Feb. 22, 2002

Halton Arena -

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Charlotte (16-9, 10-4, RPI: 28) wraps up its home slate with Saturday's Homecoming Game vs. Tulane (13-11, C-USA: 5-8: RPI: 98)... the 49ers have won the last two meetings, including last year's 98-93 OT win in New Orleans ... the 49ers have won three straight at home vs. Tulane.

The 25th Anniversary of the 1977 Final Four: At Saturday's Annual Homcoming Game (vs. Tulane - 2:00), the athletic department will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the program's trip to the 1977 Final Four. The festivities include a halftime ring ceremony at which time team members will receive NCAA Final Four rings to commemorate their achievement and a reception and dinner that evening. Speakers at the dinner will include 1977 head coach Lee Rose, all-America Cedric "Cornbread' Maxwell, as well as current 49ers head coach Bobby Lutz and director of Athletics Judy Rose. Nine team members are scheduled to attend along with Lee Rose, assistant Everett Bass and the team's Sports Information Director Dave Taylor and athletic trainer Mike Stikeleather.

The News: Charlotte is vying for one of the four first-round byes in the Conference USA Tournament ... due to tie-breaker advantages, a 49ers win (or Houston loss) will clinch a bye for Charlotte ... Jobey Thomas has now scored 20 or more points in eight C-USA games, including 28 vs. Memphis and at South Florida and DePaul, and 26 vs. Marquette and at Houston ... he is averaging 19.8 points in league play ... he has had a total of 12 20+-point games, this season (11-1) ... Cam Stephens has notched 11 double-doubles, this year, with seven coming in league play ... Stephens is averaging nearly a double-double (14.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg) in league play.

Thomas Named To Verizon Academic all-District Team: Senior guard Jobey Thomas has been named first-team Verizon Academic all-District III in a vote by the district's Sports Information Directors. Thomas, who owns a 3.53 cumulative GPA as a Communications major, is averaging 18.9 points for the 49ers (19.8 in C-USA play). Thomas, who has scored over 1600 career points, is both the school's and C-USA's all-time leading three-point shooter. The national Verizon academic all-America team, which Thomas is now eligible for, will be announced March 7. Joining Thomas on the all-District team are Florida's Matt Bonner, Duke's Mike Dunleavy, Miami's James Jones and James Madison's Tim Lyle. District III includes all Division I schools in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

The Schedule, Toughest in C-USA: The February issue of Basketball Times rated each school's non-conference schedule. The 49ers non-con was ranked 18th toughest in the nation and the best in C-USA ... of note, the 49ers will also play the toughest league schedule, facing the more difficult American Division slate and the top four teams from the National Division ... The 49ers (10-4 in C-USA) have beaten each of the top three teams in C-USA's National Division (Memphis, South Florida, Houston) and boast wins over every American Division foe except Cincinnati ... Six of the 49ers losses have come to teams with an RPI in the Top 25 (Cincinnati (2), Indiana, Florida, Miami, Marquette).

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