News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

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02.22.05: State turns defense over to former Syracuse assistant ... Mountain West adopts instant replay for 2005 ... Louisville, Charlotte advance in AP hoops poll ... More...

02.21.05: Fourth-and-10 for legislator's anti-BCS bill ... C- USA basketball standings, scores, schedule & TV ... More...

02.20.05: C-USA roundup: Ailing Bearcats fight off UAB ... C-USA basketball standings, scores, schedule & TV ... More...

02.19.05: South Carolina fined by SEC for fans rushing court ... Shocker boosts Hokies hoops to new pinnacle ... C-USA basketball standings, scores, schedule & TV ... More...

02.18.05: Cards escape Milwaukee with win after Marquette collapse ... Former juco coach charged with conning Louisville ... C-USA basketball standings, scores, schedule & TV ... More...

02.17.05: No. 23 Charlotte out- grinds Diener-led DePaul ... No. 24 Cincinnati takes out anxiety on USM ... Houston cruises past turnover-prone Bulls ... More...

02.16.05: UAB looks to cure losing streak at ECU's expense ... Tonight's final USM-Cincy clash set for ESPN2 ... Conference and team power indexes ... ACC to try instant replay next football season ... More...

02.15.05: ECU sprint phenom lands another national honor ... AP basketball poll: Charlotte cracks Top 25 ... Tulane still reigns over Baseball America poll ... ECU's next foe, Clemson, 21st in Collegiate Baseball poll ... More...

02.14.05: C-USA basketball standings, scores, schedule & TV ... Billikens' star guard leaves team indefinitely ... More...

02.13.05: C-USA roundup: The 'other Diener' helps nail Cincy ... Coach suspended over incident with officials ... More...

02.12.05: Embarrassed Cards in recovery mode as USF arrives ... Bearcats face must-win matchup at DePaul ... More...

02.11.05: $23 million baseball palace in the works at LSU ... Cincinnati crushes city rival's bid for another upset ... More...

Charlotte and Memphis have kept their Conference USA title hopes alive with strong play lately. One is about to add a bit more momentum at the other's expense.

The 21st-ranked 49ers host the Tigers on Wednesday in a game that may determine which team will have the best chance to challenge for the top spot.

Charlotte (19-4, 10-2), which has won five straight, can move into a tie with No. 11 Louisville for first place in the conference with a win Wednesday.

``We're playing very well right now,'' 49ers coach Bobby Lutz said. ``We're showing our versatility, we're being unselfish and we're playing with a lot of confidence.''

Memphis (16-10, 9-3), meanwhile, has won six of seven, including a 17-point rout of the Cardinals on Feb. 9. A victory would put the Tigers within one game of Louisville.

Both teams face the Cardinals down the stretch, with Charlotte visiting them on March 3 and Memphis facing a rematch on Saturday.

Curtis Withers (16.9 ppg), Eddie Basden (15.6) and Brendan Plavich (13.7) each rank among the conference's scoring leaders for a Charlotte team averaging 78.7 points per game.

``We like our balance,'' Lutz said. ``We have three guys who are veteran players and scorers and they do a good job of playing off of each other.''

Basden scored a season-high 27 points Saturday to lead the 49ers to an 86-67 victory over Tulane.

Basden scored 23 in a 76-66 victory at Marquette on Jan. 22 for his previous high. The senior forward added four steals Saturday, and is two shy of the single-season team mark of 77, set by Delano Johnson in 1990-91.

Withers scored 26 points Saturday to match his average in his previous four games. Withers is averaging 18.4 points in conference play.

The Tigers face a difficult stretch to close the season. Three of Memphis' final four opponents are ranked.

Rodney Carney had 24 points and Darius Washington added 21 as Memphis beat Southern Mississippi 85-73 on Saturday.

Carney was 10-of-11 from the free-throw line and Washington had a perfect shooting day for the Tigers. Washington made all six of his attempts from the field — including 3-for-3 from 3-point range — and was 6-of-6 at the foul line for the Tigers.

Carney leads Memphis with 16.5 points per game, and Washington is second with 15.1.

ROSEMONT, IL — Drake Diener scored 19 points and Quemont Greer added 18 to lead DePaul to a 76-69 win over South Florida Tuesday.

The win boosted DePaul past Cincinnati into 4th place in Conference USA, while South remained 11th in the standings and still on the fringe of the 12 teams that will be invited to the 14-team league's postseason tournament.

DePaul (17-7, 9-4 C-USA) took control midway through the first half as Diener capped a 13-0 run with a turn-around baseline jumper that gave the Blue Demons a 28-14 lead.

After South Florida (11-14, 4-10) closed to within 28-21, Diener hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to give DePaul a 35-24 halftime lead.

The Bulls cut the deficit to 36-30 on Marlyn Bryant's alley-oop dunk from Brian Swift, but Greer rebounded from a slow start with a one-hand jam, 3-pointer and pair of free throws to help DePaul widen the margin to 47-35 with 13:41 remaining.

The Blue Demons made 8-of-16 3-pointers but just 15-of-43 attempts from 2-point range. Draelon Burns added 12 for DePaul, and Greer scored 14 of his points in the second half.

Swift scored 26 points, including a season-high six 3-pointers on 10 attempts, for South Florida. Terrence Leather scored 18 points and Solomon Jones added 11 for the Bulls.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.