Associated Press
The college roundup …
CHARLOTTE ó Charlotte guard Derrio Green finally found his stroke, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the 49ers.
Green scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half as Charlotte won its first Atlantic 10 Conference game of the season, 71-61 over Fordham on Saturday night.
Jamar Briscoe added 20 points, and Chris Braswell had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the 49ers (9-8, 1-2), who have won six straight games at home and three straight over the Rams (6-9, 0-3).
Green, a junior, hit 7 of 9 from the field ó including a season-best 5 of 7 from 3-point range ó as Charlotte broke a 57-57 tie late to pull away and end a two-game losing streak.
“I was feelin’ it tonight, and the guys were good about finding me,” said Green, who equaled his season high in scoring.That had been a problem for Green in his past three starts. He hit just 5 of 20 (including 3 of 12 on 3-pointers) in the 49ers’ 86-83, double-overtime win over Georgia Tech on Jan. 2, 6 of 12 (but just 1 of 6 3s) in an Atlantic 10 loss to Richmond on Jan. 5, and had a 5-for-21 effort (2 of 11 on 3s) in a Jan. 8 conference loss to St. Bonaventure.
No such problems Saturday, however.
“Derrio got us rolling,” Charlotte head coach Alan Major said. “When a guy’s hot, the shots are going to go down. You feel like the rim’s twice as big.
This was also the 49ers’ first game without center Phil Jones, who was ruled academically ineligible last week. Even without the 6-foot-10 junior, Charlotte dominated the boards, outrebounding the Rams 18-7 in the first half and 41-24 (including a 15-8 advantage in offensive boards) for the game.
WCU 79, Appalachian State 78.
CULLOWHEE ó Mike Williams hit a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer to lift Western Carolina to a 79-78 victory over Appalachian State on Saturday.
Williams, who scored 10 points, hit the game-winner after teammate Richie Gordon missed a layup with 5 seconds left and Harouna Mutombo grabbed the rebound. Western Carolina (8-10, 4-2 Southern Conference) has won four consecutive games.
The game featured 11 ties and 17 lead changes.
Appalachian State’s Omar Carter hit a free throw for a 76-75 lead, but Brandon Boggs gave the Catamounts a 77-76 lead with 2:32 to play. The Mountaineers (7-9, 3-3) retook the lead on Marcus Wright’s jumper with 1:54 left.
Trey Sumler scored 17 points for WCU.
Carter scored 19, Donald Sims had 18, Andre Williamson added 14 and Wright scored 10 for the Mountaineers.
East Carolina 76, Tulane 67
GREENVILLE ó Jontae Sherrod scored 24 points to lead East Carolina to a 76-67 victory over Tulane.
The Pirates (9-7, 1-1 Conference USA) shot 61.9 percent from the field (13 of 21) in the second half in their first home game since Dec. 7. East Carolina is 7-1 at home this season.
Coastal Carolina 60, Presbyterian 42.
CONWAY, S.C. ó The Chanticleers (16-2, 7-0 Big South Conference) extended their school-record winning streak to 14 games after holding the Blue Hose to 31.5 percent shooting from the floor (17 of 54).
Charleston Southern 69, Winthrop 60
CHARLESTON, S.C. ó Jamarco Warren scored 27 points and Kelvin Martin had a double-double to lead Charleston Southern to a 69-60 win over Winthrop.
UNC Asheville 68, Gardner-Webb 59
ASHEVILLE ó Matt Dickey scored 20 points to lead North Carolina-Asheville to its third straight victory.
John Williams added 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field. He became the 25th UNC Asheville player to score 1,000 career points for UNC Asheville (9-8, 4-3).
North Carolina A&T 78, Howard 65
WASHINGTON ó Thomas Coleman scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead North Carolina A&T over Howard 78-65 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game. Coleman scored 13 of his 17 in the opening half for the Aggies (8-9, 3-1).
NCCU 77, Coppin State 71
BALTIMORE ó Landon Clement scored 25 points and C.J. Wilkerson added 23 as North Carolina Central (7-8) defeated Coppin State 77-71.
NATIONAL
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ó Bruce Ellington scored 23 points, including the final six for South Carolina, and the Gamecocks beat the Gators 72-69.
Ellington was 8 of 15 shooting, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range, and chipped in four rebounds and three assists.
Sam Muldrow, Brian Richardson and Lakeem Jackson finished with 10 points apiece for the Gamecocks (11-5, 2-1 Southeastern Conference), who won for just the fifth time in the last 21 games in the series.