‘Always one or two little things.’ Charlotte 49ers drop 15th consecutive game

The Charlotte 49ers had opportunities aplenty to avoid their school-record 15^th consecutive loss Thursday.

But Charlotte – not exactly in the habit of winning this season – couldn’t make those kinds of plays when they most counted against Florida International in an 89-83 defeat in front of a crowd of 3,305 at Halton Arena.

The loss dropped Charlotte to 5-23, 1-16 in Conference USA.

The 49ers trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half against the Panthers (14-16, 8-9). But behind junior guards Jon Davis (37 points) and Andrien White (28), the 49ers clawed back. Charlotte took brief, small leads four times in the second half, but was unable to maintain any of them.

Charlotte’s last lead, 79-78 on a layup by Davis with 2 minutes, 47 seconds left, was erased on FIU’s next possession by a layup by Brian Beard. That started an 8-0 run from which Charlotte couldn’t recover.

Three who mattered

Davis: His 37 points was one off the Halton Arena scoring record of 38 he set against Marshall in January.

White: Didn’t start, but his 28 points (15 in the second half) kept the 49ers in it during one stretch.

Eric Lockett, FIU: Panthers guard made 10-of-15 shots for 24 points. He also had eight rebounds.

Observations

▪  The Panthers outrebounded the 49ers 41-32. Forward Jay Harvey had nine boards, seven of them offensive.

▪  Charlotte finishes its season Saturday at home against Florida Atlantic. The 49ers didn’t qualify for next week’s Conference USA tournament in Frisco, Texas.

▪  The 49ers fell behind 9-0 at the start of the game and by as many as 13 in the first half. But Charlotte rallied behind Davis and White. White’s steal and dunk cut FIU’s lead to 38-37 with 2 minutes, 11 seconds left in the half. He was whistled for a technical for hanging on the rim, however. That seemed to tamp down the 49ers’ momentum and the Panthers finished the half on a 7-3 run to take a 45-40 lead into intermission.

▪  FIU made its first three 3-pointers to take that quick lead. Both teams shot the 3-pointer well in the first half, Charlotte making 7-of-14 and FIU hitting 6-of-12.

▪  White was honored before the game for becoming the 28th player in 49ers history to surpass the 1,000-point career in a career.

Quoting

“The difference is they executed down the stretch and we didn’t. You can pick and choose what you want, but it’s always one or two little things.” – 49ers interim coach Houston Fancher.

“Unfortunately we haven’t won any, so it’s hard to feel like those guys can step up and do it.” – Fancher.

“They scored a lot. I love for them to have great games, but I’d love for them to have support, too.” Fancher, on Davis and White combining for 65 of Charlotte’s 83 points.

This story was originally published March 1, 2018 at 10:29 PM with the headline "‘Always one or two little things.’ Charlotte 49ers drop 15th consecutive game."