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News Nuggets, 03.11.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Conference USA Tournament roundup

CHARLOTTE 78, TULANE 48

Demon Brown had 15 points to lead five Charlotte players in double figures, and the 49ers took advantage of poor Tulane shooting to beat the Green Wave in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament.

Eddie Basden added 14 points and Butter Johnson had 12 for the fifth-seeded 49ers (21-7), who advanced to meet fourth-seeded Alabama-Birmingham in Thursday's quarterfinals. They are two of the five teams that shared the regular-season conference championship.

Tulane (11-17), the No. 12 seed, shot a season-worst .271 percent (16-for-59) from the field in losing for the sixth time in seven games.

Vincent Camper and Marcus Kinzer each scored nine points for the Green Wave in their worst loss of the season.

TEXAS CHRISTIAN 64, MARQUETTE 62

Corey Santee sank a high-arcing floater with 8.1 seconds left to lift Texas Christian to a 64-62 win over Marquette in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament on Wednesday.

Santee scored on a similar shot to give the Horned Frogs a 62-60 lead with 50.5 seconds left. After Dameon Mason made two free throws to tie the score, Santee dribbled almost 16 seconds off the clock before driving to the right baseline and hitting the go-ahead shot.

Mason then missed a driving layup with two seconds left for the eighth-seeded Golden Eagles (17-11).

The ninth-seeded Horned Frogs (12-16) will play top-seeded DePaul in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Chudi Chinweze led four TCU players in double figures with 13 points. Nucleus Smith added 12, Marcus Shropshire scored 11 and Santee finished with 10.

Travis Diener tied career highs with 31 points and seven 3-pointers for the Golden Eagles. The first-team all-conference pick was the only player in double figures for Marquette.

LOUISVILLE 61, EAST CAROLINA 54

Francisco Garcia scored 22 points, making clutch shots on an aching ankle, and Louisville beat East Carolina 61-54 Wednesday in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament.

Louisville (20-8) overcame 19 turnovers and poor shooting as it advanced to a second-round game against Cincinnati, one of five teams that shared the conference's regular-season title.

Garcia, who has sprained both ankles this season and plays with them heavily taped, had to come out of the game twice after aggravating them in the second half.

He managed to stay on the floor long enough to decide the game. Garcia scored seven points a 12-2 spurt that put Louisville ahead to stay with 7:50 left in the game.

Mike Cook scored 14 points for East Carolina (13-14), which shot 33 percent from the field against one of the nation's top defenses.

SAINT LOUIS 52, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 46

Reggie Bryant's 3-pointer with 1:57 left put Saint Louis ahead to stay, and the Billikens beat Southern Mississippi 52-46 Wednesday night in the first round of the Conference USA tournament.

Josh Fisher had a steal and a pair of rebounds in the closing minutes to help Saint Louis (17-11) hold on. His two free throws with 22 seconds left clinched it.

Phillip Hunt had a career-high 14 points for Saint Louis, which wasted a 10-point lead in the second half before rallying. Bryant added 13 points.

Southern Mississippi (13-15) ended its season in turmoil, losing five of its last six games. Coach James Green resigned last Friday, leaving the Golden Eagles to play their last two games under assistant Jeff Norwood.

Burks, Anderson take home top C-USA honors

Memphis senior guard Antonio Burks has been named the Conference USA Player of the Year for the 2003-04 season, while UAB head coach Mike Anderson has been named the Ray Meyer Coach of the Year.

The awards were announced by the league on Wednesday in Cincinnati, site of the 2004 Kelly Tires Conference USA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Burks, who earlier this week was named First Team All-Conference, is the first Tigers player to win the C-USA Player of the Year award. He leads the conference in steals with 67 (2.48) and is second in the league in assists, averaging 5.33 per contest. Burks is Memphis’ second-leading scorer, averaging 16.5 ppg.

Anderson, in his second season at UAB (19-8, 12-4 C-USA), led his Blazers to share of a 2003-04 C-USA regular-season crown, their first league championship since winning the 1990 Sun Belt title. In two seasons, the Birmingham, Ala., native has compiled a record of 40-21 (.656), including directing an eight-game improvement last year, the best single season turnaround in school history.

Glantz-Culver Line for today's C-USA games

MAR. 11, 2004

FAVORITE/LINE/UNDERDOG
UAB Pk Charlotte
DePaul 7 Texas Christian
at Cincinnati 4.5 Louisville
Memphis 5 Saint Louis

C-USA Tournament TV schedule

Kentucky AD apologizes to Gators

LEXINGTON, KY — Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart apologized to the University of Florida for the behavior of some Wildcats fans during a game against the Gators.

Barnhart wrote a letter to Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley on Monday, saying the school did not condone the behavior.

During Kentucky's 82-62 win Sunday at Rupp Arena, some fans taunted Florida forward Matt Walsh.

"We want our athletic department in general to be a first-class athletic department and represent the university in a first-class way," Barnhart said Wednesday from Atlanta, where he was attending a meeting of Southeastern Conference athletic directors before the SEC tournament.

"There are issues around college athletics, and certainly this is a topic of conversation in a lot of places. It came up in our athletic directors' meeting today. There are no real answers out there, but it's something our conference is trying to get its arm around."

Athletic department spokesman Scott Stricklin said the letter wasn't meant to be made public.

"It wasn't a p.r. thing," Stricklin said. "It was a legitimate letter to Florida."

Stricklin said Florida coach Billy Donovan called Barnhart on Wednesday and thanked him for the letter.

State's Sherrill doubtful for ACC Tournament

RALEIGH — North Carolina State guard Scooter Sherrill is doubtful for the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament because of an ankle injury, coach Herb Sendek said Wednesday.

Sherrill injured his left ankle after scoring on an offensive rebound in a 71-64 loss to North Carolina on Feb. 29. He has not played or practiced since.

The injury was initially reported as a sprain, but Sendek said Sherrill tore muscles around the ankle.

"I don't know if that necessarily changes the recovery time," Sendek said Wednesday. "He's still very much day-to-day. He hasn't returned to practice yet. But I think it gives us a little more hope that he'll be able to get back sooner rather than later."

Sherrill missed the No. 17 Wolfpack's games against Maryland and Wake Forest to close the regular season. N.C. State, the second seed in the tournament, faces seventh-seeded Florida State in Friday's quarterfinals.

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News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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