Dec. 11, 1999

Box Score

By JOE MACENKA
AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Diego Guevara scored six of his 20 points in a 14-6 run in the second half that sent North Carolina Charlotte's 49ers to an 84-61 victory over Rhode Island on Saturday night.

In his best game since undergoing an emergency appendectomy last month, Guevara hit four of six 3-point attempts and added eight assists with just one turnover.

The 49ers (5-2) also got 14 points and seven rebounds from Tremaine Gardiner in a rematch of a first-round game in the 1999 NCAA tournament's Midwest Regional, an 11-point victory by North Carolina Charlotte.

Rhode Island (3-5) has lost three in a row for the first time since February 1996.

Luther Clay had 14 points and 11 points to lead the Rams. Zach Marbury had 12 points, but he missed eight of his 13 field-goal attempts, including four that never hit the rim, and he had seven of the Rams' 19 turnovers.

The Rams scored the first seven points of the second half to go up 42-32, their biggest lead to that stage. Rhode Island cut it to 46-41 on a pair of free throws by Tiger Womack before Guevara answered with a 3-pointer that started another North Carolina Charlotte run.

With Rhode Island missing eight of its next 10 shots and turning it over twice, the 49ers pulled away to a 60-47 lead when Guevara hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 7:54 remaining.

Rhode Island never threatened again, and North Carolina Charlotte stretched it to 25 in the final minute.

The 49ers overcame 36-percent shooting in the first half, including misses on 10 of their first 11 shots, for a 35-32 lead at the break. North Carolina Charlotte atoned for its poor start by closing the half with a 13-4 run fueled by five points from Jonathan Neely and four points and a steal from Guevara.