With just under 10 seconds left in overtime, Charlotte 49ers senior point guard DiJuan Harris brought the ball upcourt and was having déjà vu. Just like the first time, he stepped up and made the shot when the 49ers needed it most.
“Well um, I actually had hit that same shot before the half ended,” Harris said of his game-winning jumper. “Time was winding down and coach was like ‘make a play.’ At the worst I knew it was going into double-overtime. So I found a sweet spot on the floor, got there like I did before the end of the half, he backed up and I knocked the shot in.”
Harris scored only seven points in the game, but four of them came at crunch time when it counted most. Harris gave the 49ers a 26-25 lead at the end of the first half when he crossed-over Kwamain Mitchell and knocked down a foul-line jumper. In overtime, it was a mirror image. Harris dribbled inside the arc, used his patented crossover move to create space from Mitchell and buried the game-winner. After the Billikens’ half-court heave missed, Harris jumped over press row, celebrating the 63-61 victory.
It was ironic that in a game where Charlotte lived by points in the paint, a jumper was the deciding factor. Coming in as a top 10 defensive team nationally, the Billikens held Charlotte without a 3-pointer for the first time since 1989, a streak of 630 games.
The game was a series of ups and downs for Charlotte (12-4; 2-1), who moved to 7-1 at Halton Arena this season. The 49ers started the game on a 12-2 run, capped by Derrio Green’s impressive 3-point play in which he knocked in a one-handed shot from the right side while being fouled.
The Billikens (11-6; 2-1) couldn’t stay with the 49ers early, but after Green’s 3-point play, scored seven straight points to get right back into the game. 49er’s head coach Bobby Lutz has an unspoken rule; if one of his players picks up two fouls early in the first half, he’ll ride the pine for the remaining minutes of the half. This was the case for Charlotte freshman Chris Braswell, who picked up his second foul with just over 10 minutes remaining. With Braswell on the bench, the Billikens took advantage and eventually took the lead late in the first half on a 3-pointer from Cody Ellis.
In the second half, the Niners once again jumped out to an early lead. And once again, the Billikens fought right back. Charlotte pushed their lead to as many as eight at 51-43 when Harris knocked down a pair of free throws. But the Billikens had a counter-punch, answering with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 51. After one free throw for both teams, the score was tied at 52 and after An’Juan Wilderness missed a driving layup with one second remaining, the game was headed to overtime.
In overtime, Charlotte jumped out to an early lead and led 61-56 with just over one minute remaining. After a dunk by the Billikens’ Jon Smith, Willie Reed went to the foul line with a chance to cut the score to one. After Reed clanked off both free throws, the long rebound went to Kyle Cassity, who knocked down the three with 17 seconds remaining, tying the score.
Lutz opted not to call timeout and allowed Harris made the clutch shot.
“Big players step up in big-time moments,” Harris said afterwards. “Me being the leader of the UNC-Charlotte basketball team, whether I made it or missed it, I was willing to take the shot to end the game.”
Charlotte was paced by junior Shamari Spears, who notched his first double-double as a 49er with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Braswell also scored 16 points for Charlotte, who relied on the freshman sensation to score valuable points in the paint.
“All week in practice coach has been stressing to me and Braswell that if teams are going to focus on stopping us from scoring we have to do other little things,” Spears said of the effort from the bigs. “Just doing other things to get our teammates involved, like crashing the boards the way we did tonight.”
St. Louis, who failed to move to 3-0 in conference play since the 1989-90 season was led by Jon Smith (15 points, eight rebounds).
The Niners will try to get their first A-10 road win this week as they travel to Richmond on Wednesday evening and La Salle on Saturday afternoon.
Game Notes: Charlotte senior RaShad Coleman injured the patella tendon in his left knee on a driving layup in overtime, his status is unknown……..Charlotte’s bench was outscored 44-6………the 49ers didn’t record a 3-pointer for the first time since 1989………the 49ers outrebounded the Billikens45-39……49ers head coach Bobby Lutz went shoeless on the sidelines in support of the Samaritin’s Feet campaign.
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