Leemire Goldwire finished with 23 points. |
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Gerrity Free Throws Lead Charlotte Over Rhode Island 75-73
March 13, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP)--Michael Gerrity hit two free throws after a questionable foul call with less than a second to play and Charlotte rallied from a late five-point deficit to beat Rhode Island 75-73 in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament Wednesday night.
Leemire Goldwire hit three clutch late 3-pointers and scored 23 points as the sixth-seeded 49ers advanced to a quarterfinal against third-seeded Massachusetts (21-9) on Thursday night.
An'Juan Wilderness added 14 points, Charlie Coley had 11, including two big free throws to tie the game, and Gerrity finished with 10 in the game the officials made two big calls against Rhode Island in the final minute.
Jimmy Baron had 25 points to lead the Rams, who fell to 21-11 after losing for the eighth time in the last 10 games. Will Daniels had 15 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 37.7 seconds to play.
Charlotte (19-12) trailed by five entering the second half and did not tie the game until Charlie Coley, a 53 percent free throw shooter, made two attempts from the line with 37.7 seconds to play.
Rhode Island called two time outs over the next 22 seconds. After the second time out, the Rams were working the ball up high when Kahiem Seawright was called for an offensive foul on a screen with 8.2 seconds to go.
After a time out, Gerrity took the inbounds pass in the backcourt, dribbled to the front court and made a move to the basket, where he was fouled by Keith Cothran with .3 seconds on the clock.
Rhode Island coach Jim Baron held his head in disbelief after the call by Will Bush.
Gerrity made both free throws to give Charlotte its only lead in the half.
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The 49ers had pulled to within a point on five different occasions, twice failing to tie the game when Ian Anderson and Lamont Mack missed the front ends of 1-and-1 opportunities.
NOTES (Supplied by Charlotte 49ers Sports Information): With 23 points, Leemire Goldwire has now scored 1629 career points, six shy of the 49ers all-time Top 10 (Melvin Johnson, 1635).
Goldwire's 586 points this season are the 8th-most in school history for a single-season.
Goldwire nailed five three-pointers, gving him 117 this year to set a new school record for a 49ers' senior. He also has 332 career three-pointers, nine shy of #2 Demon Brown.
Charlotte is 4-0 in March, this year. Over the previous three years, the 49ers were a combined 3-9. The current four-game win streak is the 49ers' longest in the last two years.
Charlotte shot 52% for the game, including .625 in the decisive second half.
The 49ers have rallied from a halftime deficit eight times this year. The 49ers are 8-8 when trailing at the half. Last year, Charlotte wass 1-11. The 49ers trailed URI at the half of both games.
Charlotte is 6-6 in games decided by four points or less and 12-10 in games decided by seven points or less.
