49ers Nip Centenary
in Season Opener
page two/uncc basketball/decemberS
"26 and 0.
UNCC began its quest for a
perfect season last Friday night
with a 69-66 victory over
Centenary College. The hard
fought triumph marked the
opening of the Hall of Fame
Tournament in Springfield,
Massachusetts.
The 49ers emerged from
their weekend home in
Springfield's plush Baystate
West Motor Hotel to slay their
giant opponents from the
swamps of Louisiana. Coming
from six points down with three
minutes to go, UNCC achieved
its greatest basketball victory to
date despite only a 34.8%
accuracy norm from the floor.
Trailing 63-57, the 49ers
tallied ten free dirows and a
corner jump shot by George
Jackson in the final three
minutes while holding
Centenary to one field goal and
only one free throw.
Pointman Bob Ball
converted a one and one with
1:45 remaining to tie the score
for the eighth time in the game at
63-all. Following a free throw
by Centenary's massive forward
Leon Johnson, Jackson
connected from 15 feet out and
Centenary never led again.
49er pivotman Cedric
Maxwell capped off an excellent
evening in the middle with a
priceless rejection of a Robert
Parish jump shot in the final
minute. Giving away five inches
and 50 pounds. Maxwell played
Parish to a stand-off
underneath.
Cedric followed his superb
block with a pair of free throws
at 0:44 to boost the 49er lead
to 67-64. Centenary's Nate
Bland scored with eight seconds
left and an ensuing loose ball
resulted in a jump ball call at
the Centenary foul line.
The taller Centenary five
positioned the 7-1 Parish near
the basket but the tip went over
his head and out of bounds.
With the tip went Centenary's
last chance to avoid defeat.
Jon Heath cootly sank the
two clinching free throws with
five seconds left. Parish's
missed 5-footer at the buzzer
brought a joyful leap by UNCC
Coach Bill Foster and the entire
49er bench.
Foster was very pleased
with the victory explaining that
"We beat a very good basketball
team despite the fact that we
played poorly." The 31
turnovers attributed to UNCC
had Foster and Assistant Coach
Joe Kingery squirming in their
seats for much of the evening.
The most costly stretch of
UNCC turnovers occurred
shortly after the 49ers returned
from the intermission break
with a 34-31 lead. A Jackson
15-footer was followed by a
long dry spell in which
Centenary ran off a 12-2 spurt.
Many of the 49er miscues led to
breakaway baskets by
Centenary during this stretch.
Trailing 43-38, the 49ers
drew close on a Heath hook
shot from the lane and a bullish
Maxwell follow shot over the
imposing figure of Parish. The
49ers were again forced to come
from several points down in the
game's latter stages.
Jackson overcame a shaky
start to lead all scorers with 19
points and 12 rebounds anti was
aided inside by the work of
freshman Lew Massey. Massey
scored seven of his nine points
in the first half, helping the
49ers gain their slim ad
vantage at halftime.
The victory, considered a
surprise to most national
basketball experts, catapulted
the 49ers into the tournament
finals Saturday night opposite a
strong University of
Massachusetts team.
S/ap Shipman (ll) fires a medium-range
jumper against Centenary.
UNCC vs. Centenary
— November 29
First Round — Hall of Fame Classic
UNCC
FG
FT
PTS.
CENTENARY FG
FT
PTS.
Jackson
7
5-6
19
Bland 7
3-4
17
Ball
1
2-2
4
Todd 1
0-0
2
Watkins
1
3-4
5
Johnson 7
1-3
15
Bommer
1
0-0
2
Waugh 2
0-0
4
Maxwell
5
2-2
12
Parish 6
2-4
14
Heath
2-2
4
McLeod 1
0-0
2
Shipman
4
0-0
8
Barnes 0
0-0
0
Massey
3
3-4
9
Houston 2
3-4
7
Gruber
2-2
4
Pitts 2
1-1
5
Pearce
0
2-2
2
Total
24
21-24
69
Total 28
10-16
66
1st
2nd Total
UNCC
34
35 69
Centenary
31
35 66
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