COURTESY: Charlotte 49ers
CHARLOTTE, NC–In the midst of inclement weather conditions, the Charlotte 49ers (6-13, C-USA: 3-4) used a dominant second half to cruise by the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (10-10, C-USA: 2-5), 88-71, in Halton Arena.
“It was a good win for our team, and it was a good time to get back-to-back wins,” Charlotte 49ers head coach Mark Price said. “Our guys came out in the second half and they played with a lot more determination, and we were able to get after it and rebound the ball, and that allowed us to get some easy buckets.”
For the third straight game, the 49ers relied on their strong recruiting class and had another freshman lead them in scoring. Curran Scott poured in 30 two games ago and Andrien White dropped 30 in their victory over Marshall, on Thursday but tonight it was freshman point guard Jon Davis who anchored the 49ers with 23 points and went 4-of-6 from three-point range. Davis also had six assists. Joseph Uchebo remained a dominant force inside and had his fifth straight double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Braxton Ogbueze scored 19 points including connecting on four three-point field goals.
“Jon is special to me because he is the first guy who committed to me after I got the job,” Price said. “He had some tough games early on, but he just continues to grow and listen and learn, and he gets better every game.”
The Niners shot a blistering 54.8 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from three-point range. Charlotte shot 61.3% from the field in the second half. In another key to the victory, Charlotte had 19 fast break points while the Hilltoppers finished with none.
Justin Johnson led the Hilltoppers with 21 points. Frederick Edmond recorded a double-double for WKU with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
The 49ers got off to a hot start offensively by scoring 15 of the game’s first 19 points capped off by a three-pointer from Curran Scott with 14:46 on the clock. Scott impressed again for the 49ers, finishing with 15 points and had his fifth straight game in double-figures.
Jon Davis buried his second three-pointer of the night to give Charlotte a 24-16 advantage with 8:48 left in the half. After Edmond corralled a rebound and brought the Hilltoppers within six, Davis stayed hot from behind the arc and knocked down another three-pointer to give Charlotte a nine-point lead with 7:16 remaining in the first.
The two three-pointers Davis hit early on showcased the improvement that has led to 49er fans raving about the freshman point guard as well as the rest of the team.
“I think I’ve really progressed over the season,” Davis said. “As a team we always have a positive mindset. Losing all the games that we have and in the way that we did was kind of disappointing, but the team has done a good job of keeping that positive mindset and we’ve been taking in what the coaches have said to us.”
Western Kentucky used a 12-0 run to cut Charlotte’s lead to 35-32 with 2:24 on the clock, but Braxton Ogbueze stole a pass and took it coast-to-coast to put Charlotte ahead 37-32 with 1:35 left. The Hilltoppers scored once more to conclude the half and the Niners went into the locker room with a 37-34 advantage.
The 49ers were determined to get the ball to Scott early on in the second half after the coaching staff saw a matchup they liked. The freshman guard came out of the locker room on a tear and scored the first six points after the break to help the Niners go ahead 43-38.
“They were going to put a bigger guy on Curran so in the second half we ran three straight plays for him,” Price said. “It was an isolation situation and he scored three straight times.”
The 49ers went ahead by 18 points with 9:38 remaining on perhaps the most exciting play of the night. Anthony Vanhook intercepted a pass to start the play and then Davis pushed the ball ahead to Andrien White who brought Niner Nation off their feet as he dunked over the outstretched arms of a Hilltopper defender. Ogbueze kept the 49er fans excited with a three-pointer giving the 49ers their largest lead of the game, 69-46, with 8:37 on the clock.
Western Kentucky would never get closer than 17 points as the Niners ran away with their largest margin of victory in C-USA play all season.
Charlotte returns to action on the road at Conference USA FIU, Thursday, January 29 at 7 pm.
