Eddie Basden goes to the basket around Tulane's Taylor Rochestie during the first half Saturday, Feb. 19, 2005, in New Orleans. |
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No. 23 49ers Make It Five Straight, Defeat Tulane 86-67
Feb. 19, 2005
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Eddie Basden scored a season-high 27 points and had 14 rebounds, leading No. 23 Charlotte to an 86-67 victory over Tulane on Saturday night.
The 49ers (19-4, 10-2 Conference USA) won their fifth straight game to tie No. 12 Louisville for first place in the conference. The Green Wave (9-14, 3-9) lost for the fourth time in five games.
Curtis Withers scored 26 points to match his average over the last four games. Brendan Plavich scored 14.
Quincy Davis led Tulane with 14 points, Taylor Rochestie scored 12, and Matt Wheaton had 11.
The 49ers forced 21 turnovers, leading to 26 points. They outrebounded Tulane, 42-37, including 26-15 in the first half.
Basden had 16 points and eight rebounds as Charlotte opened a 49-27 halftime lead. The 49ers built the lead to as many as 25 in the second half and never led by fewer than 17 points after halftime.
Basden, who averages 15 points, scored 23 in a 76-66 victory at Marquette on Jan. 22 for his previous season-high.
Wheaton and Rochestie each made a 3-pointer as Tulane stayed close in the early going, leading twice and being tied at 12. But Basden started scoring inside and Charlotte kept forcing turnovers.
Basden made two layups during a 7-0 run that helped the 49ers take a 21-18 lead. Plavich made consecutive 3-pointers as Charlotte seized control with a 16-2 surge to take a 37-20 lead.
Donnie Stith made a free throw and Wheaton hit another 3-pointer for the Green Wave, but the 49ers closed the half with a 12-3 run as Plavich made two more 3s and Basden scored six points.
Notes: (Supplied by Charlotte 49ers Sports Information)
Basden's double-double was his sixth of the season.
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Basden added four steals, giving him 75 this season, which ranks third in the NCAA. The 75 steals are two shy of the 49ers single-season record of 77, set by Delano Johnson in 1990-91.
Curtis Withers, who leads Conference USA in scoring in league games, improved his scoring average to 18.4 against C-USA competition.
With Basden (27) and Withers (26) both scoring 20 or more points, Charlotte has now had two 20+ scorers in three of the last seven games.
Charlotte's 10-2 league mark is the 49ers best 12-game league record, matching a 10-2 start in 1997-98. The 49ers would go on to 12-2 in 1998, before finishing the season at 13-3.
With 19 wins, the 49ers are looking for their second straight seoasn of 20 or more regular season wins. The 49ers went 20-7 in the regular-season, last year.
With 982 career points, Eddie Basden is now in the 49ers all-time Top 20, passing Bobby Potts. He is 18 points shy of becoming the 20th player in school histroy to score 1000 career points.
The 49ers shot 80% from the foul line -- the fifth straight game that Charlotte has shot at least 70% from the line. The 49ers are shooting .731 from the line in C-USA play.
