Charlotte 49ers look to build ‘momentum’ with this week’s home games

With his team sitting in 10th place at the halfway point of Conference USA play, Charlotte 49ers’ men’s basketball coach Mark Price said Monday that he wished its 4-5 conference record could be flipped.

However, the second-year coach also added that with nine games left, the 49ers still have “a great opportunity” ahead of them before the C-USA tournament in March.

“There’s a lot of teams that could go anywhere from three to 10 right now in the conference standings,” said Price, referring to the eight teams that are separated by just two games. “It’s an opportunity to get hot, and I’m glad we’re home this week for two games.”

Charlotte (10-10, 4-5 C-USA) hosts Florida Atlantic (6-13, 2-6) Thursday and Florida International (5-16, 1-7) Saturday. Wins over both teams, which rank 12th and 13th in the conference, respectively, could be crucial given the road ahead.

Following this week’s games, the 49ers embark on a three-game road trip, during which they’ll face C-USA powers UAB, Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion. Charlotte is just 2-5 away from Halton Arena this season.

The 49ers then face Western Kentucky, Marshall, UTSA and UTEP — four of the teams that are at least two games ahead of them in the conference standings — to finish the regular season.

So with just four home games remaining, the results of this week's two-game homestand could significantly impact the 49ers' push toward the postseason.

“If we could win these two games this week, it would put us in a good position heading into the road with some momentum,” Price said. “From a confidence standpoint and what we’re trying to build, it would be huge for us.”

Garvin making strides

With senior Anthony Vanhook and sophomore Andrien White suspended by the NCAA for Thursday’s win at North Texas after participating in a fight against Old Dominion on Jan. 21, freshman Najee Garvin made his second career start.

He scored 11 points and added a career-high eight rebounds against the Mean Green. The performance earned him another start Saturday, when he had 10 points and five rebounds against Rice.

“He’s taking advantage of his opportunity, and he brings a lot energy and athleticism to our team ...” Price said. “I’m really happy with Najee. I’m really pleased with his progress, and he’s only going to keep getting better.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Charlotte 49ers look to build ‘momentum’ with this week’s home games."