March 2, 2008
Box Score
CHARLOTTE -- Leemire Goldwire scored a game-high 21 points and Lamont Mack added 19 as Charlotte held on to defeat Duquesne 89-82 on Senior Day at Halton Arena.
Reggie Jackson scored 15 of his 17 in the second half to lead Duquesne. Bill Clark and Kojo Mensah added 14 each for the Dukes.
The loss - DU's fourth in a row - dropped the Dukes (16-11) into a tie for 10th place with Dayton in the Atlantic 10 race with a 6-8 record. Charlotte (16-12, 7-7) jumped to seventh with the win.
Charlotte, which led 77-67 with 5:08 left, saw Duquesne cut the lead to two on a Reggie Jackson 3-pointer with 1:42 to go.
The Dukes were down four when Reggie Jackson drove to the hoop and was whistled for his fifth foul on a charge call with 1:14 remaining. DU would get no closer than three the rest of the way as Charlotte hit four free throws down the stretch for the final margin.
"We had some tough breaks down the stretch," said Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart. "Outside of the first 10 minutes of the game, I thought we executed pretty well offensively. I was pleased with our effort. We just have to keep our heads up and keep battling."
Duquesne, which entered the game having had five players foul out in its first 26 games, had three players disqualified on the afternoon.
Clark fouled out with 36 seconds left and Kieron Achara (9 points) committed his fifth foul with one second left.
Both teams went 11-of-30 from the 3-point arc with Goldwire, one of Charlotte's two seniors honored prior to the game, hitting 6-of-17 for Charlotte and Reggie Jackson 3-of-7 for Duquesne.
Charlotte shot .458 for the game to .429 for the Dukes. Duquesne won the rebounding battle 38-35. Charlotte turned 18 DU turnovers into 21 points, while the Dukes converted 16 Charlotte miscues into 26 points.
Duquesne, down 12 with 7:09 left in the first half rallied to take a two-point lead before Goldwire hit a pair of free throws to give Charlotte a 36-34 lead at the half.
The 49ers went on a 10-0 run early in the second half to go up 52-40 at the 15:55 mark. Mack started the run with a three-point play and ended it with a jumper.
Reggie Jackson scored eight points during DU's 13-5 run that cut the Charlotte lead from ten to two.
Duquesne closes out the road portion of the 2007-08 schedule at Temple on Wednesday. DU's final home game is Saturday, March 8 against Saint Louis.
NOTES
• The loss extended Duquesne's losing streak to four and also extended Charlotte's series win streak to four.
• Gary Tucker pulled down a career-high seven rebounds for Duquesne.
• DU's Shawn James suffered a strained right shoulder while being fouled on a field goal attempt with 10:20 left. James hit two free throws before leaving the game. He did not return. James will have the shoulder reevaluated on Monday.
• Duquesne hit 8-of-19 3-point attempts and went 18-of-22 from the foul line in the second half.
