Point guard Sean Colson held the ball at midcourt, leaned to his knees and took a deep breath. It was 11:48 p.m. In another 12 hours and 12 minutes, he would be on the floor with his UNC Charlotte teammates to play for the championship of the Conference USA tournament. He took another deep breath.
''I just want to get my guys to bed,'' said UNCC coach Melvin Watkins, ''and come out and play a Charlotte type of game.''
Behind 30 points from C-USA player of the year DeMarco Johnson, the 49ers (19-9) won their eighth game in the last nine, 65-53 over Southern Mississippi Friday night at the Shoemaker Center. UNCC will challenge the regular-season champion Cincinnati Bearcats at noon today.
Southern Miss (22-10) had balanced scoring, with center Vandarel Jones and forward Kelly McCarty both getting 13 points, but committed 18 turnovers against the 49ers' quick perimeter defense.
Colson was 3-of-13 from the field and scored 10 points a day after developing a bad toothache. He said he was drowsy from the painkillers.
This doesn't happen in all the conference tournaments, nor even a lot of them. Conference USA is one of the few that will be treated to a championship game featuring its two best teams, Cincinnati and UNCC.
They played twice in the regular season, each side winning at home with the margin a combined eight points.
''They're there. We're there,'' Watkins said. ''We've had two wars, and this should be a great game.''
Whereas the 49ers' bye to the quarterfinals required they play only once to reach the semifinals, Southern Miss had to defeat both Houston and Memphis. It showed.
Southern played a listless first half against UNCC.
The 49ers assumed a 36-24 lead at the break behind 14 points from Johnson. Southern Miss did not shoot badly, it just didn't shoot. Its sloppy play led to 13 turnovers, most unforced.
There still was something left in the Golden Eagles, though. McCarty scored seven points in a 22-13 rally that brought them to a 49-46 deficit in the final eight minutes.
UNCC took over with seven consecutive points, Johnson moving inside for a three-point play, then two free throws. The 49ers never had less than a five-point lead after that surge.
The Bearcats can prepare themselves with the idea they played two games against UNCC without performing well for more than a few possessions at a time and managed a tight win at home and a competitive loss on the road.
The Bearcats' matchups against the 49ers would not appear to be all that disfavorable. In center Kenyon Martin and power forward Bobby Brannen, they have two excellent choices to defend Johnson. UNCC center Kelvin Price, though a fine player, stands 6-8 and does not present a problem in terms of size.
Colson's quickness is a concern for any opponent, but UC held him to a combined 8-of-28 shooting and still struggled.
UC's problems against the 49ers quite obviously are the offensive end. The Bearcats averaged 17.5 turnovers in those two games, although they played the second without point guard Michael Horton.
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