College Basketball: Spears, Charlotte to face Fordham

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By Bret Strelow

bstrelow@salisburypost.com

The second half started, and more than two minutes passed before Shamari Spears made a 3-pointer to end Charlotte's scoring drought against George Washington.

The 49ers took their first lead of the half when Spears hit another 3-pointer with 11:14 remaining.

A career-high 31 points from the 6-foot-6, 245-pound Spears helped Charlotte pull out a 72-68 win against the Colonials on Wednesday night, and the 49ers (17-5, 7-1 Atlantic 10) return to action this afternoon at Fordham (2-18, 0-8).

Spears' previous high was 28 points in a November victory over Yale, and his performance against GW enabled Charlotte to remain only a half-game behind Xavier in the A-10 standings.

"Spears had his dancing shoes on tonight," George Washington coach Karl Hobbs said afterward. "He was just too much for us."

Spears, a former Salisbury High School star, was successful even when he planted his green and white sneakers behind the 3-point line at Halton Arena.

He didn't make a 3-pointer in the two seasons he played at Boston College before transferring closer to home. After going 2-for-13 from long range in Charlotte's first 21 games, he was 2-for-2 against George Washington.

"I make a living down low," Spears said with a laugh, "and that's where I'm going to stay."

Spears, who made 23 of 27 shots in a 55-point outing against East Davidson as a Salisbury sophomore, was 12-for-20 from the field Wednesday. He is shooting 48.9 percent and averaging a team-best 16.7 points this season.

Charlotte can collect its seventh road win overall and fourth in league play by beating Fordham in the Bronx today. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

The 49ers were 2-14 away from home, including 0-8 against A-10 foes, last season.

"This year we're so much more resilient," senior point guard DiJuan Harris said. "We don't panic in tough situations. We come together."