Charlotte Observer articles about win over UNCC

Rout shows teams on opposite courses
Wildcats (7-3) display depth, firepower; 49ers sloppy in falling to 3-5

DAVIDSON - Davidson coach Bob McKillop beamed after his team's 79-51 win against Charlotte Saturday night.

Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz quietly talked about how his team has to turn things around.
Davidson's blowout win not only gave the Wildcats their first win against their city rival since 2002, it showed the team's depth. Stephen Curry had 15 points in the first half, but the freshman picked up three quick fouls in the first two minutes after halftime.

So, with their leading scorer sitting most of the second half with four fouls -- and top reserve William Archambault out with a mild ankle sprain -- the Wildcats (7-3) turned to other, lesser-known players. Freshman Bryant Barr (11 points), sophomore Max Paulhus Gosselin (12 points) and junior Boris Meno (15 points) excelled for the Wildcats, who left little doubt as to which team is the best in Mecklenburg County this season.

"Start to finish, that was one of our best performances in several years," McKillop said. "Every guy we put out there helped us."

The 49ers looked like they'd rather be elsewhere in the second half. Charlotte missed 19 of its first 23 shots after halftime, made careless passes and had three offensive fouls to help Davidson break away.

Davidson fans chanted "stop the beating" with six minutes left, after the lead mushroomed to 27 points. That's when Curry -- who sat out during the big surge -- returned to the game. He finished with 17 points.

"When they missed a few shots in the second half, they put their heads down a little bit," Curry said. "They realized it wasn't going to change."

Lutz sat with his arms folded most of the second half as his team missed contested shots. He spent 20 minutes after the game talking to his team. The 49ers (3-5) are off to their worst start under Lutz, and suffered their biggest loss to Davidson in the series' 27-year history.

"Certainly after a loss like this you have to reevaluate everything," Lutz said, "I mean coaching and playing. We all have to get better. You hope this is the low point of the season."

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Charlotte-Davidson Observations
KEVIN CARY
• Davidson's Max Paulhus Gosselin added a new dimension to the Wildcats offense Saturday night. Gosselin matched his career high of eight points in the first six minutes.
• Charlotte's De'Angelo Alexander makes 30 percent of his 3-pointer attempts, but he was too reliant on the perimeter shot early. Seven of Alexander's eight first-half attempts were 3-pointers.
• One forgotten aspect of Davidson freshman Stephen Curry's game is his rebounding. Curry, at 6-foot-1, averages five rebounds a game.
• Davidson's aggressiveness paid off in a 24-15 first-half rebounding advantage, but the Wildcats, particularly forward Boris Meno, rushed shots early.
• E.J. Drayton helped keep the 49ers in the game during the first half, scoring 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
• You might have thought someone died by looking at the Davidson stands. For the first time, an entire side of Belk Arena wore black T-shirts as part of a promotion.