So I was sitting in the press room working on the Temple-La Salle videos when I looked at the TV and saw that UMass was up on Charlotte at halftime, 36-19.
I figured the game was totally dead, and my good friend Dan McQuade -- usually of Philadelphia Will Do, but this week live-blogging things here for CSTV.com's Posting Up -- said Charlotte looked totally lifeless.
But then, after Leemire Goldwire said the players "cursed each other out" in the locker room, Charlotte blasted its way back into the game with Goldwire front and center.
Against whatever odds you could come up with, the 49ers rallied to take a 48-47 lead with 11:24 left in the game. But UMass came right back with a 15-5 run to make it 62-53 with 3:55 to play.
That still wasn't enough. After two Charlie Coley free throws, Goldwire, who was 2-for-9 from the perimeter at that point, hit a three to make it 62-58 with 3:22 on the clock.
Meanwhile, UMass couldn't buy a bucket. The Minutemen made only three field goals in the last eight minutes of play, and missed eight attempts.
UMass' last points came with 1:33 to go, a tip-in by Dante Milligan to give the Minutemen a 65-63 lead.
It was right around then that I decided to stop working on the videos and get out to the floor. Right as I did, Goldwire hit a three from the left corner to make it 66-65 for Charlotte. Cue bedlam among everyone in 49ers green, and a palpable sense of fear among the UMass fans in the house.
Charlotte's momentum stopped for a moment when Lamont Mack, who had a big night of his own, fouled out. But UMass' Chris Lowe missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Coley got the rebound.
Charlotte brought the ball down the floor and got it to Goldwire. He looked over at 49ers coach Bobby Lutz for a play.
Lutz described the exchange as short and sweet: "I said, 'Pull it,' "
"Shoot it, shoot it -- just pull up," was how Goldwire described it. "And that's what I did."
To say the least.
With 20 seconds left, Goldwire fired a perfect trey that ripped UMass' dreams of making the NCAA Tournament to shreds, and vaulted Charlotte into tomorrow's semifinal against Temple at UMass' expense.
"That's good coaching," Lutz couldn't help adding, and it's hard to disagree with him.
The Minutemen flailed around as time ran down, trying desperately for a three. But Etienne Brower and A-10 Player of the Year Gary Forbes both missed, and that was it.
Charlotte 69, Massachusetts 65.
Honestly, it's barely worth recounting the full-game stats. Yes, Lamont Mack's 23 points and nine rebounds were impressive, and Goldwire finished with a game-high 24.
But all that really mattered was that one minute and those six points, giving us the first upset of this year's tournament in grand style.
