Coach Bobby Lutz shouts to his players during the second half against South Florida on Saturday night, March 5, 2005. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius) |
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49ers Upset By South Florida, 85-73
March 5, 2005
By FRED GOODALL
AP Sports Writer
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Terrence Leather scored 24 points and Brian Swift added 19 to lead South Florida to one of the biggest wins in school history Saturday night, an 85-73 victory over No. 18 Charlotte.
The loss was the second straight for Charlotte (21-6, 12-3), which performed much of the night like a team that had little to play for after Louisville clinched the Conference USA regular-season title by beating DePaul earlier in the day.
Two nights after losing at Louisville to fall behind the Cardinals in the standings, the 49ers fell behind by 17 before using runs of 10-0 and 9-1 to wipe out most of the big deficit and give themselves a chance to win.
South Florida (12-15, 5-11) refused to buckle down the stretch, though. Marius Prekevicius made a key 3-pointer, and the Bulls made 11 consecutive free throws before Leather missed a pair in the final minute with USF leading 83-73.
Marlyn Bryant, who had 12 points and 12 rebounds, assured the outcome with a putback and four free throws that stopped Charlotte's momentum after the 49ers trimmed their deficit to 77-73 on two free throws by E.J. Drayton with 1:50 to go.
Brendan Plavich led Charlotte with 20 points, making four 3-pointers during the two spurts the 49ers used to get back into the game. He finished 6-of-14 from behind the arc, but Charlotte was just 8-for-26 as a team.
Curtis Withers had 19 points for the 49ers and Drayton finished with 11.
Leather scored 14 points and Charlotte was held to 36-percent shooting in the first half, when USF fell behind 9-2 before storming to a 41-28 lead.
The 53rd meeting between the schools will be the last for awhile, unless they wind up facing each other in the postseason.
The teams have played at least once a year for 28 consecutive seasons, but are not scheduled to face each other next winter when South Florida moves into the Big East and Charlotte moves on the Atlantic 10.
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