Feb. 21, 2007
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PITTSBURGH -De'Angelo Alexander scored 29 points and Leemire Goldwire added 22 to lead Charlotte to a 99-90 win over Duquesne at the Palumbo Center.
Jerell Jamison posted his first career double-double with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the 49ers (13-13, 6-7) who ended a four game road losing streak in upping their road record to 2-9.
Robert Mitchell led five Dukes in double figures with 20 points. Kieron Achara had 16 points a career high-tying 5 blocks for DU. Duquesne (10-15, 6-8), which lost its fourth game in a row, missed an opportunity to clinch a spot in the 12-team Atlantic 10 Championship with a victory.
Duquesne trailed by three with 3:23 left before Alexander scored on a dunk to put Charlotte up 90-85. The Dukes then missed four consecutive shots and made just 2-of-6 free throw attempts over the next two-plus minutes as Charlotte built its lead to eight.
Achara had a chance to cut the lead to five when he hit a layup and was fouled with 39 seconds left, but he missed the free throw. Goldwire answered with a pair of free throws of his own to put the game out of reach.
Alexander scored the 49ers 99th point on a dunk with 22 seconds left.
"They shot the ball well and that hurt us," said Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart. "The bottom line is we had our opportunities. We missed four or five layups and free throws at the end. I thought we played a little tired the last few minutes."
Duquesne was down 11 late in the first half when Gary Tucker triggered a 9-0 run with a steal, a highlight-reel dunk a defensive rebound and a driving layup in a 16 second span to pull the Dukes within six. Scott Grote hit a layup and Mitchell drilled a 3-pointer with three seconds left to pull Duquesne within one at the half at 44-43.
There were three lead changes early in the second half, with DU's last lead coming on the second of two Stephen Wood free throws with 15:18 left.
Charlotte, led by Goldwire's 5-of-9, was 13-of-31 from the 3-point arc. Eighteen of the 49ers 46 rebounds came at the offensive end, leading to a 30-8 Charlotte advantage in second-chance points.
"We said before the game that if we could hold them to 10 offensive rebounds we'd have a chance," said Everhart. "And they had 18. The ones they missed, we couldn't get."
Duquesne completes the home portion of its schedule with games against St. Bonaventure (6-20, 3-10) on Saturday and Akron (20-6) on Monday. DU, picked in the preaseason to finish 13th in the Atlantic 10, can clinch a spot in the A-10 Championship with a win over the Bonnies.
