Playing basketball against the Marquette Golden Eagles is like having a root canal.
Some metaphor, huh? Real clever? Ask UNC Charlotte point guard Sean Colson how clever. He nearly went through both in the same day.
Colson played all but five minutes of UNCC's 63-55 win over Marquette in the Conference USA tournament quarterfinals Thursday at the Shoemaker Center with a throbbing pain in his mouth and 6-5 Golden Eagles freshman Brian Wardle in his face.
It showed. Colson was held to five points and committed six turnovers, but he passed for seven assists and saved his only jumper for a most critical time. With 3:06 left and UNCC's lead cut from 10 points to three, Colson made a pull-up jumper that returned it to a two-possession game.
Afterward, he was rushed to a dentist for a root canal, but the procedure was delayed because Colson would not have been able to play in tonight's semifinal against Southern Mississippi.
''I got a phone call this morning, and our trainer said Sean had a toothache and he might not be able to go,'' said 49ers coach Melvin Watkins. ''Nice time to tell me.
''He did not have one of his better games. . . . He got a little frustrated with himself, but I told him, There are a lot of things you can do to add value.' ''
Given Colson's discomfort, C-USA player of the year DeMarco Johnson knew it was important to produce a strong game for the 49ers (18-9), who will meet Southern Mississippi in tonight's second semifinal.
Johnson scored 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals. Colson's backcourt partner, Galen Young, took advantage of mismatches against 5-9 Marquette guard Aaron Hutchins to score a career-best 16 points.
''I told Sean after the game, he was down today and I picked him up,'' Johnson said. ''If I'm down tomorrow, I expect him to pick me up.''
The Golden Eagles (18-10) did what they could to make the game painful to watch. They defended with tenacity, limiting the 49ers to .400 shooting, and stuggled again offensively.
MARQUETTE (18-10) - Bargen 2-5 0-0 5, Shaw 2-5 1-1 5, Clausen 1-3 0-0 2, Hutchins 5-15 0-0 14, Wardle 3-10 4-6 11, Lovette 5-9 5-8 15, Joseph 0-1 0-0 0, West 0-2 0-0 0, Cliff 1-4 0-0 3, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Minor 0-0 0-0 0, Polonowski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 10-15 55.
N.C. CHARLOTTE (18-9) - Johnson 9-17 3-5 23, Shaw 5-8 0-0 10, Price 2-5 0-1 4, Colson 2-12 1-2 5, Young 5-9 5-6 16, Hill 0-3 1-2 1, Guevara 0-3 2-3 2, Thomas 1-2 0-0 2, Toliver 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-60 12-19 63.
Halftime-N.C. Charlotte 31, Marquette 25. 3-point goals-Marquette 7-26 (Bargen 1-4, Hutchins 4-10, Wardle 1-6, West 0-2, Cliff 1-4), N.C. Charlotte 3-14 (Johnson 2-3, Colson 0-6, Young 1-2, Guevara 0-3). Rebounds-Marquette 35 (Shaw, Wardle, Lovette 6), N.C. Charlotte 37 (Johnson, Young 8). Assists-Marquette 6 (Bargen 4), N.C. Charlotte 10 (Colson 7). A-N - A.
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