Charlotte 49ers hope to find winning path through Conference USA tournament

No coach wants his team to be riding an eight-game losing streak entering the postseason conference tournament.

But Charlotte 49ers’ coach Ron Sanchez says he saw some hopeful signs in his team’s regular-season finale last weekend. The 49ers open play in the Conference USA tournament at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, when they face UT San Antonio.

Charlotte (9-15) is the No. 5 seed from the East Division in the 14-team event, which ends Sunday. UTSA (14-10) is the West’s No. 4 seed. The winner will face East No. 1 seed Western Kentucky (18-5) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals. The tournament is being played at the Ford Center at the Star, in the Dallas suburb of Frisco.

The 49ers haven’t won in nearly six weeks, since they swept a two-game series from Florida International on the final weekend of January. But Sanchez says some of what he saw in last Saturday’s 75-66 loss at Marshall was uplifting.

“It was very encouraging to see the young players, and how they took over,” Sanchez says. “I hope that will carry over into Texas.”

Sanchez called time out after the 49ers started slowly in the Marshall game and sent freshmen Jared Garcia and Jackson Threadgill and sophomore Brice Williams into the game. All three played well, with Garcia notching a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Williams scoring 11. Senior Jordan Shepherd also played well, scoring 20 points, and the 49ers rallied to make it a close game.

“I told Jordan that you have three seasons in a year — preseason, the regular season, and the tournament season,” Sanchez says. “We have a chance to do something now.”

The 49ers’ problem, their coach said, has been defense.

“Defense has been failing us,” Sanchez said. “We just need a few more stops.”

Charlotte and UTSA haven’t faced one another this season. They were scheduled to meet in mid-February in Charlotte, but the series was called off because of dangerous weather conditions in Texas.

“We do know that they have one of the more elite backcourts in the conference,” Sanchez says.

49er honored

Charlotte sophomore guard Jahmir Young was named to the all-conference first team that was announced Tuesday. Young ranked fourth in C-USA scoring, with 18 points a game.

Women’s team earns bye

Charlotte’s women’s team have the No. 2 seed in the East and won’t play until Thursday’s quarterfinals The 49ers (10-9) will play their first game at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, also at the Ford Center in Frisco.

Two Charlotte players, senior Octavia Jett-Wilson and junior Jada McMillian, were named to the eight-player all-conference first team. Jett-Wilson averaged 21.1 points a game, and McMillian scored at a 16.4-point clip.

In addition, center Jazmin Harris was named the conference’s Sixth Player of the Year, and McMillian was picked for the all-conference defensive team.

“It’s been an exciting week for our program,” 49ers’ coach Cara Consuegra says. “There might be a higher sense of excitement than we had seen in some previous years, given what we’ve done. But we know there is still work to do.”

Injuries have been a problem throughout the season, but Consuegra says there is a chance that all eight players who see regular game time could be healthy by Thursday. “That would be the first time in quite a while,” she says.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle

This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 6:04 PM.