More than a hundred thousand people visited downtown Charlotte over the past four days, for events surrounding the CIAA college basketball tournament. That’s the estimate from Charlotte Mecklenburg Police, who say there were no major incidents during the weekend. In a post-tournament report Sunday morning, police say they made a total of 21 arrests in the center city area between Thursday and Saturday - six for fighting, four related to alcohol, and two involving strong-arm robberies.
The action on the court wrapped up Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte. Bowie State beat Livingstonefor the men’s championship, 85 to 74. Bryon Westmoreland was the star of the game, scoring 38 points to lead the Bulldogs to their second-ever league title. The win earned Bowie State the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division 2 basketball championship later this month. On Saturday afternoon, Shaw University beat Fayetteville State 72 to 53 to win the women’s championship.
N.C. LAWMAKERS TO DISCUSS REVALUATION FIX
State lawmakers from Mecklenburg County are planning a press conference Monday morning to unveil legislation they’re introducing to fix problems with the county’s 2011 property revaluation. State Representative Bill Brawley of Matthews and State Senator Jeff Tarte of Cornelius will join local officials at 9 o’clock at the Government Center in Charlotte. A consultant hired by the Mecklenburg County Commission last year found flaws with the revaluation – including a lack of equity in appraisals within neighborhoods. Critics have been demanding refunds for property owners who were overcharged. Any new charges or refunds would have to be authorized by the state legislature. County Commissioners last month voted to support passage of a bill to make refunds legal. Experts warn that any fix could result in higher values for some property owners – and they’d likely have to pay extra taxes.
SPORTS
In college basketball Saturday, Duke beat Miami 79 to 76, thanks to a career high 36 points from Ryan Kelly, in his first game back since a January injury.
Davidson won its 14th straight, easily beating Georgia Southern 83 to 48 in its last regular season game. Former Hopewell high School star De’Mon Brooks led the Wildcats with 20 points. Davidson heads to Asheville next weekend for the Southern Conference Tournament.
Also Saturday, St. Bonaventure easily defeated Charlotte, 104-83.