#1 Braxton Ogbueze. Photo by Chris Crews.

The Charlotte 49ers have had incredible success in the past two early season tournaments they have played in; The Great Alaska Shootout, and the Puerto Rico Tip Off. The only thing in the way of yet another win was Penn State, an experienced and tough Big 10 team with a chip on their shoulder.

The game started off in Charlotte’s favor, with Braxton Ogbueze hitting a three pointer and mid-range jumper, followed by another deep range swish from Terrance Williams. The Nittany Lions called a quick timeout when down 8-0.

Penn State came back strong after the first timeout and immediately gained the lead. D.J. Newbill, who is their leading scorer at 17.5 points per game, hit some shots and got his team back in the game. After the second media timeout, Charlotte had a one point advantage. The 49ers grew that lead to 24-16 with nine minutes left in the first half after more buckets from Ogbueze and Woods.

The 49ers controlled the pace throughout the first half and could barely miss; at halftime, the 49ers were shooting 75 percent from deep and 50 percent from the field. They led 40-34 with one half left to play.

The second half started off in the 49ers favor thanks to Mike Thorne Jr who had multiple dunks and layups. At the first media timeout, Charlotte lead 52 to 42. The one player for Charlotte that struggled was Pierria Henry, who was scoreless through 27 minutes.

Right when the 49ers were trying to pull away, Ivan Benkovic converted six straight points to get Charlotte’s lead up to 63-46. The 49ers looked as if they were going to have an easy win until Newbill made another three pointer, giving him 21 points. This moved the Nittany Lions within ten points and gave them a little momentum.

Penn State got within seven points with five minutes to play, causing the 49ers to ramp up their energy. This was a tall challenge for Charlotte due to Henry and Williams fouling out with four minutes left in regulation. The 49ers turned to Ogbueze and Woods in the backcourt to handle the pressure.

With two minutes to go, Geno Thorpe made a three pointer followed by two free throws to cut the 49ers lead to two points. The 49ers looked like they lost all momentum and offensive ability until Dorn made a highly contested three pointer to beat the shot clock with 45 seconds remaining.

A very exciting last minute ensued with the 49ers barely hanging on to the lead. Newbill scored every time down the floor either on a layup or free throw, but that was matched by Ogbueze who converted on his free throws. With two seconds left in regulation, John Johnson hit a contested three pointer to tie the game and force overtime.

The 49ers started overtime without three starters due to fouling out. Charlotte had to turn to inexperienced players in Dorn, Woods and Ogbueze to run their offense and get the win; the lack of experience was apparent though in their lack of ability to score on a consistent basis. At the end of the first overtime, both teams were unable to pull ahead and the game went to double overtime.

The second overtime was the Braxton Ogbueze show. He was able to get consecutive baskets and make every free throw he took (11-11) to seal the victory in double overtime. Penn State ran out of gas and couldn’t regain the lead, despite 35 points from Newbill, from the 49ers who made played a nearly error-free second overtime.

Coach Major talked about the win, saying that he has never been prouder of this team.

“Team is the word that comes to my mouth. I’m as proud of that effort as any team I’ve ever been around. We had guys foul out but different guys kept stepping up. It’s the best team effort I’ve been a part of.”

Patrick Chambers, the head coach of Penn State, said that he was impressed by Ogbueze and Charlotte’s freshmen the most.

“I really like Charlotte’s freshman, they can play in any league. That was really good recruiting by them. We knew coming in how how talented Ogbueze was and he played really well.

With the victory tonight, the 49ers will face the winner of South Carolina and Cornell tomorrow night at 7 p.m.