Withers and Goldwire taken in NBA D-League Draft

Former Charlotte 49er men’s basketball stars Curtis Withers and Leemire Goldwire were selected in the NBA D-League draft last month.

Withers played in 117 games for the 49ers with 104 starts. He was a three-time team MVP in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and averaged 15.0 points and 30.3 minutes per contest during his career.

Withers is seventh all-time in career points with 1,750, third all-time in rebounds with 1,042 and second all-time in double-doubles with 42.

As a senior in 2005-06, Withers was second on the team with 16.1 points per game and first in blocked shots with 28. He was selected 11th overall by the Dakota Wizards.

Goldwire was a two-time MVP of the 49ers in 2007 and 2008. He was ninth all-time in career points with 1,677 points and second all-time with 343 career three-pointers made. His 128 three-pointers made in the 2008 season ranked second most in a single season in school history.

As a senior in 2006-07, Goldwire played and started in 34 games for Charlotte, averaging 18.6 points per game, 4.4 rebounds and 33.2 minutes of playing time. In 2008, he had six games of 30 points or more, including a career-high 39 against St. Bonaventure. Goldwire was selected by the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the fourth round.

The NBA Development League, founded in 2001, is the NBA’s official minor league whose teams have direct affiliations to NBA franchises. In the 2009-10 season, the league will consist of 16 teams, including the debut of the Maine Red Claws and the Springfield Armor.

At the conclusion of the 2008-09 NBA season, 20 percent of the players boasted NBA D-League experience. The league also works towards developing coaches, referees, and front office staffers for the NBA and its teams.

Strong effort by Spears pushes Charlotte past Yale

Shamari Spears once again proved his value to the Charlotte 49ers, putting away 28 points in Charlotte's 88-74 win over Yale on Monday. Spears had 10 points early, but foul trouble sent him to the bench midway through the first half. Once Spears went to the bench, Yale cut a once 14-point Charlotte lead to one at the break when Yale's Jordan Gibson nailed a half-court shot.

"Shamari being out of the game hurts us offensively," 49ers head coach Bobby Lutz said. "The difference in that stretch was that we turned it over and were not good defensively. We knew Gibson was a good player, we just didnt know he was a good shooter. He is a great athlete."

Derrio Green also provided a strong effort for the 49ers (3-1) who improved their record to 2-0 all-time against Yale. Green scored a career-high 18 points, knocking down six three-pointers and pulling down five rebounds.

"I finally got the monkey off my back," Green said. "It's really due to the other players and coaches. They believe in me and I believe in myself. Right now I feel like I can shoot it."

Senior point guard DiJuan Harris also got in foul trouble and had to spend some unusual minutes on the bench, paving the way for Green to run the point.

"I'm really trying to do better on the defensive end and help DiJuan out," Green said. "It was a good learning experience, as the game went on, I felt more comfortable playing the point guard. I just did it long enough to get DiJuan back in there."

Junior center Phil Jones came off the bench to score 10 points, pulled down seven rebounds and had four blocks for his second game in double-figures this season.

Overall, Charlotte had four players score in double-figures and shot a season-best 51 percent from the field. The Niners had nine first-half turnovers but pulled it together in the second half with only two turnovers.

Charlotte will look to move to 4-1 on the young season when they take on Hofstra tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Hempstead, NY.

Murphy qualifies for final stage of Q-school

Former Charlotte 49ers golf standout Trevor Murphy tied for 18th place in the second qualifying stage of PGA Tour Qualifying school to earn a spot in the Q-school final stage.

Murphy fired an 8-under par 280 in the second stage held at Southern Hills PLantation Club in Brooksville,Fla. to tie for 18th. The top 21 and ties moved on to the final stage. Murphy shot a third-round five-under par 67 to move into position then carded a solid one-under par 71 in the final round to solidify his place in the final stage.

The final stage will be held Dec. 2-7 at Bear Lakes C.C. in West Palm Beach Fla.

As part of the 49ers, Murphy helped the team to four NCAA Tournament appearances and helped Charlotte to a third place finish in 2007. Murphy also competed in the 2008 Wachovia Championship held at the nearby Quail Hollow club via a Monday qualifier.

Niners fall in first round of NCAA Tournament

The Charlotte 49ers men’s soccer team’s season came to an end Friday night at Transamerica field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against UNC Wilmington. The Niners once again scored first, allowed a late goal and fell in penalty kicks.
Adam Gross scored in the 28th minute for Charlotte, while Daniel Roberts scored for UNCW in the 81st minute to tie the score.

“We defended very well tonight and really never looked like we would concede a goal,” Charlotte coach Jeremy Gunn said. “The really disappointing thing tonight was that we just didn’t play well going forward. Our strikers have been incredible through the year, but they just struggled tonight.”

The game was played under incredibly tough conditions as a thick layer of fog covered the field for the majority of the night. The fog was so thick at the time of Gross’ 28th-minute goal that members of the media couldn’t even see the play develop and had to be told what happened. The fog eventually cleared in the second half to provide better visibility.

“It was pretty simple really. I got the ball around midfield and the Red Sea parted for me,” Gross said of his ninth goal of the season. “I was able to dribble in unimpeded for about 20 yards. I hit a shot and the field was wet, the ball skipped, it was low and the keeper lost track of it and it just went off him and into the corner.”

Gross’ goal was the ninth of the season for the senior midfielder and looked for a long time as if it had moved the Niners on to the next round. The goal moved Gross into a 19th-place tie in all-time 49er points scored with 51.

Behind the strong play of goalkeeper David Martin and senior defenseman Nathan Mathers, Charlotte held their 1-0 advantage at the break and outshot UNCW 7-5. Both teams had numerous opportunities to score in the final 25 minutes of the half but failed to capitalize.

The 49ers nearly made the score 2-0 in the second half when Jennings Rex received a beautiful through-ball from near midfield. However, Seahawks goalkeeper Brock Duckworth made the save of the game to keep the score 1-0.

With just under 10 minutes remaining in the second half, Charlotte committed a foul just outside of its own 18-yard box. From around 25 yards out, Roberts stepped up and curled a perfect shot just past Martin for the tying score and his fourth goal of the season.

“To be honest, I haven’t hit one that well all year,” Roberts said of his game-tying goal. “I practiced them a lot over the summer and had been quite disappointed all season. So it was nice to finally get one right. It came at the right time.”

Neither team could break the scoreboard in the final nine minutes of regulation or in either overtime period. UNCW eventually took the game 4-1 in penalty kicks after the Seahawks went 4-4 and the Niners missed two of their first three shots. The win moved UNCW on to the next round to play Wake Forest on Sunday afternoon.

Duke rolls past Charlotte 101-59

Shamari Spears stepped up to the foul line in Cameron Indoor Stadium and drained two free throws, tying the score. Unfortunately for Charlotte, the score was 2-2, and that’s as close as they would ever get Tuesday night.

Duke’s Nolan Smith scored a career-high 24 points, Jon Scheyer added 20 more and No. 8 Duke routed Charlotte 101-59 on Tuesday night in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Kyle Singler finished with 17 points for Duke (3-0), who never trailed, shot 52.9 percent from the field and made 12 three-pointers in advancing to next week’s semifinal round at Madison Square Garden.

“Obviously Duke was very impressive tonight, we’re not really happy with the way we played,” 49ers head coach Bobby Lutz said following the 101-59 drubbing. “They really imposed their will on us tonight from the start.”

Spears scored 20 points to lead the undermanned 49ers (2-1), who failed to win a second-consecutive game against a Top 25 opponent dating back to last season’s win over 17th-ranked Xavier. Marred by 12 first-half turnovers and poor shooting from the field, the 49ers were never a threat to Duke and didn’t record their first field goal until RaShad Coleman made the score 14-4 with 16:38 remaining in the first half. At times, the 49ers’ offense looked like a one-man show. Spears, a transfer from Boston College who is no stranger to Cameron Indoor and the Crazies, recorded his second straight 20-point performance. However, none of Charlotte’s other players recorded more than six points

The 49ers had been expected to put up a fight against the Blue devils, who were without forward Mason Plumlee due to a broken left wrist and Smith’s suspension for playing in a non-sanctioned summer league in the first two games of the season.
With Smith returning on Tuesday night, the Blue Devils didn’t miss a beat; recording their 71st consecutive non-conference win at home and 31st straight home win against unranked opponents. Duke, the three-time champions of the preseason NIT, improved to 20-2 all-time in the event.

“We were really worried about their physical play on both ends and the question was could we be tough enough,” Lutz said. “They took us out of what we were trying to do. Give them credit, it was a great performance.”

Duke’s top three scorers, Smith, Schyer and Singler combined for 61 points, two more than Charlotte’s entire team output. Charlotte shot just 23.8 percent from behind the arc and was outrebounded 45-32 by the Blue Devils, who have won their first three games by an average of more than 30 points.

“Hopefully, this is the low point of the season. At some point, you start building for the next game,” Lutz said. “In the second half, we tried to play some different people and tried to experiment and see. We’re going to continue to work hard and look forward to the next game. But tonight was obviously a ver disappointing night for us.”

The 49ers will now have a substantial period of time to regroup from the “Debacle in Durham” as they won’t play again until Monday against a team to be determined. Charlotte’s non-conference schedule won’t get any easier from here as they must travel on the road to play Louisville and Tennessee and will play a home game against 20th-ranked Georgia Tech of the ACC on Jan. 2.

Game Notes: Duke Blue Devils

Charlotte is 0-2 all-time against Duke with both losses coming at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the early 90's. The 49ers lost 111-94 on Dec. 1, 1990 despite 30 points from freshman star Jarvis Lang. The following season, Charlotte came into Cameron Indoor on an 11-game winning streak at 11-1 but fell to top-ranked Duke, 104-82.

Previous to the Duke game that year, Charlotte had posted wins over Top 25 teams DePaul and Alabama as they pushed into the Top 25. Charlotte was coached by Duke all-American Jeff Mullins in both games.

The 49ers are 25-46 all-time against Top 25 opponents, including a 8-19 record against teams ranked in the top 10.

Current head man Bobby Lutz is 5-14 all-time against top 10 teams including the only two top true road wins: at #7 Syracuse, 2003-04 (W 96-92) and at#8/#7 Cincinnati, 2003-04 (W, 86-83).

Charlotte got by Elon 75-61 in the first round while # 8 Duke got by Coastal Carolina 74-49. The winner of tonight's game will move on to Madison Square Garden for the semifinal round and will face either Arizona State or TCU. The Niners are looking to start a season 3-0 for the first time since the 1995-96 season.

The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN at 6 p.m. with Brad Nessler and Jimmy Dykes and can also be heard on WBCN Radio , 1660 AM with Matt Swierad and Charlie Frederick.

Bowden scores 21 in debut, Charlotte beats UNCA 86-70

The Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball team kicked off their season Friday night with an 86-70 win over the visiting Bulldogs of UNC Asheville. Charlotte had five different players score in double-figures and was led by redshirt-freshman Shamarr Bowden’s 21 points. The win was also the 200th of head coach Bobby Lutz’s 49er career, the most all-time for a 49er head coach.

“Pleased to get the first win, especially with the injury situation and some other things we were dealing with,” head coach Bobby Lutz said. “Give UNC Asheville credit, they came in with a great game plan, executed it very well and hung around. I though Asheville played very well today, they have a good team.”

Charlotte was led in the paint by junior center Phil Jones and freshman forward Chris Braswell, both of whom recorded double-doubles on the night. Jones scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in just 12 minutes of play in the first half to fill the void left by suspended Boston College transfer Shamari Spears. Braswell, a highly-touted freshman player scored 10 points and recorded 11 rebounds in his collegiate debut.

“Last year I was a little overweight and it affected me on and off the court,” Jones said. “I used this whole summer to dedicate my game to basketball. Slimmed down, lost a couple pounds, I’m quicker to the ball and it just pays off.”

Charlotte stretched its lead to as many as 16 in the first half and led 40-27 at the break. The Bulldogs came out firing in the second half however, and cut the Charlotte lead to just one point when Quinard Jackson made a layup to make the score 49-48. That’s when Shamarr Bowden went off. The redshirt-freshman buried four three-pointers on four straight possessions to push Charlotte’s lead to 61-51, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“Our point guard (DiJuan Harris) knows where I’m going to be in transition and we play good together,” Bowden said. “He knows where I like to catch it and shoot and he got me the ball and the guys looking for me from the inside, from the post did a nice job of getting me the ball.”

On his birthday, Charlotte senior point guard DiJuan Harris came away with a solid performance, scoring 14 points, adding six assists and was a perfect 7-7 from the foul line.

Chris Stephenson came off the bench to lead UNC Asheville in points with 22 and rebounds with six.

“He’s (Stephenson) really a talented player,” Asheville head coach Ed Biedenbach said. “He’s been kind of a floater for us, free-wheeling, free-thinking and he’s gotten better every day. He’s a great athlete and he’s a good shooter.”

Charlotte denied Asheville’s attempt to rally by capitalizing on 17 consecutive free throws during a six-minute span in the second half. The 49ers finished the game at 83 percent from the foul line. The win was the sixth season-opening win in a row for Charlotte and pushed Lutz’s record in openers to 11-1.

Charlotte now heads on the road to face Elon in the opening round of the Dicks Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off in Durham, N.C. on Monday at 9:30 p.m.

News and notes for Friday's opener vs. UNC Asheville

Bobby Lutz begins his 12th season as Charlotte 49ers head coach Friday night against UNC Asheville at 7:30 pm. Lutz is the 49ers all-time winningest coach and will be looking for # 200 on Friday. At 12 years, Lutz will also pass Jeff Mullins for the longest-tenured coach in school history.

Charlotte was picked to finish 7th in the A-10 in a preseason poll comprised of the head coaches and selected media. Senior guard DiJuan Harris was selected as a preseason 2nd team all-Atlantic 10 player while red-shirt freshman guard Shamarr Bowden was selected to the Atlantic 10 all-Rookie team.

Charlotte's depth will be tested early as three prominent players will miss the game due to either injury or suspension. Freshman guard/forward Gokhan Sirin was suspended by the NCAA for one game for hia participation with a Turkish professional club team. Junior Boston College transfer Shamari Spears has been suspended by the team for one game for violating team policy, and junior forward An'Juan Wilderness will miss 2-4 weeks with a left calf strain he suffered during practice last week.

Injuries: Senior guard DiJuan Harris is day-to-day with an ankle sprain, freshman shooting guard Shamarr Bowden is probable with a disclocated left shoulder and Wilderness will miss the game with a calf strain.

In 45 seasons, Charlotte is 30-14 in season openers, 10-1 under Lutz. The 49ers are 19-8 all time in season openers at home, 7-1 under Lutz.

The 49ers are 7-4 all-time against UNC Asheville in a series that dates back to 1965. The 49ers have won the last five meetings, four during Lutz's tenure. Charlotte is 6-3 at home against the Bulldogs.

Spears to miss opener

Charlotte 49ers junior forward Shamari Spears will miss the team's season-opening game against UNC-Asheville on Friday for violating a team rule. Due to team rules, 49er head coach Bobby Lutz did not discuss the reason for the suspension.

Spears, a Boston College transfer sat out last season due to NCAA rules and might be the key to strong frontcourt play for the 49ers in 2009-10.Spears scored 26 points, had four rebounds and went 12-12 from the stripe in Charlotte's 91-70 exhibition win over JCSU Thursday night.

NCAA suspends Sirin for one game

The NCAA has doled out a one-game suspension to 49ers freshman guard Gokhan Sirin for his participation with a professional club team. Sirin, a native of Istanbul, Turkey, will miss Charlotte’s season-opener against UNC-Asheville Friday night.

In injury news, junior forward An’Juan Wilderness will miss 2-4 weeks with a left calf strain he suffered during practice last week. A two-year starter for the Niners, Wilderness averaged 7.9 points and 3.7 rebounds as a sophomore.

Other injury updates include senior point guard DiJuan Harris being listed as day-to-day with a right ankle sprain he suffered during practice on Friday. Red-shirt freshman Shamarr Bowden is listed as probable for Friday’s game after suffering a dislocated shoulder in the team’s green-white scrimmage game on 49er Fan Day. Bowden was initially expected to be out for three weeks but returned to workouts ahead of schedule; he will wear a shoulder harness as a precautionary measure.

Charlotte will welcome junior forward Charles Dewhurst back to the lineup on Friday night as his doctor’s have given him the green light to play. Dewhurst suffered a season-ending knee injury against Maryland last spring and has been practicing with a protective knee brace. Dewhurst has been cleared to play in games without the brace, but will still wear it during practice to protect his knee.

49ers to compete in preseason NIT Tip-Off

The Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball team will compete in the Dicks Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament on November 16 and 17, 2009. The NIT Tournament is a prestigious one and 2009 will mark the 25th anniversary of the initial tournament.

The 49ers will compete in the East Regional, held at Duke University in Durham, NC. Duke, a three-time winner of the event, will represent the ACC and will face the Big South Conference’s Coastal Carolina University in the first round. Charlotte will represent the A-10 and will face Southern Conference representative Elon University in the first round. Should the 49ers and Blue Devils win their first-round games, they will face off in a second-round matchup on November 17 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The West Regional, being hosted by Arizona State, will feature the aforementioned Sun Devils, the TCU Horned Frogs, Cal State Northridge and Texas State University-San Marcos.

Louisiana State University, of the Southeastern Conference will be the host for the South Regional that includes Indiana State University, Western Kentucky and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

UCONN will host the North Regional and will play Colgate University in the first round, while Hofstra University, of the Colonial Athletic Association will play Yale University.

The regional games will be played on November 16 and 17, while the consolation bracket will be played out on November 23 and 24. The Championship round will be played in New York City’s Madison Square Garden for the “First Four” semifinal and final doubleheaders, November 25 and 27.

First and second-round games will be played at the home campus of the four highest-seeded teams. The winners of those regional tournaments will move onto New York City for the Semifinals and consolation game. The remaining 12 teams will play in third and fourth-round games on the home campus sites of the three highest remaining seeds.

Charlotte’s first game following the NIT Tournament will be a home game against East Carolina University on December 2, 2009 at 8 p.m.

Harris to be ready for season opener

If you've seen DiJuan Harris walking around UNC Charlotte with a boot on his right foot and propped up on crutches, there's no need to worry.

The senior 49er point guard sprained his right ankle during practice last Friday and is just taking it easy for the time being as a precautionary measure. As of Monday, Harris is projected to start on Friday night against UNC-Asheville in Charlotte's home opener.

Harris, a 2006 graduate of Victory Christian played in 1,146 minutes last year for an average of 37 minutes per game. He also ranked in the top 10 nationally in 2008-09 in assists and assist to turnover ratio. Only Harris and Levance Fields of Pitt ranked in the top 6 in both categories. Harris had eight points, six rebounds and 10 assists in Charlotte's 91-70 win over JCSU Thursday night in the team's exhibition opener.

49ers dump JCSU in exhibition play

Junior forward Shamari Spears and the Charlotte 49ers dumped Johnson C. Smith 91-70 in exhibition action Thursday night at Halton Arena. Spears had 26 points to lead all players and showed the promise of Charlotte’s retooled frontcourt that should help Charlotte to a stronger performance this season.

Spears shot 7-13 from the field, was a perfect 12-12 from the foul line and pulled down four rebounds in just 21 minutes of play. It was the first game action Spears had seen in more than a year after NCAA regulations wouldn’t allow him to play last year after transferring from Boston College.

“I’ve been talking to a lot of reporters and I’m always telling them for the last year, it’s just practice, practice, practice and I haven’t been able to beat up on nobody else but my teammates,” Spears said. “So it felt good tonight to come out there and play against somebody different.”

Charlotte jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The 49ers’ lead swelled to as much as 31 in the first half and Charlotte held a 52-27 halftime advantage over the Golden Bulls.

“They shocked us, we expected that a little bit as a young basketball team, especially at the point guard position,” Bulls head coach Stephen Joyner Sr. said. “So we experienced some trouble there but I think after we settled our young people down and gave them some understanding, some things they could do to help themselves, they began to execute a little bit better, but they shocked us.”

In 29 minutes of action, senior point guard DiJuan Harris contributed eight points, 10 assists, three steals and six rebounds. Freshman forward Chris Braswell added 13 points of his own, senior Rashad Coleman had 11 points in just 16 minutes and newcomer Derrio Green had 11 points.

“Really happy with our first half, I thought we came out and really dictated play,” 49ers head coach Bobby Lutz said. “I thought we started with DiJuan (Harris), he really disrupted their guards early, then they settled in.”

JCSU, who is the two-time defending champion of the CIAA Tournament, was led by forward Jerry Hollis with 16 points and six rebounds in 31 minutes of play. The Golden Bulls struggled all night long, shooting just 39 percent from the field, getting outscored 48-18 in the paint and getting outscored 31-10 by Charlotte’s bench.

The Niners enjoyed a 40-35 rebounding advantage and had 11 blocked shots on the night. Freshman standout Chris Braswell led all players with eight rebounds to go along with his 13 points while junior center Phil Jones scored five points, had four rebounds and five blocks.

“Chris (Braswell) obviously was very, very effective tonight,” Lutz said. “He’s got his best basketball ahead of him. He made some really good passes, he’s got great feel for a high-low action and he’s got a knack around the basket of getting fouled or putting it in the hoop.”

Charlotte enjoyed a convincing win against the Golden Bulls, but will face a stiffer test next Friday night when UNC Asheville comes to town for the regular-season home opener.

Bowden to return sooner than expected

Charlotte 49ers freshman shooting guard Shamarr Bowden could return sooner than expected from a should separation that he sustained in the team's Green-White scrimmage game last weekend.

Bowden was initially predicted to return around the time of the 49ers NIT preseason tournament in Durham. Bowden will sit out Charlotte's exhibition opener against Johnson C Smith tomorrow but is projected to be ready to go for the 49ers season-opener at home next Friday night against UNC Asheville.

49ers forward An'Juan Wilderness sustained a calf strain in practice this week but is expected to be ready for tomorrow night's game against Smith.

Bowden to return sooner than expected

Charlotte 49ers freshman shooting guard Shamarr Bowden could return sooner than expected from a should separation that he sustained in the team's Green-White scrimmage game last weekend.

Bowden was initially predicted to return around the time of the 49ers NIT preseason tournament in Durham. Bowden will sit out Charlotte's exhibition opener against Johnson C Smith tomorrow but is projected to be ready to go for the 49ers season-opener at home next Friday night against UNC Asheville.

49ers forward An'Juan Wilderness sustained a calf strain in practice this week but is expected to be ready for tomorrow night's game against Smith.

Bowden could return sooner than expected

Charlotte 49ers freshman shooting guard Shamarr Bowden could return sooner than expected from a should separation that he sustained in the team's Green-White scrimmage game last weekend.

Bowden was initially predicted to return around the time of the 49ers NIT preseason tournament in Durham. Bowden will sit out Charlotte's exhibition opener against Johnson C Smith tomorrow but is projected to be ready to go for the 49ers season-opener at home next Friday night against UNC Asheville.

49ers forward An'Juan Wilderness sustained a calf strain in practice this week but is expected to be ready for tomorrow night's game against Smith.

Several athletes earn weekly honors

Charlotte 49ers senior all-America golfer Corey Nagy earned his second Atlantic 10 Player of the Week award this season while freshman Andy Sajevic was named the A-10 Rookie of the Week for the second time.

Nagy finished in fourth place at the Aldila Intercollegiate after carding a final round four-under par 68. Sajevic posted rounds of 73, 72, and 71 to finish in 17th in the same tournament, his second top 20 of the fall.