode Island. The first meeting came in the 1999 NCAA Tournament, with Charlotte winning 81-70 in OT, in Milwaukee, Wisc.
THE GAME: The sixth-seeded Charlotte 49ers (18-12; 9-7) face 11th-seeded Rhode Island (21-10; 7-9), Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. in the A-10 Tourney first round (Radio: WFNA, 1660 AM - Matt Swierad; Live Audio: Charlotte49ers.com). Charlotte defeated Rhode Island, 74-64, in Saturday's regular-season finale at URI. Charlotte finished tied for 4th-place in the Atlantic 10 after being picked 10th in the league's preseason poll. Charlotte has won three in a row and four of its last five games. After battling through several close games throughout the season, three of the 49ers last four wins have been by double figures.
Goldwire; Wilderness Cop A-10 Honors: Senior Leemire Goldwire, who matched a school-record with six 30-point games, including four against A-10 foes, was named third team all-Atlantic 10. Freshman An'Juan Wilderness was named to the A-10 all-Rookie team.
Quick Recap: Charlotte, with the nation's 13th-ranked recruiting class, has looked to newcomers to jump into a tie for 4th-place in the A-10, surpass last year's win total, post a 2-1 record vs. teams currently in the Top 25 and compile a 7-6 record vs. Top 100 RPI teams. Only scoring leader Leemire Goldwire (18.8 ppg) and sixth-man Ian Andersen averaged more than 6.0 minutes for the 49ers, last year. Juniors Lamont Mack, and Charlie Coley, sophomores Dijuan Harris, Michael Gerrity and Phil Jones and freshmen An'Juan Wilderness, Charles Dewhurst and Gaby Ngoundjo are all playing in their first season for the 49ers.
MACK ATTACK: Junior Lamont Mack is averaging 19.4 points over the last seven games. He's scored over 15 points in each of the seven, led the 49ers in scoring in five of the seven and posted a pair of 20+ outings, including a career-best 27 at Richmond. In those seven, Mack is shooting .489 from the field (45-92) and .500 from three-point range (22-44). Mack has scored in double figures in 16 of the last 18 and is averaging 15.8 points in A-10 play.
LUTZ BECOMES ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH: With 186 wins as the 49ers head coach, Bobby Lutz has passed Jeff Mullins as the 49ers all-time winningest coach. Jeff Mullins, a former Duke all-America who won a gold medal on the 1964 US Olympic team before a stellar NBA career (1976 World Championship, Golden State Warriors), posted a 182-142 record in 11 years (1986-96). Lutz owns a 186-124 record in 10 years. Record-breaking win #183 came in a 81-64 home decision against Saint Louis, Feb 23.
CLOSE CALLS: 21 of Charlotte's 30 games have been decided by seven points or less (11-10); 11 by 4 points or less (5-6). Charlotte has only lost two games by double figures and only trailed by double figures in five games. Ten losses are by seven points or less. Charlotte has won seven games by double figures, including Southern Illinois (+15), at #18/#19 Clemson (+10) and Saint Louis (+17, 49ers highest margin in A-10 play). Charlotte has given up two runs of more than 10 straight points, this season.
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT NOTES:
SUCCESS: Charlotte has lost its first conference tournament game in each of the last three years. The 49ers last conference tournament win came in 2003-04 (Conference USA) vs. Tulane in the first round (W, 78-48).
FAMILIAR OPPONENT: The last two times Charlotte has faced its first round opponent in the regular-season final, it has won: Year Opponent R-S Finale 1st Rd. 2004: Tulane W, 79-65 W, 78-48 2000: UAB W, 61-37 W, 76-73
MARCH MADNESS: The 49ers are 3-0 this March. Over the previous three years, Charlotte owns a record of 3-9 in March.
STREAKING:
Charlotte has matched its longest win streak of the last two seasons with wins in its last three games. This is the third three-game win streak of the year for Charlotte. They won three in a row, twice in 2006-07. The 49ers enjoyed a 5-game win streak in 2005-06.
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