De'Angelo Alexander (center) celebrates with hot-hand Sean Phaler (left) during the Niners victory over UL Lafayette. |
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Long-Range Shooting Leads Charlotte Past Louisiana-Lafayette, 80-56
Feb. 13, 2007
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - De'Angelo Alexander scored 19 points and E.J. Drayton added 17 and grabbed eight rebounds as hot-shooting Charlotte overwhelmed Louisiana-Lafayette 80-56 on Tuesday.
Leemire Goldwire added 10 points and six assists for the 49ers (12-12), who shot 48 percent and hit 13-of-29 3-pointers to win their third straight game.
Adam James had a career-high 16 points and eight rebounds for the Ragin' Cajuns (7-18), but leading scorers David Dees, Ross Mouton and Elijah Millsap combined for only 16 points and missed 16 of 22 shots.
Louisiana-Lafayette, on pace for its first 20-loss season since 1994-95, shot 36 percent overall as it fell to 1-12 on the road.
The 6-foot-9 Drayton dominated the inside against the undersized Ragin' Cajuns, hitting his first four field goals and three free throws as Charlotte built a 28-10 lead.
The 49ers' fullcourt pressure forced Louisiana-Lafayette into nine early turnovers - two for 10-second violations - as Charlotte led by as many as 22 in the first half.
Switching to a zone to try to contain Drayton, the Ragin' Cajuns cut the lead to 16 at halftime despite 32 percent shooting. But Alexander, coming off a career-high 35-point effort in Charlotte's win Saturday over Fordham, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 52-31 with just over 15 minutes left.
Charlotte led by as many as 32 after that, and coach Bobby Lutz went deep to his bench over the final eight minutes as the 49ers prepare for a three-game road trip starting Saturday at Atlantic 10 foe Rhode Island.
Louisiana-Lafayette, 0-3 against Charlotte in the past three seasons, was outrebounded 39-29 and had its two-game winning streak snapped in its final non-conference game.
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James, whose previous career high was nine points, was the lone bright spot. He made all six of his shots and all four free throws.
Charlotte played without point guard Carlos Williams, who was a late scratch due to a groin injury.
NOTES: Supplied by Charlotte Sports Information Charlotte has won three in a row and four of five. The three-game win streak matches the longest of the season.
Charlotte shot .481 from the floor and has shot over 40% in each of the last three wins.
Charlotte shot .448 from three-point range (13-of-29), its second highest long-range shooting pct. this season (.524 vs. Dayton in a 80-59 victory).
Charlotte hit a season-high 13 three-pointers -- their 8th game with double-digit threes. Surprisingly, Charlotte is just 3-5 when it hits 10 or more threes.
Six different 49ers hit three-pointers for Charlotte, including reserve Sean Phaler, who hit 3-of-3 off the bench in scoring a career-high 11 points. Phaler came into the game having hit just 2-of-21 from three-point range this season.
"When he believes in himself, he can't miss," teammate Leemire Goldwire said of Phaler. "We see it all the time. All the time. We're really proud of him."
Goldwire matched his career-high with six assists.
With 19 points, De'Angelo Alexander has now scored 974 career points, 26 shy of becoming the 21st 49er to record 1000 career points, and just the fifth to do it in two seasons.
Leemire Goldwire (10 points) has now scored 936 career points, 74 shy of 1000.
E.J. Drayton hit 6-of-6 shots -- his second perfect game, this year. He hit 7-of-7 shots in the Niners win over La Salle.
Charlotte once again received strong production from its role players: Jerell Jamison scored five points (1-of-2 3FG) with five rebounds. Courtney Williams had six points (3-5 FG) and seven rebounds. Ian Andersen nailed 2-of-3 three-pointers for six points and four rebounds and Sean Phaler broke out for 11 points. Combined, that group shot 9-of-14 from the field (.643) and 6-of-8 from lone-range (.750).
Charlotte outrebounded UL Lafayette, 39-29. That is the 7th time this year that Charlotte has enjoyed a double-digit rebounding margin (7-0 in those seven games). The Ragin; Cajuns are the 10th opponent to be held to 30 rebounds or less. Charlotte is 9-1 in those games.
