Northwestern Punches Ticket to BCA Championship Game With 61-47 Win Over Charlotte

Nov. 14, 2005

Box Score

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) -- Northwestern coach Bill Carmody didn't complain Monday about the winning performance of his players.

"Tonight I didn't even have to coach them that much," he said after beating Charlotte 61-47 in the semifinals of the Black Coaches Association Invitational.

That's compared to Sunday, when he said the Wildcats (2-0) did "a lot of dumb things" in falling behind by as much as 12 but squeezing by Lehigh 61-59 in the final seconds.

For the second game in a row, Vedran Vukusic was Northwestern's go-to man. He produced 28 points, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range.

"He's a pretty good all-around player," Carmody said.

Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz also couldn't deny Vukusic credit. "He was the one. Without him, it changes things," he said.

The 49ers (1-1) came within 42-37 about two-thirds of the way through the second half on a layup by Curtis Withers. But foul trouble ensued and that's as close as they got.

"We showed some signs, made a few little runs through both halves, but couldn't sustain it," Lutz said.

Northwestern hit 10-of-12 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

The 49ers were outshot 51 percent to 31 percent, but Carmody thought they were a better shooting team than that. "They missed some shots they ordinarily would have made," he said. "They had some good looks."

Leemire Goldwire led Charlotte with 13 points, followed by Withers with 12. Withers also had seven rebounds.

After Vukusic, Mohamed Hachad followed up with 14 points and a career-high 9 rebounds for the Wildcats.

In the first half, Charlotte edged ahead 10-9, but Northwestern answered with a 12-0 run that included a basket and 3-pointer by Vukusic.

The 49ers fought back, however, and Goldwire made two free throws, then a foul-drawing basket and another free throw to put Charlotte within 26-24.

Northwestern finished the half by making 4 of 4 free throws -- two each by Hachad and Vukusic -- to lead 30-25.

The Wildcats move on to Tuesday's BCA Invitational championship game and will face UNC Wilmington, a 62-59 overtime winner against Wyoming, at 9 p.m. CST.

Postgame Quotes:
Head Coach Bill Carmody:
"I was really pleased with the way our guys came out and played tonight. We had a great start and I think that made all the difference. They missed some shots and that helped us in the long run. Last night they were knocking everything down, so we wanted to try and contain that.

"It's easy to make shots when you're playing from the lead. We had the lead for most of the game and I think that forced Charlotte to fell a little extra pressure on the offensive end."

Postgame Notes:

With the win, Northwestern improves to 2-0 for the first time since 2002.

The meeting tonight was the first between Northwestern and Charlotte.

Nothwestern held Charlotte to three field goals in the final eight minutes and held the 49ers to 30.8 percent from the field and 25 percent (4-of-16) from three-point range.

Northwestern held Charlotte to 47 points after the 49ers put up 82 points on Coppin State Sunday night.

Vedran Vukusic scored a game-high 28 points, the second-consecutive game he has hit the 20-point plateau.

Mohamed Hachad tied a career high with nine rebounds.

Tim Doyle recorded a game-high six assists for the second-consecutive game, tying a career high.

Northwestern shot 51.4 percent from the field and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) in the second half.

The Wildcats outrebounded the 49ers 34-23.

The game was played with three NCAA experimental rules:
1. With the three-point line moved one foot behind the current mark to 20-feet, 9 inches.
2. With the free throw line widened one foot on each side.
3. With a restricted arc placed three feet from the center of the basket ring.