Senior Marcus Bennett and the 49ers will be back in action at Halton Arena, hosting Georgia Southern, Tuesday in the first round of the NIT. |
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Charlotte Hosts Georgia Southern, Tuesday in NIT
March 12, 2006
Halton Arena - The Charlotte 49ers will host Georgia Southern in the first round of the 2006 National Invitation Tournament, Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) at Halton Arena. Charlotte owns an 18-12 record and will be making their ninth post-season appearance in the last 10 years. Georgia Southern (20-9) won the Southern Conference regular-season title.
"Our team is really excited about the opportunity to play in another game with a goal of winning four games to get to New York," said 49ers head coach Bobby Lutz. "We are going in with the idea of putting together some wins and finish on a positive note, especially for our seniors."
"We know Georgia Southern is a good basketball team," Lutz said. "They won the Southern Conference and we know (leading scorer Elton) Nesbitt is one of the best shooters and scorers in the area."
The winner of Tuesday's game will advance to play at Cincinnati, Friday, Mar. 17.
Charlotte is led by junior wing De'Angelo Alexander (17.1 ppg) and senior power forward Curtis Withers (15.9 ppg; 11.0 rpg), who led the Atlantic 10 Conference with 16 double-doubles, this season.
This will be the 49ers fifth NIT appearance, overall. The 49ers last NIT trip came in 2000. The 49ers advanced to the NIT Finals in 1976 and also participated in the tournament in 1989 and 1994. Charlotte owns an overall record of 3-4 in NIT play with each win coming during the 1976 run to the finals.
Charlotte hosted an NIT game in 1989, falling to Connecticut, 67-62, at the Charlotte Coliseum. This will be the first-ever post-season game played at Halton Arena.
For tickets, contact the 49ers athletic ticket office at 704/687-4949 or visit the 49ers official website at www.charlotte49ers.com.
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