College basketball

C-USA men: Cincinnati is thrilled to bid adieu to nemesis Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - With his shoulders slumped and his voice thick with disappointment, Bob Huggins looked like the one man at Halton Arena glad to see the series between Cincinnati and Charlotte end.

Despite being the most dominating team in conference history, the 18th-ranked Bearcats have always struggled with Charlotte. So it was fitting that the final regular-season meeting between the rivals came down to a final shot at the buzzer.

Cincinnati missed it and Charlotte came away with a 91-90 upset Saturday.

Peppered with questions about the future of the series - Cincinnati heads to the Big East next season, and Charlotte goes to the Atlantic 10 - and the Bearcats' upcoming schedule, Huggins let out a long sigh.

"Is it all right if I just feel bad about this one for a while?" he asked.

Brendan Plavich scored all but two of his 26 on 3-pointers to lead Charlotte. The streak shooter made 8 of 17 3-pointers, but his miss with less than a minute left and the score tied at 89 made it tight for Charlotte.

Curtis Withers got the rebound off Plavich's miss and was fouled by Nick Williams. Withers made both free throws to give Charlotte a 91-89 lead.

Before the Bearcats could even run a play, Eric Hicks was fouled under the basket and sent to the line with a chance to tie. But Hicks made just one free throw.

Mitchell Baldwin missed for Charlotte, giving Cincinnati one last chance. The Bearcats took a timeout and inbounded the ball with 13.8 seconds left. The ball ended up in Armein Kirkland's hands, and his jumper fell short at the buzzer.

Asked if that was the way the play was designed, Huggins took a moment to answer.

"No," he said before a long pause. "We were trying to throw it inside."

But Charlotte had tightened its defense on Hicks and Jason Maxiell, preventing the Bearcats from getting under the basket.

"We didn't want Hicks or Maxiell to get it low," Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. "If we could stop them, we knew we had a chance."

Eddie Basden finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and four steals for Charlotte. His steals gave him 231 for his career, tying the conference record.

"Eddie Basden dominated the game," Huggins said.

Withers finished with 15 points and Baldwin and E.J. Drayton 10 each. The 49ers were 25-for-28 at the free-throw line.

NO. 9 LOUISVILLE 77, UAB 73: Francisco Garcia and Juan Palacios both hit two free throws in the final 34 seconds to lift the visiting Cardinals to their ninth straight win.

Marvett McDonald gave the Blazers a 71-70 lead with a free throw with 1:44 left before Louisville's stars took over.

Larry O'Bannon hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Then Garcia was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit two of his three from the line with 34 seconds left for a 75-73 lead.

MARQUETTE 81, SO. MISS 72: Travis Diener, who missed three games with a stress fracture in his left foot, had a team-high 17 points and eight assists for the host Golden Eagles.

HOUSTON 66, MEMPHIS 53: Brian Latham scored 22 and Ramon Dyer a career-high 19 as the host Cougars won their 1,000th game. Houston is 1,000-672 in 60 years.

TCU 71, ECU 59: Marcus Shropshire scored 19 as the host Horned Frogs snapped a four-game losing streak.

[Last modified February 6, 2005, 00:23:11]