UA wins thriller against 49ers
By Cecil Hurt Sports Editor December 05, 2004
http://www.tidesports.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041205/NEWS/412050376/1011
CHARLOTTE, N.C. | It wasn’t on ESPN, or even ESPN2. But it might make ESPN Classics.
The Alabama Crimson Tide survived a slow start, foul trouble, three overtimes and enough heart-stopping moments to fill a hospital ward before taking a 102-101 triple-overtime thriller against the Charlotte 49ers.
Kennedy Winston led the way with a career-high 33 points, including the 15-foot jumper with 20.8 seconds that proved to be the game-winner. He had also hit the shot that put the game into overtime to begin with, another short jumper with 2.9 seconds remaining. But in a game that featured close to 150 possessions, virtually every one had an impact on the outcome.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a game that was that great a basketball game," Crimson Tide head coach Mark Gottfried said. “It just comes down to who makes the last play really. To make the shots our guys were forced to make, I don’t know if I could be any more proud."
Winston, who scored 22 points after halftime, said he was only looking to take what the defense allowed - to a point.
“I didn’t want to force things, but there was a time when I just wanted to take the ball and make something happen," he said.
“There were times when Kennedy looked at me and I could tell he wanted the ball. He took over, and he should take over, he’s one of our leaders. But everyone on the team made plays. Al Weber and Jean Felix made some big shots in the third overtime. But at some point, you’ve got to make a defensive stop to win the game."
That time came for Alabama after Winston’s final basket. Charlotte got the ball to forward Eddie Basden down low, but he didn’t get a solid drip on the ball and Winston knocked it out of bounds.
“After that, they ran a flare play to [Brendan] Plavich for a 3-pointer, but I got a good contest on it," said Tide guard Earnest Shelton. “I think it hit the side of the backboard, but that let Basden grab it and throw it back towards the basket. You don’t even want to look and see if it goes in, you just look at them and see their reaction."
That reaction was utter dejection.
“That was one of the best games I have ever been a part of," said Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz. “That makes it even tougher to take the loss. There were so many things that could have changed the outcome that I don’t even want to talk about them, because that would take away from the game. Just give them credit."
The game actually started 30 minutes behind schedule because of problems with the Halton Arena lighting, and even when the power was restored to the lights, it didn’t seem that the Crimson Tide was
“We played like they were still out," Gottfried said. “We couldn’t make a shot. But I liked the way our guys responded to that. Our guys found a way to get into a rhythm about 10 minutes into the game, but we were really struggling in the first 10 minutes and they were shooting the lights out."
It was so bad that, at the 10:58 mark of the first half, the Tide trailed b 14 points, 20-6. But Alabama, powered by some surprising offense from Jermareo Davidson, and the eventual arrival of the shooting touch of Winston and Shelton, managed to shave the deficit to six point, 41-35, by halftime.
The Tide still trailed by nine, 54-45, with 14:38 to play. But Alabama then went on a 12-0 run, aided in part by a technical foul on Lutz, and took a three-point lead, 57-54, with 11:24 to play.
Charlotte regained control, though, and had its lead back up to nine points, 74-65, with 4:10 to play. But down the stretch, Alabama outscored Charlotte 13-4, thanks almost entirely to Winston’s 10 points during that stretch. He had a 3-pointer with 28 seconds to pull the Tide within one point, and, after Plavich made one of two foul shots with 16.5 seconds to play, Winston’s jumper sent the game into overtime.
By the third overtime, three Tide starters -- Chuck Davis, Ron Steele and Davidson -- had fouled out. But Winston was still around, which proved to be enough.
Charlotte had its own set of heroes. All five starters for the 49ers (3-2) were in double figures, led by Curtis Withers’ 24 points. Center Martin Iti had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Basden had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. If there was one line on the statistics sheet that did Charlotte in, it was 15 missed free throws (23 of 38).
In addition to Winston’s 33-point, 10-rebound effort, the Tide got a career high 21 points and 13 rebounds from Jermareo Davidson, whose layup with 20 seconds to go in the second overtime preserved the tie. Shelton added 18 points for the Tide, which is now 6-1 on the season.
Alabama will be back on the road Tuesday night, facing Alabama State in Montgomery.
-- Roll Tide!! rick
_______________________________________________ RTF mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rolltidefan.net/mailman/listinfo/rtf_rolltidefan.net
