Leemire Goldwire's three-pointer gave Charlotte a 76-75 lead in its come-from-behind win over La Salle. |
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Goldwire, Charlotte Overcome La Salle, 87-80
Jan. 31, 2007
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Leemire Goldwire scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half as Charlotte overcame a 14-point deficit for an 87-80 victory over La Salle on Wednesday night.
E.J. Drayton had a career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds, De'Angelo Alexander added 17 points and Carlos Williams 11 for the 49ers (9-11, 3-5 Atlantic 10).
Charlotte trailed the Explorers 65-51 with 9:02 remaining but broke loose on a 25-10 run over the next seven minutes. Goldwire nailed a 3-pointer with 2:09 left to put the 49ers ahead 76-75, their first lead since the opening minutes of the first half.
Goldwire then hit a 25-foot 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining to push Charlotte's lead to 79-75, and the 49ers closed out the game by hitting 8-of-8 from the free throw line to snap a three-game losing streak.
Paul Johnson scored 17 points for La Salle (9-13, 2-6), which lost its second straight and fourth in its last five games despite shooting 57.4 percent from the field.
The 49ers, who shot just 41.1 percent from the field, made 32-of-37 from the free throw line - including 24 straight over the final 10:30 of the second half.
Rodney Green added 15 points for the Explorers, with Darnell Harris scoring 13, Ruben Guillandeaux 11 and Sherman Diaz 10.
NOTES: (Supplied by Charlotte Sports Information)
E.J. Drayton's career-high 26 points complemented an 11-rebound performance -- his second straight double-double and his sixth this season.
Drayton was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and hit 12-of-15 free throws.
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Trailing 75-66 with 4:03 to play, Charlotte went on a 15-0 run over the next 3:19 to take an 81-75 lead with 44 seconds left to play.
The 49ers comeback was aided by a seven-point "possession": Carlos Williams scored on a driving layup and was fouled. He hit the foul shot. On the ensuing inbounds-play, before La Salle was able pass the ball in, Ruben Guillandeaux was whistled for a technical foul. Goldwire hit the two free throws and Charlotte was awarded the ball. E.J. Drayton scored inside to conclude the seven-point "possession", bringing Charlotte to within two, 75-73.
Goldwire nailed a pair of threes on the next two possessions to give Charlotte a four-point lead, 79-75 and Carlos Williams added two free throws to make it 81-75.
Charlotte scored on its final seven possessions, hitting 4-of-6 field goals (2-of-2 three-pointers) and 11-of-11 free throws -- the 49ers hit 8-of-8 free throws in the final 44 seconds with Goldwire going 6-of-6 in the final 31 seconds.
Charlotte won, despite allowing La Salle to shoot .574 from the field -- the second-best an opponent has shot against the 49ers, this year. The best was .580 by Wyoming -- a game that Charlotte also won.
Charlotte came back from a 14-point deficit in the second half -- the largest second-half deficit overcome for a win, since Jan. 18, 2002, when Charlotte trailed South Florida by 14, 45-31 in the second half, but came back for an 81-78 victory. Much like this game, in which Goldwire scored 19 second-half points and hit two key three-pointers, Jobey Thomas led the 49ers comeback at South Florida, scoring 22 of his 28 points in the second half, including four three-pointers.
This was the first game that Charlotte has won when trailing at the half (1-8), and the first Charlotte has won when trailing with 5:00 to play (1-10).
Drayton (26) and Goldwire (25) combined for 51 points -- the most by 49er duo since the seasson-opening win over Hofstra in which Alexander (26) and Goldwire (26) combined for 52 points.
