During the Charlotte 49ers current 4-game winning streak there has not been any shortage of drama.  Sunday’s game at Georgia Tech was par for the course for the Niners, who trailed by as many as 14 in the first half and never led in regulation. However, they forced overtime against the host Yellow Jackets with what has become their trademark: stiffing defense and clutch plays on the offensive side of the court.

Derrio Green led the 49ers in points and assists Sunday.

A lot of players contributed on the court today, most notably Derrio Green, who scored 21 points including 8 straight free throws to close out regulation and into overtime.  Green has shifted to point guard and while still struggling with shot selection (5-20, 3-12 3-pt) is thriving as a creator for the rest of the offense, scoring 9 assists with only 3 turnovers.  He may be the answer at point guard with Jamar Briscoe struggling with his shot AND taking care of the ball(1 Assist, 5 turnovers).

The front court had plenty to contribute as well -Javarris Barnett turned in his 15 points, going 3-6 from behind the arc plus 6 rebounds. Barnett continues to show that he will be a focal point of this offense, and his hustle play near the end of the game to chase a loose ball sums up everything you need to know about this player.  The force of Chris Braswell and Phil Jones combined for 29 points but only 11 rebounds.   The rest of the lineup made up for the rebounding, led by Briscoe’s 8, as the 49ers out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 47-37.   An’Juan Wilderness tallied a line of 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, a solid performance to wrap up his visit to his home state.  Gokhan Sirin once again struggled to have an influence on offense, not taking any shots in only 4 minutes of action, but pulled in 3 rebounds over that time.

The 2-3 Zone was once again Alan Major’s defense of choice, holding the Yellow Jackets to 26 points in the 2nd half after the hot shooting Iman Shumpert (6-10 3-pt) helped contribute to 40 1st-half  points for Georgia Tech.  Down three at the half,  Charlotte controlled the tempo the last 30 minutes of play, ultimately leading the the victory.  Other than the Shumpert, the Yellow Jackets only make 33.3% of their long range shots, but it wasn’t enough as an inside game never developed to take pressure off the shooters.

These games might be ugly, but the job is getting done by Alan Major’s squad.  On Wednesday the Richmond Spiders await who are particularly vulnerable after a shocking 1-point loss at home to Bucknell today.  A primer for Charlotte’s Atlantic 10 schedule will be posted tonight after the end of the Rhode Island-Florida game(9pm)

Charlotte 49ers.com Recap

Box Score(.pdf)

AP Recap(via ESPN)

Postgame Quotes

Life’s tough when you’re getting a free education, room and board. So tough that when you hit the road for a few days you find yourself perched along an interstate off-ramp begging for loose change.  That’s no guarantee to easy street -those professional bums can out-beg just about anyone, but hey that’s why it’s college. Got to learn somewhere.  But speaking of college, I hear our university plays a little roundball and in fact has a game Thursday (2 PM) against the Mercer Bears in Macon, GA.  It’s the first of back-to-back games for Mercer (we advise against that, but to each their own) who play Georgia Tech (Sunday’s opponent for the Niners) on Friday. In honor of this momentous occasion we’ve put our mammoth Division III budget to work here at GTG and produced the best preview $8.00/day can buy.

Between OSU players selling hardware and dinners at Applebees, it's a tough life.!

Mercer enters the game a pedestrian 3-8, with only two wins against DI competition; however, they’re playing better and as last week’s game against Georgia showed they are a team to be taken seriously.  The Bears were a bobbled pass by Mercer Sr. post man Brian Mills away from a victory, having led by 11 points with just over 8 minutes to go before Georgia came back.  Mills had an otherwise terrific game with a double-double (21 points, 12 rebounds) versus an improved Bulldogs team that had a considerable size advantage at most positions.

Gone from the 09-10 Mercer squad the Niners defeated last season at home 91-80 are the bulk of last season’s scoring, including James Florence, who hit 6 of 13 from beyond the arc to lead the Bears with 22 points in last year’s losing effort.  In their place are three other seniors for Mercer; Mark Hall, 5’11 guard (5.2 ppg), Jeff Smith, 6’2 guard (team leading 14.1 ppg and 3.5 apg) and Brandon Moore, 6’6 forward (11.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg).  Rounding out the starting lineup is Fr. PG Langston Hall who has good size (6’4) and is the team’s best outside shooter (43.5%).

Remember how Alan Major slowed the game down against Tennessee to limit possessions? Like Wright State, that won’t be a problem with Mercer.   The Bears score just 64 ppg. on 41.2% shooting from the field.   They are poor from outside (29.6%), the foul line (67.4%) and are not particularly good rebounding the ball (-1.5 rpg vs. opponents compared to +1.1 rpg. for the Niners).

Despite Mercer’s shortcomings as a team, this is a definite trap game as the Niners could be caught looking ahead to Georgia Tech on Sunday.   Couple that with the Bears improved play last week against the Georgia Bulldogs and this has all the makings of an upset.  Expect Coach Major, however, to drive that point home as the Niners spend the next 5 days in the Peach State for these two opponents as they close non-conference play.

Things to look for in tomorrow’s game:

• Will the Niners continue to use the 2-3 zone to stifle the inside play of the Bears?   As a poor-shooting team from the perimeter this is a very sound strategy; however, as in any game the Niners have to be ready to adapt and make changes.
• Can Derrio Green keep up his strong play?   He’s averaging 15 ppg over the last three games and 44% from behind the 3 point arc.
• Will Javarris Barnett continue to develop?   The Jr. from Charlotte has seen his role expand this year and is making the most of it.
• Paging Chris Braswell!   The A10 All-Rookie member has struggled in his sophomore campaign.   Mercer and Brian Mills will provide both a challenge and opportunity.

Barnett's stock is soaring like one of his transition dunks.

It would have been easy to signal out Derrio Green’s late-game heroics. He’s done it before (see: Fordham) and tonight he did it again scoring the final 8 points in a comeback from behind victory over a tough Wright State squad. However, tonight’s the night we highlight the consistently improved play of Javarris Barnett.  JB’s play was perhaps the prettiest thing in Halton tonight, falling just short of the forever undefeated Alpha Duster.  Without him, perhaps the Niners find themselves in too big of a hole to complete the turnaround.

JB had himself a terrific night, scoring 13 points on 4-8 shooting and adding 7 rebounds, a block and a steal. He was a threat from outside, hitting 2 for 5 from behind the arc and had several strong drives to the basket. It’s really been a remarkable progression for Javarris, going from an end of the rotation player to, in the words of coach Alan Major, a starter that’s doing something on the court -not just ‘earning’ his time. Perhaps the most exciting part is the feeling that the best is yet to come from Javarris. He has another whole season and a half in front of him to continue to develop and make the most of his opportunity. Are we predicting All-conference? No, that’s a bit precocious; however, he’s a player coaches are going to have to start planning for and someone we can start to count on to do good things for us on both ends of the court.

It was in that first half where JB did his best work, a half that would see the Niners go to the locker room down 29-25 to Wright State. The Raiders in the first half were able to get consistent open looks, particularly in the corners, as the Niners defense was frequently out of position. It was frustrating to say the least when Phil Jones was forced to fly out to the wing to defend a three-point shot in the corner and committed a foul. Normally I’d be furious with Phil about that, but when defensive breakdowns result in a center having to run out to the wing, it’s everyone’s fault.

Green answers the call yet again for the Niners late in the game.

That lead would swell to 14 points in the 2nd half as the Raiders continued to exploit the Niners defense, again particularly in the corners. the Niners though would adjust by switching to a 2-3 zone that frustrated Wright State and forced well-defended shots. The formerly sharp-shooting Raiders in the first half (48%) wound up shooting an abysmal 22% in the second half. CREDIT TO THE NINERS DEFENSE.

On the other end of the court, it was time for Derrio Greento answer the Bat Signal and deliver some more late-game heroics. The stretch of improved play couldn’t come at a better time for Green, who’s struggled early in the season to find his shot. Hitting a pair of clutch free throws followed by a deep 2 pointer and some timely stops, the Niners found themselves even with the Raiders. Following another tough shot by the Raiders, Derrio hit the game winning shot right in the eye of the defender, connecting from three and giving our beloved Niners a 56-53 lead. Chris Braswell, who struggled all game with tough interior defense and frequent double-teams, iced the game with a free throw and putting the Niners up 57-53 and providing the final margain.

Seriously?  We did that?  To Richmond?  Shut up.

What a game.  To beat Richmond in the Robins Center playing their style of basketball was truly a sight to behold for Niner fans.  On a night when Richmond could have set a new mark for home court dominance, the Niners dropped the Spiders 71-59 and re-invigorated talk of an at-large berth.

The game started out like most thought it would -Richmond capitalizing on Charlotte errors and misses to build a 27-20 lead.  From that point the Niners went on a 12-0 run over the final 4:49 to build a 32-27 halftime lead.  Keying the surge was seldom-used Javarris Barnett who snagged 3 rebounds, blocked a shot, and hit a three-pointer to provide a much needed spark off the bench.

In the second half, it was more of the same despite an early run at the outset to put the Niners in a brief deficit.  The most remarkable aspect of the game was the oft-mentioned patience the Niners exhibited in the half court offense, contrasting with Richmond seemingly dead set on shooting 3 pointers.  To the Niners credit, the latter was in good part due to some of the best defense the Niners have played all season.

One major area of concern, ball-handling, turned out to be the bane of the Spiders instead of the Niners as Richmond committed one more turnover and generated three less steals by game’s end.  On the boards, the Niners dominated grabbing 10 more loose balls.

To be honest, I thought I was in the twilight zone watching the game.  Practically every point I mentioned seemed to work as I hoped when writing the pregame.  Derrio did more than bring the ball up -he picked up 5 assists and 0 turnovers.  The bench provided a spark -Sirin hit a 3 and Javarris dropped a double-double!  Even Shamari picked up a pair assists although he still forced it a few times in traffic.  Regardless, Spears played a solid if not spectacular game, scoring 20 points as the Niners remained committed to feeding him in the post. Braswell also did his usual excellent job in the paint rebounding the ball and kept his cool when matched up with an obviously chippy Dan Geriot.

For Richmond it was a very tough loss.  The crowd was absolutely pathetic and UR fans should be ashamed.  The lone bright spot on the evening was the stellar play of Justin Harper who benefited from the attention paid to Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez, scoring 24 points on 8-11 shooting.

Going forward the Niners can ill-afford to look ahead to Temple.  La Salle remains a talented team with plenty of size and strong coaching.  As previous seasons can attest, winning on the road is very difficult.  Two straight on the road would be a feat for this team and a sign the team is coming together in the heart of the season.

Derrio Green is a very welcome addition. W. Robertson

Unlike the designer of our floorboard introduction graphics last year, we at Green Tinted Glasses know how to spell SOPHOMORE. We also like to dish out arbitrary grades to players in a game we’re actually not very good at, except for HP, who once beat Cedric Maxwell in a game of 21. That being said, the freshmen have already been reviewed, so it’s on to the Sophomores, all two of them.

Since he’s starting the games, he’ll start off this review as well: Derrio Green is basically our coaches gift to DiJuan. With a guy like Derrio on the team, DiJuan can play more aggressive and the team isn’t guaranteed to lose if Harris fouls out or needs to rest a small injury. It’s nice that he can hit threes, as well, even if he’s only shot .293 so far on the year. He wasn’t exactly stellar in the first two games (0-6 and 1-4), but he’s really settled in since, taking better shots and is making more of them at .367. He’s also doing a respectable job dishing the ball as well, providing 13 assists with only 6 turnovers. Bobby was confident that Derrio would be a great player for the Niners, and it appears that he was right all along. GTG.net Grade Thus Far: B

Still being called Jerrell Lewis 2.0, Javarris Barnett hasn’t seen much action off the bench. We knew this kid was going to be a project coming in, but it would be great to see him get some time on the court. So far he’s played only 14 minutes, but he’s shooting .333 from behind the arc. He also showed a little bit of an inside game against JCSU, but we haven’t seen it since. Instead of Jerrell Lewis 2.0, the best result would be Lamont Mack 2.o, but only time will tell if he’ll get that chance. GTG.net Grade Thus Far: C could really be n/a

Overall, we have to be pleased with the performance of the Sophomores so far, even if only one of them has seen significant playing time.