Eddie Basden pulls in a rebound while teammate Curtis Withers watchs in the first half. |
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Charlotte Falls Just Short At Saint Louis, 46-45
Feb 14, 2004
By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) - For the second time in three days, Chris Sloan got a chance at late-game heroics. This time, he capitalized.
Sloan had 10 points and nine rebounds, and made a three-point play with 9.7 seconds to go to give Saint Louis a 46-45 upset over Charlotte on Saturday. He missed a shot at the buzzer for a tie in a two-point loss to DePaul on Wednesday.
"It's been on my mind a lot," Sloan said. "It's been a rough couple of days since that night. It was almost the same situation, and for me to come through was really good for me."
Charlotte (15-6, 7-3 Conference USA) was sluggish about 36 hours after beating No. 9 Louisville - the 49ers' third victory over top 10 competition this season - shooting a season-worst 34.7 percent and scoring a season low for points. It ended a four-game winning streak that began with a 68-62 victory over Saint Louis at home.
"They are all tough when you lose, but this one was particularly tough," coach Bobby Lutz said. "We didn't play our best."
Izik Ohanon had 12 points for Saint Louis (12-9, 5-5), which ended a four-game losing streak despite shooting only 37.7 percent and scoring a season low for points. The Billikens rallied from eight points down in the final two-and-a-half minutes three days after blowing a 21-point first-half lead in a two-point loss to DePaul.
"This win helps us more than you can imagine," Sloan said. "The fact that we would have been that close again and fallen short would have been a real blow to the pysche to our team.
"This gets the ball back rolling again."
Saint Louis' previous low was 52 points in a 20-point loss at UAB on Jan. 31 and Charlotte's previous low was 62, also against UAB, on Jan. 24.
"It's a hard way to play, it's a hard thing to watch, it's a hard thing to
coach," coach Brad Soderberg said. "But in my estimation it was what gave us
the best chance to win. So we did it."
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Curtis Withers had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte. But Withers missed a shot from the lane off the drive with two seconds to go.
Charlotte is accustomed to low-scoring games against the patient, grinding Billikens, losing 50-39 in St. Louis last season.
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"They are all tough when you lose, but this one was particularly tough. We didn't play our best."
- Coach Bobby Lutz
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Consecutive baskets by Mitchell Baldwin, the last a shot from free-throw range off the glass with 2:29 left, gave Charlotte its biggest lead at 44-36. But the 49ers were 1-for-3 from the free-throw line in the final minute, both misses by Baldwin, to give Saint Louis its opening.
Baldwin is 2-for-9 at the line the past four games.
"Certainly, that was one area where we could have won the game," Lutz said. "If we had made some foul shots down the stretch, it would have been a different game."
Sloan hit two layups down the stretch for Saint Louis, and the go-ahead basket was set up when Reggie Bryant knocked the ball loose from Withers and teammate Josh Fisher grabbed it.
Eddie Basden added 10 points and seven rebounds for Charlotte while freshman center Ian Vouyoukas added nine points and five rebounds in his first career start for Saint Louis. Vouyoukas started in place of Tom Frericks, who has a groin injury and did not play.
Withers has 13 double doubles to lead Conference USA. He scored 11 points in the first half, and had the past five by either team, to give Charlotte a 23-20 lead.
Charlotte's Demon Brown was reinstated after a one-game suspension following his arrest for communicating threats after three people claimed he flashed a gun at them at a university-area apartment. Brown had three points on 1-for-6 shooting.
Saint Louis won despite a quiet game from leading scorer Bryant, who averages 17.6 points. Bryant was held to nine points on 4-for-12 shooting.
