Courtesy: Charlotte 49ers
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Joseph Uchebo led three 49ers in double-figure scoring with 20 points while grabbing 13 rebounds, but Charlotte’s second half rally fell short Saturday with an 82-77 loss at Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton.
Uchebo recorded his seventh straight double-double and his second 20-point scoring game of the season. Freshman Curran Scott recorded his ninth double-figure scoring contest of the year with 16 points. Junior Braxton Ogbueze recorded his 26th career double-figure scoring game with 15 points, all coming in the second half.
The lead exchanged hands several times with four ties over the first five minutes of the game. Tied at 10 with 15:06 left in the first half, FAU scored seven of the next nine points, taking a 19-12 lead when guard Adonis Filer connected on a three with 12:09 on the clock.
Charlotte was able to cut the Owls’ lead to five points on a couple of occasions in the first half but were not able to get any closer in the half. Florida Atlantic pushed their lead to double-figures late in the first half and had a 44-33 halftime lead. Uchebo recorded his 14th double-figure scoring game of the season with 14 first half points.
Charlotte scored the first four points of the second half behind a free throw by Scott and a three by Ogbueze, cutting Charlotte’s 44-37 with 17:31 left in the second half.
Then, FAU went on a 13-3 run over the next four minutes pushing their lead to 57-40 with 13:51 on the clock.
The Owls maintained for the most part a double-figure lead for the next 10 minutes. Then, with FAU leading 71-61 with 2:36 on the clock, the 49ers scored five straight points cutting the lead to 71-66 when junior Anthony Vanhook scored inside with 1:45 left in regulation. Charlotte cut the lead to four points on two occasions in the final minute with threes by Ogbueze and freshman Jon Davis, but Florida Atlantic made nine free throws in the final minutes to close out the win.
The 49ers conclude their three-game road swing when they play North Carolina A&T on the road in their final non-conference game, Wednesday, February 3 at 7 pm.
