49ers nearly throw it away

It took a big play to help Charlotte stay in position to secure its 60-58 come-from-behind win against Temple on Saturday. A botched play nearly gave the Owls an opportunity to tie or steal the win.

With the clock winding down in the game and Temple down two, guard Luis Guzman drove the sideline looking to score but Charlotte forward Lamont Mack was firmly entrenched in position and Guzman was called for the charge. Charlotte got the ball with 1.1 seconds left and a two-point lead. Game over? Not quite.

After a timeout, Mack took the ball out of bounds on the baseline and attempted a half-court pass to Phil Jones, who was closely guarded by Temple. Jones couldn’t get his hand on the ball and neither could his defender, so the ball hit the floor and rolled out of bounds.

Since the ball wasn’t touched by any player, Temple got possession under its own basket, still with 1.1 seconds left. Luckily for Charlotte, the Owls couldn’t get a shut off with the second chance.

"We were trying to get a guy to touch the ball so the clock would run out. I tried to get it to Phil Jones and obviously it went over his head," Mack said.
Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said he took full responsibility for the play.

"We wanted to look for DiJuan (Harris) and Lee (Goldwire) first if they were open. If not, we would throw it the length of the court," Lutz said. "I’ll take full blame. I’m the one who called that and it didn’t work out.

"They made a slip and we attacked it very well in that last one second and kept the ball on the floor."

Notes, one day after Charlotte's upset ...

OUCH: Charlotte’s first practice following its 82-72 upset of No. 18 Clemson was marred with an injury to shooting guard Ian Andersen, who rolled his right ankle at the start of practice. He spent the rest of the afternoon with his ankle in ice packs and was headed for precautionary X-rays late Thursday. The extent of his injury remains unclear.

BIG JUMP: Charlotte’s win at Clemson had a large and immediate impact on the team’s RPI (Rating Percentage Index), which is used by the NCAA in making at-large selections to the NCAA tournament. By Thursday morning, Charlotte had moved to No. 114 according to collegerpi.com – a jump of more than 50 spots from the day before.
In addition, Charlotte’s strength of schedule, which had spent most of the early season ranked 200 or higher among the 341 Division I schools has jumped. As of Thursday, the 49ers were credited with the 122nd-strongest schedule.

ALSO CONTRIBUTING: Overlooked in Charlotte’s win, which came with the assistance of several strong individual contributions, was the play of junior forward Lamont Mack, who finished with 15 points (on 6-of-11 shooting), five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Mack was key in Charlotte’s ability to pass around and over Clemson’s pressure defense throughout the game and was effective attacking the basket.

Jones came through against Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. -- "It's been a while."
Those were first words from Charlotte center Phil Jones after the 49ers' 82-72 upset victory over No. 18 Clemson on Wednesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Since the season started, Jones, a 6-foot-10 sophomore center, has struggled to find his place with this new group of 49ers. He has shown moments of great potential and started several games early in the season but has struggled to find a consistent rhythm.

He lost playing time to freshman Gaby Ngoundjo, who has proved to be an effective defensive force under the basket. But always, Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz and Jones' teammates have encouraged him to continue to work hard, promising his effort would pay dividends.

It certainly did Wednesday. The first two times Jones touched the ball, he hit a dunk from a nice pass from Michael Gerrity, then scored off a rebound with a sweeping hook shot.

He played 17 minutes - the most since a Dec. 15 loss at Hofstra - and finished with eight points, three rebounds and two blocks.

"I have been a little nervous playing in the games and in turn I wasn't playing hard. Coach talked to me before the game tonight and told me to go out and have fun and play hard. That's what I did today," Jones said.

"From the tip, we set the tone right away. The last couple of games, we've allowed the visiting team to set the tone and we had to fight back. This game, we came out and hit them in the mouth."

Jones and his teammates hope Wednesday's game provides the same kind of confidence boost as freshman Charles Dewhurst has recently seen in his game.

"Phil ran the floor real well tonight. Played well on defense. I think that really helped his confidence," said guard DiJuan Harris. "Heading into the Atlantic 10 (conference play), we're really going to need him."

49ers hoops news and notes

A roundup of Charlotte 49ers and Atlantic 10 news following practice on Monday:

INJURY UPDATE: Junior forward Charlie Coley did not practice on Monday but did spend some time working on a stationary bike. Coley, who suffered a left ankle sprain in Saturday's loss to Maryland, said he believes he will be able to play in Wednesday's game at Clemson. "I'll be good to go," he said. Charlotte head trainer Carlton Anderson was not as optimistic, and said Coley was "questionable" for Wednesday.

TAKE ON CLEMSON GAME: There has been much speculation about what the best result would be for Charlotte out of Sunday night's Clemson-North Carolina game since the 49ers will meet the Tigers Wednesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Here is Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz's take: "I know this, they are a heck of team. It goes both ways. If they had won, maybe they overlook us. If they lost, obviously they would be focused on winning their next game. You can argue it many ways. I think some of it is overrated unless a team comes out of it with injuries or something or maybe playing the next game two days later instead of three. I don't think it will have an impact on the game."

FUTURE 49ERS: Interested in getting a look at some Charlotte 49er recruiting prospects? Friday night's high school basketball game between Vance and host North Mecklenburg offers the chance to see four potential Charlotte recruits -- North Mecklenburg forward Andre Marhold and Vance guards Jacoby Davis, Marquis Rankin and Daryl Traynham.

NEW FLOOR: Charlotte recently completed a refurbishing of its practice court floor in the Charles Hayward Gym. In addition, the new 3-point lines were installed, based on the NCAA's recent decision to move the line back a foot beginning with the 2008-09 season.

A-10 HONORS: For the first time since 2003, three A-10 teams are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Released on Monday, Dayton (12-1) is at No. 17 after climbing three spots, while Rhode Island moved up one place to No. 22 after completing the most successful non-conference regular season (14-1) in program history. Xavier (12-3) returns to the rankings at No. 24 after posting wins over Kansas State, Virginia and Auburn. Massachusetts (11-3) is also receiving votes.

Charlotte's bench runs deep

Charlotte might be unpredictable at times with a team filled with eight newcomers, but one thing the 49ers have had plenty of this season is help.

It was evident again in Saturday's 76-72 loss to Maryland at Bobcats Arena.

Charlotte's bench outscored the Terrapins 25-8 with freshman Charles Dewhurst and sophomore DiJuan Harris scoring seven apiece, freshman Gaby Ngoundjo adding six and sophomore Ian Andersen netting five.

So far this season, Charlotte's bench has averaged 20.6 points per game and outscored opponents' benches 258-182. Eight different players scored against Maryland -- the 10th game this year that at least eight players have hit the scoring column.

And it's not just on offense the help arrives.

Ngoundjo matched a Charlotte freshman record with six blocks against Fairleigh Dickinson while Dewhurst provided a similar lift on defense in Saturday's game with his hustle.

-- Jim Utter

49ers-Terps Video

Some game action and photos from Saturday's game at Bobcats Arena. Maryland won, 76-72. Video, photos by Alisha Hord.

Updating Atlantic 10's RPI

The Atlantic 10 is ranked eighth out of 31 conferences through games of Jan. 2 by www.collegerpi.com. The A-10 is the only league to have four teams ranked in the top 21 overall as Dayton comes in at No. 10, followed by Rhode Island (14th), Massachusetts (17th) and Xavier (21st).

The rest of the A-10:
Temple, 56th
Duquesne, 57th
Saint Joseph’s, 61st
Saint Louis, 103rd
Charlotte, 155th
Richmond, 188th
Fordham, 196th
George Washington, 223rd
La Salle, 254th
St. Bonaventure, 264th