Charlotte 77, George Washington 61
3/6/2008 9:14 PM
By MIKE CRANSTON
AP Sports Writer
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Lamont Mack led a balanced effort with 17 points and Charlotte continued George Washington's miserable, turmoil-filled season with a 77-61 win on Thursday.
Leemire Goldwire added 13 points in his final home game as the 49ers (17-12, 8-7) improved their positioning for next week's Atlantic 10 tournament, while putting the Colonials (9-16, 5-10) in danger of missing the tournament all together.
Hours after star guard Maureece Rice was dismissed from the team for violating team rules, the Colonials got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Rob Diggs, but wilted down the stretch as they dropped to 1-12 on the road.
Rice, George Washington's top scorer last season and the most outstanding player of the Atlantic 10 tournament, had seen his numbers decline this season when he was switched to point guard following a season-ending knee injury to Travis King.
Rice was suspended twice for one game each earlier this season for violating unspecified team rules. He did not travel with the team to Charlotte on Wednesday and his dismissal was announced as the Colonials arrived at the arena about an hour before tipoff.
Still, even with walk-on Johnny Lee struggling as the primary point guard in Rice's absence, George Washington rallied from a 13-point deficit early in the second half, getting within 56-55 on Damian Hollis' jumper with 4:55 left.
Then Goldwire drilled two 3-pointers in a 10-2 run as Charlotte snapped a five-game losing streak to the Colonials, who have been to three straight NCAA tournaments.
Without Rice, George Washington shot just 34 percent and had trouble defending Charlotte's 3-point shooting early and its inside play late.
Ian Andersen (15 points) hit five straight 3s as the 49ers built their big lead. An'Juan Wilderness (16 points) had a key bucket in the lane in the closing spurt.
Wynton Witherspoon, who moved in to the starting lineup with Rice out, scored 14 points and Noel Wilmore scored 13 for the Colonials, who could miss the A-10 tournament with a home loss Saturday against Massachusetts.
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