49er coaching update

Charlotte 49er team officials contacted Xavier associate coach and former Wake Forest assistant Pat Kelsey Monday night about the team's coaching vacancy, Kelsey confirmed Tuesday.

Kelsey spent eight seasons at Wake Forest before joining Chris Mack's staff at Xavier this season, leading the Musketeers to a Sweet 16 appearance. The Musketeers won their fourth consecutive Atlantic 10 regular season title, finishing with a 26-9 record.

Other coaches rumored to be top candidates for the Charlotte job are Syracuse's Mike Hopkins and Kansas' Joe Dooley.

Jeffrey's no-hitter leads Charlotte to weekend sweep of Bonnies

Emily Jeffrey hurled the 11th no-hitter in program history as Charlotte ripped past St. Bonaventure 8-0 in game one of a Saturday double dip; Charlotte completed the sweep in the second game, winning 9-1 to move to 21-6 on the year.

Leading the way at the plate for Charlotte was senior outfielder Serena Smith. The Mooresville N.C. native went 5-for-6 combined in the two games, knocking in six runs and recording three extra-base hits.

The Bonnies never had a chance in game one, as Charlotte exploded out of the gate with five runs in the opening frame. With Whitney Williams and Kendra McCall on base, Smith came to the plate and blasted her third home run of the season over the right field retaining wall to give the Niners a 3-0 lead. Charlotte extended it’s lead by two more runs on an error by the Bonnies’ Stephanie Narde and a sacrifice fly by Natalyn Blanton.

After the Bonnies failed to produce any runs in the top half of the second, Charlotte heaped on three more runs to push the lead to 8-0. Smith scored McCall again with her second extra-base hit in as many innings with a triple and Tenaya Tucker scored herself and Smith with a dinger over the left field wall, making the score 8-0. Smith and Tucker are now tied for second on the team with three round-trippers each.

With an eight-run buffer, Jeffrey easily put away the rest of the Bonnies for her second career no-hitter. Jeffrey added 12 Bonnies to her season strike-out total and was only three base runners away from a perfect game. The senior ace improved her season record to 12-4 and moved to within three strikeouts of the program record (584), held by Kristen Bowen. Jeffrey’s 141 strikeouts this season are good for the seventh-best in program allure. Jeffrey recorded Charlotte’s last no-hitter in her first career start, an 11-0 victory against Presbyterian on Feb. 9 2008.

Charlotte ended game two early as well as the Niners once again used a huge inning to break open a close game. The 49ers scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to make what was once a one-run game out of reach.

Lorena Vela and Keri Palma both batted in runs in the second to get the Niners on the board early. Vela’s single drove in Carol Buchan from third base, while Palma’s double to center field drove in Vela. With just a one-run lead, Charlotte hurler Katy Hackett was impeccable, allowing only three hits from the fourth to sixth inning and stranding four base runners.

Charlotte scored seven runs on seven hits in the sixth to induce the run-rule and give the Niners a 9-1 win. Smith came to the plate and drove in the final two runs of the game with a single and a triple. Charlotte returns to conference action next Saturday with a double-dip against Dayton beginning at noon.

Nuggets from Charlotte's 12-11 win over St. Bonaventure

-49er hurler Bryan Hamilton is the 10th Charlotte pitcher to pick up one of the team's 13 victories.

-The 49er bullpen has a 3.60 ERA and has 89 of the team's 169 strikeouts. Charlotte is 10-0 when leading or tied after the fourth inning.

-Junior Ryan Rivers had two RBI's Friday night, giving him 29 for the year. Rivers is tied for the team lead with senior catcher Zane Williams, who also knocked in a run Friday night.

-Friday marked the sixth multi-home run game of the season for Charlotte.

-Charlotte is 11-0 when scoring eight or more runs and 10-0 when scoring a double-digit run total. The Niners are 4-1 when an opponent scores more than 10 runs.

Niners faster than Runnin' Bulldogs

The Charlotte 49ers women’s basketball team emphatically paved their way to the second round of the Women’s NIT with a 74-60 win over the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs Thursday night in Halton Arena. Charlotte began the game on a 19-4 run and led 45-30 at the half on the way to their 13th straight home win.

The Niners dominated every statistical category Thursday night, winning the rebounding battle 54-39, outscoring the Bulldogs in the paint 34-26 and winning the fast-break battle 18-4. Gardner-Webb’s bench outscored Charlotte 24-8.

Kendria Holmes led the way for the Niners, scoring 22 points, 14 in the first half alone, and pulled down eight rebounds. Holmes scored six of Charlotte’s first 10 points and sparked the opening run.

“You know it was really good and I want to couch that with that fact that I thought she carried over her tournament play,” Niner Head Coach Karen Aston said when asked about Holmes’ play. “She looked much more comfortable in the A-10 Tournament and has carried that over into practice this week. She just looks more comfortable running our team now.”

The Niners also had four other players reach double-figure scoring. Erin Floyd scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Ashley Spriggs scored 12 and had seven boards, and both Shannon McCallum and Aysha Jones netted 11 points for the Niners, who will take on North Carolina A&T Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Halton Arena.

“That’s what I’m most comfortable with is when we share the basketball. You know we had 14 assists.” Aston said. “I’m much more comfortable with that than I am with one person taking all the shots. We just haven’t had that offensive balance throughout the year but I think that goes back to Kendria being comfortable running our offense.”

Charlotte built it’s lead to as many as 21 in the second half at the 12:17 mark, 58-37 and Gardner-Webb never got closer than 12 the rest of the way. The Niners shot 48 percent from the floor on the night on the way to their 18th win of the season and held Gardner-Webb to just 28 percent shooting.

The Bulldogs had three players account for most of their scoring. Dominique Hudson scored 16 points, twin sister Monique scored 12, and Courtney Epps led the Bulldogs with 17 points and eight rebounds.

“I was happy to find out after the game that we would get another home game,” Aston said. “Obviously it will be another tough opponent but to have the home crowd and be back in Halton one more time is a thrill for us.”

Lutz fired after 12 years at Charlotte

The Bobby Lutz era with the Charlotte 49ers is over. For 12 long years, Lutz graced the Niner sideline and led Charlotte to eight post-season appearances (five NCAA, three NIT), and in 2009-10, it looked like he was headed for another.

Just five weeks ago, things couldn’t have been any better for a fan of the 49ers. The Niners knocked off a Top 25 Louisville team in famed Freedom Hall by 22 and dispatched of 15th-ranked Temple by 10 in Charlotte. Sitting at 18-5 overall and 8-1 in the Atlantic 10 standings, the Niners were at the top of the conference and looked poised to grab a spot in the 64-team NCAA field. But as quickly as the Niners shot up the national charts, their season fell apart.

Charlotte suffered through an epic collapse that saw them lose seven of the final eight games, miss out on a post-season berth all-together and was capped off by the unthinkable, the firing of Lutz. Charlotte will return 75 percent of their scoring and rebounding in 2010-11, but the departure of Lutz sends the program into a state of turmoil in the offseason.

A Charlotte graduate, Lutz was impeccable in his first six years with the team, competing with the likes of Rick Pitino and Bob Huggins in Conference-USA and leading the team into the national spotlight with five NCAA appearances.

“I’m obviously disappointed,” Lutz said on Monday following his release. “As I said when I got the job, this is my dream job and I hoped to finish my career here. Perhaps I have, who knows?”

Lutz posted a 218-158 record in 12 years at the helm, but since moving to the Atlantic 10 five years ago, the Niners haven’t lived up to expectations. Lutz led the Niners to just a 43-44 record in Atlantic 10 play, including conference play, and the program hasn’t won a NCAA Tournament game since the 2001 season against Tennessee.

“Do I expect us to go to the NCAA Tournament every year? No. I’d love for that to happen, but that’s not the level of expectations,” Athletic Director Judy Rose said to reporters Monday. “But it is a level of expectation that we get there on somewhat of a regular basis and I think we have the infrastructure in place.”

“When you look at the overall success in the five years that we have been in the Atlantic 10 Conference, we’re below .500,” Rose said. “So at what point, or how long do you think you can stand before you make a change and go in a different direction?”

Lutz still had four years remaining on his current contract, which ran through the 2013-14 season. With a base salary of $237,000 per year, Charlotte must pay $948,000 over the next four years from non-state appropriated funds.

Lutz’s coaching staff was also released, and Rob Perron, the Director of Basketball Operations will oversee the team during the team’s search for a new head coach.

Even with the late-season collapse and bitter taste left in the mouths of Charlotte fans, Lutz will always be remembered as a class act both on and off the court and as one of the best coaches in program history.

“I’m really proud of not only what we’ve done throughout our time here, but especially where we are now as we pass the baton,” Lutz said.

“Every coach in America serves at the pleasure of his administration and the administration has the right to do whatever they think is best,” Lutz said. “But I respect that, and it has been my pleasure and privilege to be the head coach at Charlotte. It’s just been an unbelievable journey, a dream come true.”

-- Josh Carpenter

Statement from coach Lutz

Bobby Lutz, who was fired Monday morning as head coach of the 49ers, released a statement on his time at the university.

"First of all, I would like to thank the media for being so fair to me over the years. Our program has benefitted greatly from your coverage.

It has been a wonderful 15 years for me and my family and there's so many people to thank. Jeff Mullins and Melvin Watkins were instrumental to my growth as a coach and I am forever grateful for the opportunity and their guidance.

I have also been fortunate to have terrific assistant coaches and players as well as their families who have sacrificed so much for our success.

Our fans, especially the students who are dear to my heart, have been tremendous and a source of inspiration for me. They deserve the best and that is my hope for them.

Lastly, I've enjoyed the love and support of my family and we have wonderful memories of our times at Charlotte.

In closing, it has been a privilege and pleasure to coach at UNC Charlotte, my alma mater. I have been truly blessed and will forever bleed green."

Niners drop home contest to Richmond

Richmond’s Kevin Anderson ripped the hearts out of the Charlotte 49ers on last year’s Senior Day, hitting the game-winning layup with just seconds remaining; Saturday afternoon, he did it again. Anderson hit a straight-away three-pointer with 5.3 seconds remaining to force the game into overtime and Richmond hit consecutive three-pointers to start overtime to send Charlotte to it’s sixth loss in seven games, 89-84.

With the win, Richmond wrapped up a first-round bye and will head to Atlantic City having won 10 of the last 11 games and will face an opponent TBA on Tuesday. The loss ended Charlotte’s chances of a first-round bye and after UMass defeated Rhode Island 69-67, it appears the Niners will face the Minutemen on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Halton Arena.

“It was a heck of a game and our guys played very well. Well enough to have chances to win,” 49er Head Coach Bobby Lutz said following the loss. “Give them (Richmond) credit, their guards were terrific, two first-team all-league guards. Those two guys really carried the load for them.”

Charlotte jumped out to an early lead 21-16 on an An’Juan Wilderness bucket and the two teams traded blows for the rest of the first half until Darien Brothers made a jumper at the conclusion of the half to put Richmond up 41-40.

The Spiders retained a marginal lead for most of the second half until Charlotte took the lead 65-64 on a Chris Braswell free throw with 2:32 left. After a Richmond miss, Braswell put the Niners up by three, 67-64 with an impressive one-handed put-back with 1:26 left. Richmond guard David Gonzalvez plagued the Niners all night long, scoring 29 points and pulling down 10 rebounds, and with 54.9 seconds left, he dialed up a long-distance bomb to tie the score at 67.

Charlotte had six free throw attempts over the next 50 seconds but converted on only three of them, giving Anderson the opportunity to tie the game. Charlotte Head Coach Bobby Lutz elected not to foul and Anderson drained a 25-footer to tie the game. The 49ers still had 5.3 seconds left, but couldn’t get off a shot before the buzzer.

Richmond opened the extra period with four consecutive three-point plays and never looked back on the Niners, winning 89-84. In a stretch spanning both the end of regulation and overtime, the Spiders scored seven consecutive three-point plays.

“I think we were just tired a little bit in overtime, I probably should have subbed, but I didn’t,” Lutz said. “Our defensive energy wasn’t great to start overtime and they took advantage of it.”

Gonzalvez’s 29 points led Richmond and Anderson added 24 more, as the Spiders ended a grueling week that saw them win games against Charlotte and Dayton, and lose a heartbreaker against Xavier in double overtime.

Braswell and Shamari Spears both scored 19 for the Niners and Braswell added 13 rebounds as Charlotte stumbles into the A-10 Tournament after sitting at the top of the standings just three weeks ago.

Niners face Richmond with chance of a first-round bye

The Charlotte 49ers, even with the downward spiral that has been the last six games, will still have the opportunity for a first-round bye in the A-10 Tournament when they face Richmond on Saturday afternoon at Halton Arena.

The Niners have lost five of the last six but can still get a first-round bye with a win over No. 23 Richmond, a loss by St. Louis at Dayton, and a loss by URI at UMass. Unlikely? Yes. But not impossible.

The Niners are responsible for Richmond's only home loss of the season, a 71-59 win on Jan. 20. This combined with the fact that Saturday is Senior Day for Charlotte should give the Niners a great chance at an upset.

The Niners will also be looking for help from the Flyers as they take on St. Louis. The Billikens took the first meeting between the teams 68-65 in OT, but that was in St. Louis. The Flyers have lost only once at home this season, a 65-64 loss to URI when URI's Marquis Jones hit a three-pointer with five seconds left.

Charlotte's biggest obstacle might be URI. The Rams face a UMass team that hasn't won since Valentines Day and has lost it's last three by more than 10 points. Needless to say, Ricky Harris might be Charlotte fans' best friend on Saturday afternoon.

Back to the game at hand. The Spiders have won nine of their last 10 with the only loss coming in a 78-76 double-overtime thriller against Xavier at Cintas Center and haven't lost in regulation since Charlotte's 71-59 win.

Charlotte Head Coach Bobby Lutz has been stuck on win No. 399 for nearly 10 days now and will still be looking for career win No. 400 against the Spiders. Even with the poor play over the last month, the Niners are still enjoying a turnaround that ranks them in the top 10 Nationally with an eight-win improvement from last year's 11-20 record.

Richmond has three players averaging more than 10 points per game and are led by junior guard Kevin Anderson (17.6 ppg), who has reached double-figures in all but three games this season. Charlotte kept Anderson in-check for just 10 points in the first meeting. Justin Harper led the way for Richmond in the first meeting with 24 points, six rebounds, three, blocks and three assists. The Niners got a 20-point performance from junior forward Shamari Spears and 13 points from Derrio Green.

With a loss, the Niners will host a first-round game in the A-10 Tournament on Tuesday at a time TBA.