Game 56: Men at Charlotte

The men's team travels to Charlotte, NC to face Charlotte (16-12, 7-7) tonight at Halton Arena. GW (9-15, 5-9) is coming off of a hard-fought 66-56 loss at #9/11 Xavier on Saturday night. The Colonials tied the game with 6.23 left in the second half and trailed by only one with 2.18 to play before fading down the stretch. In that one, two GW players reached double figures in scoring: Rob Diggs (19 points, eight rebounds, three assists) and Johnny Lee (14 points).

The 49ers, who were picked to finish 10th out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return two starters from the squad that went 14-16 and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament. Charlotte is led by two players averaging double figures in scoring: 5-11 senior guard Leemire Golwire (18.4 points, 4.3 rebounds per game this season) and 6-7 junior forward Lamont Mack (12.6 points, five rebounds). Coach Booby Lutz is 184-124 in his 10th season at Charlotte; he is 365-215 in 19 seasons as a head coach.

Charlotte is coming off of an 89-82 home win over Duquesne on Sunday afternoon. In that one, four 49ers reached double figures in scoring: Goldwire (21 points, four rebounds, five steals), Mack (19 points, four rebounds), 6-7 junior forward Charlie Coley (16 points), and 6-4 sophomore guard Ian Anderson (13 points). Charlotte shot 27-59 (45.8%) from the field and forced 18 Duquesne turnovers. The 49ers come in having lost six of their last nine games following a 13-6 start, which included wins over Davidson and at Clemson. The 49ers are 11-2 at Halton Arena and 12-3 in Charlotte, as the squad has played two games at Bobcats Arena.

This is the 17th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 9-7. The last meeting came on March 1, 2007 in Charlotte, which the Colonials won 62-60. Carl Elliott hit a turnaround jumper with 18 seconds left to give GW a tough road win. In that one, three Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Maureece Rice (15 points, six rebounds), Elliott (14 points, nine rebounds, eight assists), and Damian Hollis (12 points, four rebounds). Goldwire led the 49ers with 16 points and nine rebounds. GW is 4-0 in the series since Charlotte joined the Atlantic 10 in the 2005-2006 season. GW has won five-straight in the series, including the last three in Charlotte. The 49ers are 5-4 all-time at home against the Colonials.

While GW has won only one game away from the Smith Center all season, the Colonials are back in the driver's seat in the race for the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The pick here is for coach Karl Hobbs' squad to find a way to get it done on the road.

Greg Shapiro and Julian Gompertz have the call for WRGW with Ben Toder and Steven Smith handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 7.40 p.m. I will join Byron Kerr for the 3WT broadcast. You can listen here starting at 7.50 p.m. Matt McConnell and Pete Gillen have the call for CN8. You can watch live starting at eight p.m.

Game notes: Rice has been dismissed from the team...The Colonials control their own destiny in qualifying for the A-10 Tournament...GW has lost 12 of its 13 games away from the Smith Center this season...The Colonials are 12-20 in their last 32 games away from the Smith Center...GW is just 4-4 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials were 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points last season...Coach Karl Hobbs has used 12 different starting lineups through 24 games...GW used just five different starting lineups in 32 games last season...This season, the backcourt accounts for only 35% of GW's points...Last season, the backcourt accounted for 54% of the Colonials' scoring...GW has six losses by 20 or more points this season...Over the first six years of the Hobbs era, the Colonials only suffered 10 losses by that margin...Hobbs is 5-1 against Charlotte, while Lutz is 4-5 against GW...Hollis is averaging 12.5 points and five rebounds per game in two career meetings with the 49ers...GW is 1-1 on Thursdays, 1-10 when allowing 70 points, and 5-9 coming off of a loss...21 of Charlotte's 28 contests have been decided by seven points or less...Goldwire has five 30-point games this season.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from Halton Arena once we get closer to tip-off. Please check back later.

Update, 6.45 p.m. - Over GW's last three games, Rice had combined to score just seven points. In addition, over the Colonials' last seven games, Rice was averaging only 3.7 points per game, and was held scoreless in three of those contests.

Update, 6.52 p.m. - We can now confirm that Rice is not in Charlotte. The team just arrived at the arena, so check back for more soon.

Update, 7.24 p.m. - From the conversations I've had in the last 30 minutes, it is doubtful that we will be hearing anything else from the program on Rice's situation before tip-off. In a pregame interview with Mr. Kerr, Hobbs confirmed that the senior is off the team and said he hopes that Rice finishes his degree. Other than that, everyone around the program is tight-lipped on the situation.

Update, 7.53 p.m. - Here are your starting lineups:

GW
G - Johnny Lee (5-8 sophomore from Nashville, TN)
G - Xavier Alexander (6-6 freshman from Forest Park, OK)
F - Wynton Witherspoon (6-7 junior from Duluth, GA)
F - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)

Charlotte
G - DiJuan Harris (5-9 sophomore from Charlotte, NC)
G - Leemire Goldwire (5-11 senior from Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
F - An'Juan Wilderness (6-6 freshman from Dunwoody, GA)
F - Charlie Coley (6-7 junior from Lake Worth, FL)
F - Lamont Mack (6-7 junior from Chicago, IL)

13th different starting lineup in 25 games for the Colonials.

Update, 10.08 p.m. - The Colonials fall 77-61. After cutting the deficit to one with 4.55 left, Charlotte closed the contest on a 21-6 run to hold on. GW needs to win on Saturday and have St. Bonaventure beat Fordham to have any chance of making it to Atlantic City. The Bonnies and Rams tip at 2 p.m., so we'll know by the time the game gets underway at the Smith Center whether or not the Colonials are still alive.

That's all for tonight. We'll be back on Saturday when both squads are in action. As always, thanks for stopping by.