‘Fired up one more time,’ Charlotte 49ers pull together to snap longest losing streak
If Saturday was Houston Fancher’s final game as Charlotte’s interim coach, the 49ers sent him out in about the best way imaginable.
The 49ers beat Florida Atlantic 85-78 at Halton Arena, snapping a 15-game losing streak, the longest in school history. Charlotte – which didn’t qualify for next week’s Conference USA tournament – ends the season at 6-23, 2-16 in the league.
It also means it will soon be time for new Charlotte athletics director Mike Hill (who takes over March 15) to decide if he wants to retain Fancher, who went 2-17 as interim coach after Mark Price was fired in December.
“That’s Mike Hill’s decision and we’ll leave it to him,” Fancher said. “I love this place. I love these guys. But Mike will come in and do what he feels is best for the program. We’ll meet and see what direction we go from there.”
The 49ers, who led by nine points with 4 minutes, 47 seconds left., held off the Owls (12-18, 6-12) at the free-throw line. Charlotte made 30-of-32 for the game, hitting all 18 in the second half.
“We’ve talked about challenges, stepping forward, making plays, being tough, being close but not giving up,” Fancher said. “If tonight was not an indicator of not giving up this entire season, I don’t know what is.”
Three who mattered
Jon Davis: 49ers junior guard had another big game, scoring 28 points and dishing out four assists in 40 minutes of playing time.
Austin Ajukwa: On Senior Night, Ajukwa scored 23 in his college finale, including a second-half stretch during which he scored 12 consecutive 49ers points.
Ronald Delph, FAU: Delph, a 7-0 center, scored 19 points with nine rebounds and seven blocks.
Observations
▪ The 49ers led 40-36 at halftime. The last time Charlotte had a halftime advantage was at North Texas on Jan. 4. That was the last time the 49ers won, beating the Mean Green 70-68.
▪ Davis and White combined for 65 of the 49ers’ 83 points in a loss against Florida International on Thursday. That offensive imbalance continued in the first half against FAU, with the backcourt duo accounting for 25 (Davis 17, White eight) of Charlotte’s 40 points.
▪ The 49ers played the bigger Owls to about a standoff on the boards, with FAU outrebounding the 49ers 40-37. Charlotte outscored FAU in the paint 32-28. Forward Najee Garvin led the 49ers with nine rebounds.
▪ The victory also allowed these 49ers to avoid the ignominy of losing the most games in a season in the program’s Division I history. The 49ers went 5-23 in 1984-85.
Quoting
“We didn’t look at the scoreboard tonight, our hearts were in the way. There was so much resolve.” – Fancher.
“I can’t say it was easy to come and be fired up after losing so many. But it wasn’t hard to come in and play for each other.” – Ajukwa.
“They played like everything was on the line. Do you think that’s easy after losing 15 in a row? But they got fired up one more time.” – Fancher.
David Scott: @davidscott14
CHARLOTTE 85, FAU 78
FAU (12-18): Pfister 1-2 0-0 2, Ingram 4-7 1-1 9, Delph 8-14 3-3 19, Massey 6-16 0-0 16, Hulsey 2-11 4-6 9, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 3-7 2-2 8, Troutman 3-10 0-0 9, Adger 3-8 0-0 6. Totals 30-75 10-12 78.
CHARLOTTE (6-23): Haslem 3-3 0-0 6, Bias 0-1 0-0 0, White 4-17 8-10 17, Ajukwa 7-13 8-8 23, Davis 6-11 12-12 28, Garvin 1-2 2-2 4, Supica 1-3 0-0 2, McGill 0-0 0-0 0, Vasic 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 24-54 30-32 85.
Halftime—Charlotte 40-36. 3-Point Goals—FAU 8-23 (Massey 4-8, Troutman 3-8, Hulsey 1-6, Adger 0-1), Charlotte 7-17 (Davis 4-6, Vasic 1-2, Ajukwa 1-3, White 1-6). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—FAU 36 (Pfister, Delph 9), Charlotte 35 (Garvin 9). Assists—FAU 15 (Brown, Hulsey 3), Charlotte 7 (Davis 4). Total Fouls—FAU 22, Charlotte 15. A—4,587 (9,105).
This story was originally published March 3, 2018 at 11:16 PM with the headline "‘Fired up one more time,’ Charlotte 49ers pull together to snap longest losing streak."