Xavier University Athletics
Xavier University
Charlotte
No. 16 Xavier Falls To Charlotte, 65-60
02.19.09 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2009
Box Score
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Ian Andersen scored 16 points, Lamont Mack scored all 12 of his points in the final 8 minutes and Charlotte stunned No. 16 Xavier 65-60 on Thursday.
Mack, Charlotte's top scorer coming in, got into early foul trouble and missed his first six shots. He then hit four of his final six, including a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left to put the 49ers ahead 62-58.
An'Juan Wilderness iced it by going 3-for-4 from the foul line in the final 11 seconds before the Charlotte students stormed the floor in the 49ers' biggest win in a down season.
Wilderness scored 15 points for Charlotte (10-15, 4-7 Atlantic 10), which knocked off one of the league's heavyweights for the second time in two weeks.
C.J. Anderson had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Musketeers (21-5, 9-3), who got only nine points from senior B.J. Raymond in their third straight road game.
In a back-and-forth game with 24 lead changes and 17 ties, Mack scored six consecutive points to put Charlotte ahead 56-53. A minute later Andersen hit an off-balance 3 from the right wing to give Charlotte a 59-55 lead with 2:21 left.
Xavier got within 59-58 on Anderson's driving layup with 49 seconds left before Mack's 3 sent the Halton Arena crowd into a frenzy.
Xavier cruised to a 22-point home win over Charlotte last month behind a 20-rebound advantage. But the 49ers were without Wilderness, who was since returned from a stress fracture in his foot.
Despite its poor record, the athletic if not polished 49ers entered having won four of their past five home games, including a win over now-No. 25 Dayton just before the Flyers knocked off Xavier.
The loss continued a puzzling stretch for Xavier, which fell out of a first-place tie with Dayton and could plummet out of the rankings during a stretch that has also included a loss at Duquesne.
While Xavier controlled the inside, it struggled to keep up with Charlotte's frenzied pace behind point guard DiJuan Harris.
The 5-foot-9 Harris, Charlotte's only true point guard after Michael Gerrity quit the team before the season, constantly tried to push the pace against Xavier, whose half-court defense and rebounding were far superior.
Harris, sporting a new Mohawk haircut, fed Andersen in transition for one of his five 3-pointers that put the 49ers ahead 44-41 with 9:55 left. It was one of Harris' 10 assists while he played all 40 minutes.
The stars for both teams were non-factors for nearly three-quarters of the game. Mack, averaging 14.8 points, spent most of the first half on the bench.
Xavier's Raymond didn't get his first field goal until he made a 3 with 12:08 left to put the Musketeers ahead 41-39. He then hit another jumper and banked in a leaner and hit the ensuing free throw for a 3-point play with 6:31 left to put Xavier ahead 51-48.
Mack responded with his first field goal on a drive to the basket, then got hot when Charlotte needed him most.
