Dewhurst named to U.S. Maccabiah team

Charlotte 49ers sophomore Charles Dewhurst, who starred at Charlotte Latin, has earned a spot on the U.S. open men's basketball team that will compete at the 18th World Maccabiah Games, July 12-23, in Israel.

More than 9,000 of the world's best Jewish athletes from 54 countries will compete at the Games. Dewhurst is one of eight NCAA student-athletes who have made the U.S. Maccabi Team, which will be coached by Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl.

The other players named to the team include: New Hampshire center Dane DiLiegro, Arizona State guard Derek Glasser, Saint Mary's (Calif.) guard Todd Golden, Brown guard Steve Gruber, Tennessee forward Steven Pearl, Penn guard Zack Rosen and Duke guard Jon Scheyer.

49ers-Tulsa tip-off time changed to 4 p.m.

The Charlotte 49ers have moved the game time of their Jan. 10 men's basketball home contest against Tulsa to 4 p.m.

It was originally scheduled for 7 p.m.

The 49ers opted to change the game time following the announcement of the NFL playoff schedule. The Carolina Panthers will host a playoff game that evening in Charlotte.

News mixed for Coley, Wilderness

The Charlotte 49ers’ men’s basketball team got some good medical news and some bad Sunday.
Senior forward Charlie Coley still sports a distinctive cut over his left eye but will be ready for Tuesday night’s home game against Long Island.
Coley took an elbow above his eye with less than seven minutes left in Charlotte’s 100-80 win against Youngstown State on Dec. 21. He did not return to the game but finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Coley, who was in attendance for Charlotte’s women’s game Sunday against No. 12 Notre Dame, said he needed eight stitches to close the cut and his eye was swollen shut for a day or so.
Also Sunday, the team announced sophomore forward An’Juan Wilderness has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot and could miss two weeks of action.
Wilderness has started all 10 games and is tied for third on the team with a 10.4 scoring average. He has scored in double figures five times, including three of the past four games.
Wilderness is expected to miss Charlotte’s games with Long Island on Tuesday, Saturday at Maryland and Jan. 7 at Duquesne. He hopes to return to action for the Jan. 10 home game against Tulsa.

Tickets on sale for A-10 women's tournament

Tickets are now on sale for the 2009 Atlantic 10 women's basketball tournament, which will be played March 6-9 at the Charlotte 49ers' Halton Arena.

The tournament will feature the league's top 12 teams, and the winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. First-round action starts on March 6, followed by the quarterfinal round on March 7. Both days feature two sessions each starting at noon for the early session and 5:30 p.m. for the afternoon session. The semifinal games will be played on March 8 starting at noon. The final is on March 9 at 5 p.m.

Ticket packages are on sale by calling (704) 687-4949 for $40 for the four-day, six-session event. Students, children and senior citizens can get their packages for $20.

Single-session tickets will be sold for $10 for adults and $5 for children per session.

Lyerly 2nd-team AA in Collegiate Baseball

Charlotte 49ers junior Rob Lyerly was selected to the preseason Louisville Slugger Collegiate Baseball second-team All-America squad, the publication announced.

Lyerly has also been named to the Wallace Watch List - which includes players that could vie for the nation's top collegiate baseball player honor in conjunction with the College Baseball Hall of Fame ceremonies in Texas.

Last season, Lyerly led the 49ers with 26 doubles and 76 RBI while batting .364 and slugging .705. A former standout at Piedmont High in Union County, Lyerly transferred to Charlotte after one season at Campbell.

Lyerly, a junior this season, set or tied four school records last season with a 6-for-6, three home run, 19 total bases performance in an April 19 game at Massachusetts.

Upcoming Niners basketball promotions

Some upcoming promotions at Charlotte 49ers basketball games:

-- Sunday is Youth Day, with free admission to Charlotte's game with Youngstown State for kids 17-and-under if they accompanied by a paying adult.

-- At Sunday's game, the Dec. 30 men's game against Long Island and the Dec. 28 women's game against Notre Dame, the Community Blood Center of the Carolinas will be on site collecting blood donations. Fans interested in donating blood at one of those games will receive a voucher for free admission to the game at which they donate.

Niners sign seven for baseball

The Charlotte 49ers baseball team, which has won the past two Atlantic 10 Conference tournament titles, has signed seven players - five from the Charlotte area - to nation letters of intent during the early signing period.

Those who committed include:

Infielder Shane Basen, a baseball and basketball standout at Marvin Ridge High in Union County, who played in the World Wood Bat Assocation National Championships this year.

Infielder Jim Lyerly of Piedmont High, the younger brother of current 49ers star Rob Lyerly. Jim Lyerly is listed as a Top 50 player in North Carolina by Impact Baseball.

Right-handed pitcher Sean Pope of North Mecklenburg High. Pope is listed as a Top 30 player in N.C. by Impact Baseball and played in the N.C. State Games.

Right-handed pitcher Cory Roberts of Olympic High, who is ranked a Top 45 player in NC by Impact Baseball and a nationally-ranked player by PGCrosschecker. He was also the Queen City Conference's player of the year last season.

Right-handed pitcher Corbin Shive of East Rowan High, who is listed as a Top 25 player in N.C. by Impact Baseball and nationally ranked by PGCrosschecker. Shive, along with Roberts, played for the South Charlotte Panthers last summer. Shive was part of an East Rowan team that advanced to the state championship series last season.

Second baseman Michael Green of Richmond, Va. He was all-region in baseball last season and football this season and played summer ball for former Richmond Spiders coach Ron Atkins.

Outfielder Zachary Semenza will transfer in from Colby Community College in Kansas, who hit .333 and stole eight bases last season as a freshman. Semenza is a native of Great Falls, Mont.

"It's a credit to our assistant coaches, our former players and our current players that we can return, year after year, to the same areas and recruit quality student athletes," said 49ers coach Loren Hibbs. "That community has played a major role in our program's success over the past 17 years."