COURTESY: Charlotte 49ers Athletics
Charlotte, NC – Curran Scott poured in 30 points and the Charlotte 49ers (4-13, C-USA: 1-4) pushed the top team in Conference USA UAB (15-3, C-USA: 5-0) to the brink but lost, 74-72, on a game-winner by UAB’s Robert Brown in the final seconds.
“I’m proud that we are getting better and proud of the effort we put forth” Charlotte 49ers head coach Mark Price said. “I don’t think there is ever a time to be happy after a loss but we all know that this is a process. We have had to play four of the top five teams in the league and we are battling tooth and nail and our guys are gaining confidence.”
To go along with Scott’s 30 points, Joseph Uchebo had 14 points and 19 rebounds. This was Uchebo’s third game in a row with at least 18 rebounds. Jon Davis had 11 points and Braxton Ogbueze added eight points for the 49ers.
“We have really been playing better as of late,” Scott said. “We have been just moving the ball well and when your teammates have confidence to get you the ball then that should get you confidence as well to make the shot. I just credit them for finding me.”
Brown led the Blazers with 18 points including four three-pointers. Dirk Williams scored 15 points and added six rebounds. Chris Cokley had 14 points and William Lee chipped in 13 points and 11 rebounds for UAB.
Charlotte scored 40 points in the paint to UAB’s 26. The 49ers also had 17 second-chance points on the night.
Both teams scored on their first possession of the game with the 49ers taking a 3-2 lead after a Scott three-pointer answered a bucket from Lee. Lee and Scott continued to duel early on as Scott drove past Lee for a layup to shorten UAB’s lead to 7-5 early on.
Nick Norton knocked down a pull-up three-pointer to extend UAB’s lead to 14-9 but on the ensuing possession Andrien White scored his first points of the game with 15:03 remaining to trim the margin to three. After Dirk Williams converted on a layup with 12:28 left in the half to give UAB a 19-13 advantage, Davis responded for the 49ers with a layup of his own.
The Blazers gained a 22-15 lead behind a three-pointer from Williams, however the 49ers reeled off seven straight points after the make. Ogbueze started the explosion with a three-pointer and then Scott earned three points the old fashion way. Davis finished the 7-0 the run with a made free throw tying the score at 22 with 9:59 left in the first half.
UAB went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes taking a 32-22 when Cokley scored inside with 6:05 on the clock. UAB pushed their halftime lead to 46-33 when Brown knocked down a three from the corner with two seconds left in the first half.
A barrage of three-pointers from the two teams opened up the second half. Charlotte’s White converted on a three-pointer for the Niners and on the ensuing possession the Blazers matched his three with one of their own. Scott continued the theme from behind the arc and cut the lead back to ten for Charlotte to give the Niners a trifecta on their first two second half possessions.
The Blazers jumped to a 57-41 lead following a jumper from Williams with just over six minutes gone in the second half. White cut into that lead with a three-pointer and his two fellow freshman backcourt mates, Scott and Davis helped trim the deficit back to ten with 12:20 remaining.
UAB surged back to an 11-point lead with 10:16 left but the 49ers refused to go away. Scott had another and-one to put the Niners down 10 and Uchebo brought Charlotte within eight at the 9:44 mark and after Tosin Mehinti sunk a free throw for the Blazers, Scott scored inside to shorten UAB’s lead even further to seven, 61-54, with 8:36 on the clock. The Blazers got up by nine points again but Scott simultaneously passed his previous career high of 21 points and cut it back to seven again with 7:24 left in the game.
With UAB leading, 66-56, with 7:01 left in the second half, the 49ers went on a 6-0 run behind the scoring of Uchebo and Scott cutting UAB’s lead to 66-62 when Scott scored inside with 5:14 on the clock.
UAB pushed their lead back to 10 points, 72-62, when Cokley scored inside with 3:19 on the clock. Over the next two and half minutes, the 49ers went on a 10-0 run capped off by a difficult three from Scott on the wing in front of the 49ers bench tying the score at 72 with 39 seconds on the clock. Scott scored six points during the run. Davis and Uchebo each scored two points during the run.
With three seconds remaining in the game, Brown made a game-winning floater for the Blazers. The 49ers were unable to get a shot off on their last possession.
The 49ers continue their four-game home stand next Thursday, January 21 against Marshall at 7 p.m. at Halton Arena.
