Charlotte 49ers blast FIU behind trio’s 2nd-half run

For much of this season, the Charlotte 49ers’ men’s basketball team has relied on sophomore guard Jon Davis when games have been tight in the second half.

But Saturday night at Halton Arena, the 49ers received contributions from multiple players – none more important than redshirt junior guard Austin Ajukwa – in the second half en route to a 95-80 win over Florida International.

After Charlotte (11-11, 5-6 C-USA) entered halftime with a 43-33 edge, Florida International (5-18, 1-9 C-USA) cut the deficit to one point with about 13 1/2 minutes left.

As he’s done so often this season, Davis immediately answered with a layup. But what followed was otherwise unprecedented.

Ajukwa made a 3-pointer and Braxton Ogbueze followed shortly with another. Ultimately, the three of them combined for a 13-2 run that put the game heavily in the 49ers’ favor, and each finished with double-digit points in the second half.

Three who mattered

Ajukwa, Charlotte: He scored a career-high 30 points on 13-for-16 shooting and is averaging 17.6 points over the past five games.

Davis, Charlotte: After scoring eight points in the first half, Davis scored 18 in the second and finished with 26.

Andrien White, Charlotte: He scored 16 points, his most since registering 20 against Western Kentucky on Jan. 5.

Observations

▪  The 49ers struggled to contain Florida International’s Donte McGill, who scored 27 points on 12-for-18 shooting. The rest of the Panthers scored 53 points on 19-for-45 shooting.

▪  Charlotte shot a season-best 59.6 percent (34-for-57). The previous high was 57.4 percent, which the 49ers shot against Appalachian State on Nov. 28.

Worth mentioning

▪  Senior forward Anthony Vanhook sat out Saturday after sustaining a left shoulder injury Thursday. Coach Mark Price said the team is unsure when Vanhook can return.

▪  Florida International’s Michael Kessens, who entered Saturday averaging 13.8 points and 9.5 rebounds, played just eight minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. He made an impact in the second, recording eight points and seven rebounds, before fouling out with about 4 1/2 minutes left.

They said it

“That’s what we want to get to as we move forward, heading toward conference tournament time – getting all of our parts playing at full speed and getting back to the way we like to play offensively. I thought everybody did a great job tonight. ” – Price.

This story was originally published February 4, 2017 at 9:49 PM with the headline "Charlotte 49ers blast FIU behind trio’s 2nd-half run."