The Charlotte 49ers won nine of their first 11 games by 10 points or more and lost four of five games by 10 or more. Oh boy, how conference play changes things. The 49ers won another close game Saturday afternoon when An’Juan Wilderness drained a runner as time expired to defeat La Salle, 84-82 at Tom Gola Arena.
Charlotte controlled the game for it’s entirety, with their largest lead being 11 with just under 12 minutes left, 70-59. But the pesky Explorers wouldn’t go away, eventually battling back to take the lead on Charlotte at 77-76 late in the second half.
With the game tied at 82, La Salle got the ball back with the shot clock off and a chance to win or at least go to overtime. Standout senior Rodney Green made a perfect entry pass to freshman Aaric Murray, but the freshman fumbled away the perfect pass, turning the ball over to Charlotte with 4.5 seconds left.
Senior point guard Dijuan Harris would normally be the person Charlotte would try and get the ball to, but the senior had fouled out earlier in the game, leaving Wilderness as the best option. Wilderness got the ball and raced down the right side. La Salle’s Green picked him up at the foul line, but the junior forward got his shot up and in from 16 feet as time expired.
The win moved Charlotte to 14-5 on the season and 4-1 in A-10 play, making Wednesday night’s showdown with Temple a battle for first place in the conference.
The Niners were led once again by junior forward Shamari Spears, who finished with 22 points. Charlotte also got 20-point outings from Chris Braswell and Derrio Green. Braswell scored 21 and pulled down 13 boards for his sixth double-double of the season and Green scored 20 points and dished out seven assists. Wilderness added 13 for the Niners and scored Charlotte’s final seven points. Rodney Green had a game-high 32 points for La Salle (10-9; 2-3).
The win was the third in a row for Charlotte and first back-to-back conference road wins since the 2005-06 season. The Niners have now faced the top three individual scorers in the A-10 on the road (Crawford, Anderson, and Green), and have emerged with a 2-1 record. La Salle, Xavier and Richmond were also preseason Top-4 picks in conference.
Charlotte will have an opportunity to seize first place in the A-10 when they welcome the 16th-ranked Temple Owls to Halton Arena on Wednesday night.
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