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Charlotte’s 52-40 victory over Saint Joseph’s on Saturday was useful to the 49ers in more ways than one.
Not only did beating the Hawks make the 49ers eligible for the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament, it also pushed them up the standings into the ninth seed.
That means Charlotte (20-10, 8-8) will face No. 8 Richmond (18-13, 8-8) in a first-round game at noon Thursday in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Richmond beat the 49ers 81-61 in January behind guard Darien Brothers’ 39 points (which included 8-of-13 3-point shooting). Brothers had stitches after suffering a small cut on his shooting hand in the Spiders’ regular-season ending victory against Duquesne on Saturday, but coach Chris Mooney said he expects Brothers to play Thursday.
The 49ers have won two straight to finish the regular season on an up note after losing six of seven put their chances of making the league tournament in peril.
