Can Charlotte 49ers contend for CUSA basketball title? Important lesson was just learned

Winning the game was almost a bonus, Charlotte 49ers’ men’s basketball coach Ron Sanchez said.

“I was really proud of them, but not necessarily because they won,” he said of his team Saturday evening. “I was proud because of how they played — how they learned from their mistakes.”

One key lesson Sanchez said he and his 49ers’ team got from their first weekend of Conference USA basketball is to learn from mistakes.

In their opening weekend of league play, facing the conference preseason favorite Western Kentucky, Charlotte lost a game its players felt they should have won … and then won a game their coach thought they would lose.

“This season is like no other,” Sanchez said. “It’s important for us to learn from our mistakes, then do better.”

Conference USA’s scheduling format this year calls for teams to play each other at the same site on back-to-back days. That’s designed to limit the potential spread of COVID-19.

Sanchez said making adjustments will be vital on the second day of those back-to-back games.

The 49ers lost 67-63 Friday to Western Kentucky, and both Sanchez and sophomore guard Jahmir Young, who had a superb weekend, said Charlotte was its own worst enemy.

“We felt we should have won,” Young said of Friday’s contest, in which the visiting Hilltoppers went on an 11-0 second-half run. “We just had a few mental breakdowns. We worked hard (Saturday) to avoid that.”

The 49ers (5-4, 1-1 CUSA) ran into similar problems Saturday. They led at halftime and were up by nine points in the second half. Then the Hilltoppers (8-3, 1-1) made a run and took the lead. Charlotte trailed 62-55 with four minutes left, but this time, the 49ers avoided the mistakes of Friday. They grabbed offensive rebounds and didn’t throw the ball away.

Sanchez said most teams don’t recover from that big a gap so late in the game. “I’d like to see the odds on that,” he said.

The 49ers rallied to tie the game 64-64 at the end of regulation, then won 77-73 in overtime.

“We did some goofy things down the stretch,” Sanchez said of Friday’s game. “I like the way we adjusted (on Saturday).”

If you’re a 49ers’ fan, there are some positive takeaways from the first weekend of conference basketball:

Charlotte has multiple weapons

On Friday, it was sophomore guard Brice Williams, who scored a career-high 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Young and Jordan Shepherd were a combined 9-of-25 from the floor, and Williams’ shooting gave Charlotte a lift.

On Saturday, Charlotte had four players in double figures. Young had 24 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Milos Supica shot 5-of-7 from the floor, scored 12 points, and had seven rebounds. Reserve Jhery Matos scored 10 points and had four steals.

“Different players contributing — that will be important for us,” Sanchez said.

The 49ers can rebound

Western Kentucky, led by 6-foot-10 center Charles Bassey, outrebounded Charlotte 60-49 over the weekend. But the 49ers had more offensive rebounds (10-7) and those were vital during overtime.

“That was a problem for us (Friday),” Sanchez said. “Then we learned from that mistake (Saturday).”

Charlotte is 1-1 in C-USA

After facing the preseason favorite, the 49ers are 1-1. They face league powers Marshall and UAB the next two weekends, but there will be easier assignments down the road. At this point, Charlotte looks like a team capable of contending in the C-USA East.