Jan. 15, 2000
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - UNC Charlotte handed Saint Louis its eighth-consecutive Conference USA road loss with a decisive 72-51 decision tonight before 6,847 at Halton Arena. Forty-Niners junior forward Tremaine Gardiner posted a double-double with 18 points and 12 boards as UNCC improved its record to 9-7 overall and 2-2 in C-USA.
"They got the ball to their key people in the right spots, and they made shots," Billikens head coach Lorenzo Romar said. "We gave up too many second-chance points, and blocking out is something we work on every day. It's obvious that we still need to improve in that area."
Gardiner also made an impression on Romar. "He can shoot the three, and if you close too quickly, he can drive around you," Romar said. "Yet, he's pretty strong and can score down on the block."
The Billikens raced out to a 10-1 lead as Justin Love and Maurice Jeffers drilled treys. UNCC answered with a 17-2 run by repeatedly beating the Billikens down the floor for easy baskets. The 49ers held a 38-26 halftime advantage as guard Diego Guevara had all 10 of his points in the first 20 minutes.
Saint Louis made a brief stand early in the second half highlighted by Justin Tatum's dunk and steal to close within 40-30 at 17:15. UNCC immediately responded with an 8-1 run to seal it as Kenkay Jones knocked in a pair of shots.
UNCC leading scorer Jobey Thomas finished with 13 points. The 49ers out-rebounded the Billikens 46-38 and included 15 offensive boards in that total.
The UNCC defense limited Saint Louis to 30.5 percent shooting overall an 26.7 percent from three. The 49ers blanketed SLU leading scorer Justin Love as he finished with 10. Tatum and Jeffers shared Billiken game-high honors with 11 apiece.
UNCC head coach Bobby Lutz praised his club's defensive performance. "That was by far our best defensive effort of the year," he said. "Especially since we were playing man-to-man. We're getting better, and we are a much more confident team now."
The Billikens conclude a two-game C-USA road swing by traveling to DePaul on Sat. Jan. 22.
- SLU -
