Demons almost an automatic
One win away from winning conference tourney, advancing to NCAA Tournament for first time since 1992

Memphis, Tenn -- Rod Serling couldn't write it any better.

Quentin Richardson was held scoreless in the first half. Point guard Rashon Burno had as many rebounds, 12, as Richardson. Paul McPherson, whose range had been limited to the key, tried three more 3-point bombs and made one.

And DePaul is one win away from an automatic bid to the NCAAs.

If this is the Twilight Zone, DePaul coach Pat Kennedy might want to take up permanent residence.

Burno scored 16 points to augment his rebounding clinic as the Blue Demons held on to beat UNC Charlotte 56-49 Friday night in the semis of Conference USA.

"It was a sign of a team maturing, and I think our team is showing those signs," Kennedy said.

The taffy-pull win set up a C-USA finals matchup with Saint Louis on Saturday (11:30 a.m. WBBM-TV Ch. 2).

Neither Charlotte nor DePaul was in danger of outshooting the other in the first half, as the 49ers made only 39 percent of their field goals, and DePaul a whopping 24 percent. Were it not for Burno's three 3-pointers, DePaul might have been hopelessly behind. Not to mention all those rebounds.

"I get 'em when I can," Burno said of his rebounding prowess. "But all we had to do was be patient tonight. Our defense was where we wanted it to be. We know our shots would start to fall."

Especially in need of patience was Richardson, who could not even get the ball to shoot but one time in the first half. And his lone attempt was swatted away almost as it left his hands. James Zimmerman stuck to Richardson like flypaper and kept him out of the offense.

"They did a great job on Q to hold him scoreless in the first half," Kennedy said. "They switched defenses on us and made it very difficult. At halftime, we simplified some things, and we had to crank the effort up to another level."

Richardson obliged, bulldogging his way to several offensive rebounds early in the second half. His inside work prompted the Demons to score the first nine points after the break and grab a 27-22 lead. Charlotte went inside to keep it close, and KenKay Jones' dunk tied the game 33-33 with 11:28 left. Richardson countered with a basket, got fouled and missed the free throw. But he grabbed the loose ball rebound and Kerry Hartfield bounced home an 18-footer to put DePaul up 39-33 with just over 10 minutes left.

Charlotte was able to get within four points twice, but tenacity on the offensive boards and clutch foul shooting kept the Demons ahead.

Also stepping forward to short-circuit the Charlotte shooters was McPherson, who held Jobey Thomas to 0-for-6 shooting in the second half. McPherson also added 12 points.

"Thomas Hurt us in the first half, but then Paul did an incredible job," Kennedy said.

And as for McPherson's long-range shooting, nonexistent until this tournament?

"Paul, as a shooting guard, wants to develop himself as a shooter," the coach added. "He almost broke my foot when he came down after hitting his shot."

Great time for McPherson to become a jack-of-all-trades, with DePaul assuring themselves an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament. They can make it without the invite by beating Saint Louis on Saturday.

"It's all about how hard you want to work and the will to win the conference tournament," McPherson said. "We know their team and we know we have our work cut out for us."

That's the signpost up ahead. Next stop, the NCAA Tournament.