Joseph Uchebo flexing his biceps to the crowd after advancing to the quarterfinals. Photo by Ben Robson.
Charlotte came into Wednesday night’s matchup already with two wins under their belt against Rice this year, picking up their third win 79-69 to advance to the Conference-USA quarterfinals Wednesday night.
The 49ers and the Owls struggled to knock down their shots to begin the game, getting used to the new rims and court at Legacy Arena. Once Charlotte got a couple of shots to fall, they went on a 15-0 run over a four minute span.
Andrien White started the run with a three, finishing with six points in only 17 minutes, while Jon Davis knocked down a three in the next possession for the 49ers, part of his 27-point performance.
The Owls of Rice cut into the lead after forcing a couple tough shots for Charlotte, making it a three point game with eight minutes to play in the first half.
Charlotte went on a 9-0 streak, started by a layup from Anthony Vanhook, who finished with eight points and four rebounds, which led to another layup by Davis and a three by Braxton Ogbueze, making the lead 30-18. Ogbueze finished with 19 points, knocking down four of his seven three-point shots.
The 49ers went into halftime with a 39-25 lead, holding Rice to 14.3 percent shooting from long range, the bread and butter for the Owls all year long.
Marcus Evans, C-USA freshman of the year, only had four points going into the second half, making it just a matter of time before he was going to take over the game.
Charlotte kept their double-digit lead for about five minutes in the second half, behind a couple made layups from Davis and Vanhook, providing valuable minutes off the bench.
Head coach Mark Price was forced to go to walk-ons Reid Aube and Cam Pappas in the first half, helping with the energy level on the court, but Price knew to win the ball game, he had to keep in his main guys that got him to this point.
The 49ers saw their lead deteriorate, with the Owls tying things up at 61 with six minutes remaining.
Joseph Uchebo finished with 12 points and 18 boards, setting a C-USA tournament record in rebounds in a game. Uchebo pulled down timely boards in the second half to limit second chance points for the Owls, playing 33 minutes.
“At the end of the day, you have to try and win the game and these guys have been warriors for us all year long,” said Price.
Evans finished with 23 points in the second half alone, doing everything he could to bring his team back, but the 49ers closed out the game knocking down almost all their free-throws in the last two minutes.
The last horn sounded and the 49ers came out victorious in their first C-USA tournament game, advancing on to the quarterfinals to take on Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m. Wednesday night.
Guards Davis and Ogbueze both played the entire 40 minutes of the game, showing no signs of fatigue after or being tired.
“This time of the year, we aren’t worried about being tired,” said Ogbueze. “It’s mind over matter. We want to win and we are just taking it one game at a time.”
Davis said, “If we have to play 40 minutes to win four game, I’m all for it. I’m not even tired right now.”
After the game, Price was asked about his next opponent in Middle Tennessee, saying, “They are a very talented team and we know it’s going to be a great challenge for us, but we are excited to take on that challenge and have the opportunity.”
Jon Davis setting up a play for the offense. Photo by Ben Coon.