Observations from Charlotte 49ers’ exhibition loss to Georgia

Observations from the Charlotte 49ers’ 77-69 exhibition loss to Georgia on Friday at Halton Arena:

▪ Second-year coach Ron Sanchez, who has two seniors on his roster, used 10 players, including nine who played 13 minutes or more. That’s something new for Sanchez, whose bench was extremely thin last season. Although Sanchez is a long way from setting a rotation for the season opener Nov. 6 at James Madison, he’ll likely continue to make liberal use of his bench.

“Some guys are one way in practice and are different when the lights come on,” Sanchez said. “That’s growth. Their playing time will be based on how they evolve and how they grasp things. But the guys you saw on the floor (Friday) are going to be the guys who will play.”

▪ Four of Friday’s starters — junior guard Jordan Shepherd, true freshman guard Jahmir Young, grad transfer guard Drew Edwards and sophomore guard Luka Vasic — didn’t play for Charlotte last season (Shepherd was sitting out after transferring from Oklahoma, and Vasic was injured).

Shepherd led Charlotte with 16 points and five assists, and Young added 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Sophomore guard Cooper Robb had 10 points, making 2-of-4 3-pointers.

There were times when Shepherd, Young and Cooper — all point guards — were on the floor at the same time.

“Man, that’s a dream for me,” Sanchez said. “If I could find a 6-8 point guard, I’d play four point guards all the time. But we will always have two or two-and-half point guards on the floor. It makes it easier to manage pressure, make plays, having guys out there that really understand the game and have a really good feel.”

▪ The 49ers were without two injured players who figure to be in the rotation — sophomore guard Malik Martin (knee) and freshman guard Caleb-Stone Carrawell (back). Both are expected to be ready for the James Madison game.

▪ Charlotte used a 19-2 run in the first half to take a 37-33 lead at halftime. The Bulldogs closed the game on a 10-1 run.

“We defended really well,” Sanchez said of the first-half run. “We had nine possessions in a row where we had a stop. The only way we’re going to be competitive is if we’re good on the defensive end. But, like parents, you know children don’t always listen. They have a little success, then forget why they’re there. We had success blocking out, defending well, giving them one (shot). Then the opposite of that happened. We stopped blocking out and didn’t get back on transition.”

▪ A crowd of 2,117 watched the exhibition, with ticket proceeds going to benefit the April 30th Remembrance Fund, which supports the memorial and remembrance efforts from the on-campus shooting last spring, in which two students were killed and four others were injured.