Charlotte at Richmond

Wednesday, Jan. 5; 7:00 p.m.; Richmond, Va.

(RADIO: WBCN, 1660 AM- Matt Swierad)

CHARLOTTE vs. Richmond

Charlotte 49ers (8-6) at Richmond Spiders (11-4)

Series: Charlotte trails, 6-7 (H: 3-3; A: 2-4; N: 1-0)

Last Meetings/Last Year:

W, 71-59 at Richmond, Jan. 20, 2010

L, 89-84 (ot) at Halton Arena, Mar. 6, 2010

Series Notes: Richmond has won 5 of the last 6 meetings and owns a 6-4 series lead since the 49ers joined the A-10. The two split games last year, with Charlotte winning at Richmond, thanks in part to Javarris Barnett's first career double-double (10 pts; 11 rebs). Charlotte shot a season-best .533 from 3-pt. range. Richmond rebounded with an OT win in Charlotte as Kevin Anderson (24 pts) drained a three with 5.3 seconds left to force OT.

Richmond Notes: Won 5 of their last 7 but dropped a 62-61 home decision on a buzzer-beater to Bucknell, Sunday. The Spiders are 6-1 at home and are led by Kevin Anderson (16.3 ppg) and Justin Harper (15.6 ppg). Richmond beat Wright state (71-61) but lost to Georgia Tech (67-54).

49ers Open A-10 Play At Richmond

The Charlotte 49ers (8-6; 0-0), who have won four straight games in come-from-behind fashion, open Atlantic 10 Conference play, Wednesday at Richmond (11-4) at 7:00 p.m. Charlotte was picked to finish 7th in A-10 play while Richmond was picked 3rd.

ROAD SWING:

This is the third game of a four-game road swing in the midst of a string of six of eight games on the road. Charlotte won the first two road games and is 3-5 away from home.

WIN STREAK:

Charlotte has won its last four games, by a combined nine points, all in come-from-behind fashion. The 49ers trailed at the half and with 5:00 remaining in each of the four wins and hit game-winners vs. #7/#7 Tennessee (00:07.4) and Wright State (00:16) in the the final 20 seconds. Charlotte has won six of its last eight games and is 4-2 in games decided by less than five points.

COMEBACK KIDS:

Charlotte has outscored its last 4 opponents 31-11 over the final 3:15 of regulation. (Derrio Green 16 points; 3 assists, Javarris Barnett 6 points, Phil Jones 4 points)

Dec. 17: W, 49-48 vs. #7/#7 Tennessee - Scored the final seven points, including the game-winning bucket on a wide-open layup by Phil Jones (Derrio Green assist) with 7.4 seconds left.

Dec. 22: W, 57-53 vs. Wright State - Scored the final eight points, including a game-winning Derrio Green three-pointer with 16 seconds left to shock Wright State, 57-53, who had led by 14 with 12:36 left to play. Green scored seven of the game's/49ers' final eight points.

Dec. 30: W, 64-63 at Mercer - Trailed by 6 with 6:36 to play. Took the lead on a steal and breakaway layup by Derrio Green with 2:50 to play, before getting a key three from Javarris Barnett (Green assist) to protect a one-point lead with 24 seconds left.

Jan. 2: W, 86-83 at Georgia Tech (2 OT) - Trailed by 8 with 8:28 left and by six with 4:48 to play but pulled even as 49ers outscored Tech 7-2 in final 3:12 (Green scores all 7 for 49ers). Two Green free throws at 1:07 force OT. In first OT, overcame 4-point deficit to tie on Chris Braswell layup with 13 seconds left. In 2nd OT, went up by 9, on a Green three-pointer and Phil Jones conventional three-point play and iced win with two Jones free throws with 13 seconds left.

DEFENSE: Charlotte has held seven of its last eight opponents to 66 points or less in regulation. The 49ers have won six of their last eight games and in five of those wins Charlotte has held its opponents under 40% shooting. Charlotte is 6-0 when opponents shoot under 40% and 6-1 when opponents score less than 65 points.

LITTLE WINs:

The 49ers have won the last four games by a total of nine points and are 4-2 in games decided by less than 5 points.

TRENDS: 49ers are 7-1 when they shoot over 40% and 1-5 when they shot under; 6-1 when they allow less than 65 points; 2-6 when the opponent shoots 40% or better; 6-0 when the opponent shoots under 40%; 4-3 when trailing at half (4 wins in last 4 games)

FOUR STRAIGHT COMEBACKs:

W, 49-48 vs. #7/#7 Tennessee: Charlotte scored the final seven points to post the one-point victory. Trailing by six, Javarris Barnett hit a three-pointer to cut the lead in half. After a pair of UT turnovers, Deuce Briscoe (14 pts.) hit two free throws for a one-point game, 48-47, at 00:28. The Vols missed the front end of a one-and-one to set up the final play. Derrio Green (13 pts.) brought the ball up and drove and dished to Phil Jones who converted the wide open layup for the game-winner with 7.4 left.

W, 57-53 vs. Wright State: Derrio Green scored seven straight points and Charlotte scored the final eight points to complete a comeback from 14 points down with 12:36 to play. Trailing by 4 with under two minutes to play, Green hit two free throws to cut the lead in half at 1:58. His long jumper tied it at 1:08 and his three-pointer won it with 16 seconds left to play.

W, 64-63 at Mercer: Trailing at the half and with 5:00 left, the 49ers were down by 6 when Derrio Green hit a three-pointer with 5:55 to play. His steal and breakaway layup gave Charlotte a one-point lead with 2:50 left and Javarris Barnett's three-pointer with 22 seconds left protected that one-point lead. Charlotte scored seven straight points to take a 4-point lead with 22 seconds left.

W, 86-83 at Georgia Tech (2 OT) - Charlotte trailied by 14 in the first half, by 8 with 8:28 left and still by six with 4:48 to play but pulled even as 49ers outscored Tech 7-2 in final 3:12 Derrio Green scored all seven of those points for the 49ers, including two free throws at 1:07 force OT. In the first OT, the 49ers overcame a 4-point deficit to tie on a Chris Braswell layup with 13 seconds left. In the 2nd OT, Charlotte went up by 9, on a Green three-pointer and Phil Jones conventional three-point play and iced the win with two Jones free throws with 13 seconds left.

TENNESSEE RECAP: Phil Jones converted an open layup with 7.4 seconds left to give Charlotte a 49-48 victory over #7/#7 Tennessee, Friday at Time Warner Cable Arena. Charlotte scored the final seven points to post the victory. Trailing by six, Javarris Barnett hit a three-pointer to cut the lead in half. After a pair of UT turnovers, Deuce Briscoe (14 pts.) hit two free throws for a one-point game, 48-47, at 00:28. The Vols missed the front end of a one-and-one to set up the final play. Derrio Green (13 pts.) brought the ball up and drove and dished to Jones wide open underneath for the game-winner.

MORE ON THE TOP 10 WIN: The 49ers win over #7/#7 Tennessee gave the unranked 49ers a top 20 win in each of the last four seasons and a 5-6 record overall against ranked foes over those four years. Charlotte has won its last two home games vs. a ranked opponent and its last two home games against a top 10 opponent. It was the 49ers first top 10 win since 2003-04, when they posted three top 10 wins. It is the highest-ranked opponent Charlotte has beaten since topping #3/#3 Cincinnati, 62-60, at home, Jan. 14, 1999.

Charlotte did post a 96-92 victory at #7/#7 Syracuse, Nov. 26, 2003.

MORE ON THE TOP 10 WIN: Charlotte defeated #7/#7 Tennessee, while shooting 30% from the floor and scoring a season-low 49 points. In fact the 49ers set season-lows for points, FG% (.302) and FG made (16). The 49 points matches the fewest points the 49ers have scored in a win in school history. Tennessee shot .349, the first time this season they were held under 40% shooting. They hit a season-low 2 three-pointers and 2 free throws (2-of-7). Their previous season-low for free throws attempted was 28. Charlotte matched its season-low with 13 FTA, making 12.

Top 5 A-10 Ranks: 49ers rank 1st (34th, NCAA) in FT% (.742); 1st (31st, NCAA) in 3FG% Defense (.293); 4th in 3FGM.gm (7.0). Derrio Green T2nd in FT% (.842); Jamar Briscoe 2nd in Steals (1.9); Phil Jones 5th in blocks (2.1)

HOME SWEET HOME: Charlotte has won five straight at home, including the 49-48 win over #7/#7 Tennessee at Time Warner Cable Arena. Charlotte is 5-1 overall at home; 4-1 at Halton Arena. Charlotte has also won its last two home games against ranked opponents.

ROSTER NUMBERS: With the return of sophomore KJ Sherrill, who came back to game action Dec. 17, the 49ers active roster is up to 10 players, with eight scholarship players. Grad student Charles Dewhurst, who had surgery on a medial meniscus tear, is now out with a broken finger (4 weeks as of Dec. 10). Senior Shamari Spears was dismissed from the team Dec. 14 after missing four games during an indefinite suspension. Freshman point guard Luka Voncina is ineligible per the NCAA, pending the possible review of additional documentation. Georgia transfer DeMario Mayfield is sitting out the 2010-11 season as a transfer from Georgia. Dewhurst, who hoped to make his season debut Dec. 7 vs. Winthrop and broke his finger in practice Dec. 6, will give the 49ers nine scholarship players upon his return following surgey (Dec. 10).

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: Head coach Alan Major has preached the importance of every possession, in terms of both limiting turnovers and grabbing rebounds. The 49ers, who have had 15 or fewer turnovers in the last six of the last eight games (season-high 22 vs. Mercer), are 5-2 when they have less than 15 turnovers and 6-2 when they win the battle of the boards.

ALL ON BOARDS: Charlotte ranks 5th in the A-10 with 26.2 defensive rebounds -- thanks to a team effort on the glass. Six 49ers are averaging at least 4.0 rebounds per game, led by Chris Braswell (6.6) and Phil Jones (5.8). Reserve forward Javarris Barnett (5.3), senior wing An'Juan Wilderness (4.8), shooting guard Derrio Green (4.3) and point guard Jamar Briscoe (4.1) all pull at least 4.0 boards.

CHARITY STRIPE: Charlotte leads the A-10 with a .742 free throw pct. after leading the league with a .733 FT%, last year. The 49ers average 17.6 FTM; 23.8 FTA per game and both Derrio Green (.842; 5th) and Deuce Briscoe (.810; 6th) and are shooting over 80% from the line and rank in the A-10's top 10. Green, who had a streak of 13 straight FT's earlier in the season, has hit 21 in a row, including 8-of-8 in double OT win at Georgia Tech.

ACTIVE AT THE LINE: Charlotte averages 23.8 FTA/game, led by Braswell (5.7) and Briscoe (4.5). The 49ers are averaging 17.6 FT made per game. Last year, Charlotte averaged 18.2 FT made while setting a school record with 563 free throws made, last year.

BUSY BACKCOURT: Guards Derrio Green (37.0, 6th) and Jamar Briscoe (35.1, 10th) rank in A-10's top 10 in minutes played. Both average double-digit scoring, shoot 80% from the line, pull over 3.5 rebounds and rank 1-2 on the team in assists and steals.

DEWHURST'S BAD BREAK: G Charles Dewhurst, who returned to practice following a medial meniscus tear/surgery, broke his left index finger in practice, Dec. 6, the day before his expectded season debut. He had surgery Dec. 10. (out 4 weeks).

MR. JONES: Senior center Phil Jones posted his first double-double of the year (2nd of career) with a 14 point; 10-rebound performance at East Carolina. He has scored in double figures in five of the last eight games, including a key 15-point performance at Georgia Tech, where he scored five points in the decisive 2nd overtime period, including two icing free throws with 13 seconds left. Jones is shooting .554 from the field, including 63% (32-of-51) over the last six games. He was a perfect 7-of-7 in matching a career-high 16 points vs. Radford, hit the game-winning bucket in the 49-48 win over #7/#7 Tennessee and scored 5 points in the 2nd OT vs. Georgia Tech.

ALL-TIME BLOCKS: Phil Jones, who tied a Charleston Classic record with 6 blocks vs. George Mason, ranks third all-time with 157 career blocks. He is 20 shy of #2 Jermain Parker (177) and 37 shy of all-time leader Ray Gromlowicz (194). Jones has blocked at least one shot in all but two games; at least two shots 9 times. He is 5th in A-10 at 2.1.

DERRIO's DISH - PICTURE PERFECT: Junior Derrio Green averages a team-best 4.1 assists per game (xxth in A-10), including a career-high 9 at Oregon State and at Georgia Tech. He has had five or more dishes in four games. He had just one assist in the win vs. #7/#7 Tennessee, but it came on the game-winning basket as Green drove towards the lane, pulled two defenders and dished to a wide-open Phil Jones for the winning bucket. He hit Javarris Barnett in the corner for an icing three-pointer with 24 seconds left in the comeback at Mercer and found Jones underneath again for a key three-point play in the second OT at Georgia Tech. Earlier in the year, head coach Alan Major kidded with Green that he might want to frame the Charleston Classic box score vs. East Carolina. Green scored 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, dished out a then-career-high 8 assists, had five rebounds, added a steal (and consequent breakaway dunk) and had just two turnovers. "Tonight, he wasn't a shooter. He was a guard," Major said.