Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball rallies for conference win after honoring Bobby Lutz
With Bobby Lutz in the building, the Charlotte 49ers put on a show.
Roughly an hour after the school’s new women’s lacrosse team set a conference record for scoring in its inaugural game, most of Niner Nation moved across campus to Halton Arena, where Charlotte men’s basketball honored a legend during a key matchup.
No matter which of the games they attended, Charlotte didn’t lose.
The 49ers earned a 78-75 basketball victory over Rice, overcoming a 16-point deficit in the first half of their against their American Athletic Conference foe. Lutz, the winningest coach in program history, recently gave the current Niners a speech following a shoot-around, and a dominant second half lifted Charlotte back into the win column.
“I had a lot of people last year talk to me about, ‘this is what it used to be like back in the day,’” Charlotte head coach Aaron Fearne said. “Coach Lutz was a big part of the success during that period of the program, and it’s there. It’s there in this program. We can put the pieces together, get some consistency with how we construct our roster and shoot the ball better.
“It’s there. You could feel it (Saturday). There was a lot of energy in the building, a lot of people there obviously support and recognize him, and to be there and support these guys.”
Alumni took the floor during halftime, and with the lights out inside the arena, the packed crowd engaged in a “Forty-Niners” chant before a tribute video. The Lutz family walked out to the middle of the court and shook hands with athletic director Mike Hill, who presented them with a commemorative No. 218 jersey — the number of victories Lutz recorded at Charlotte.
“It’s a surreal, crazy feeling,” Lutz told reporters after the game. “I came to try and walk onto the team, didn’t make it, and then to end up as a coach of a team you don’t make, that’s incredible enough. But then to be fortunate enough to have a banner that is here as long as this building is here.
“No matter what comes in — basketball games, volleyball games, commencements — that banner is going to hang here. It’s really hard to put it into words how special that is, and how much I appreciate it.”
‘Hitting shots and executing our gameplan gives us life’
Charlotte (9-15, 2-9 American) had dropped 10 of its past 11 games entering Saturday.
Jaehshon Thomas led the Niners with 21 points in the win Saturday, followed by a 19-point game by Nik Graves — each who nailed four 3-pointers — while Nika Metskhvarishvili posted 11 points as he returned to the starting five.
Victorious for the first time since Jan. 22 against South Florida, Charlotte hits the road for a nationally-televised conference game Monday night. The Niners will battle Florida Atlantic in a game that tips at 9 p.m. Monday and airs on ESPN2.
“It gives our whole team momentum,” Thomas said. “That’s what we want to see. We’re still trying to get it going, and now that we’re finally hitting shots, we can compete with any team in the conference. We have that type of momentum, we can just get things going.
”We work hard, we really do. For a team to be in the losing column that much and not just put our heads down, that’s a hard thing to do, but we keep our heads up after every game. We see when we come out on the other end, and just going out there and playing this game. Seeing us hitting shots and executing our game plan gives us life.”
Niners dominate inaugural women’s lacrosse game
A new Division-I program was born Saturday, and it made an emphatic debut.
Charlotte women’s lacrosse ran up the score in a 20-2 drubbing of Gardner-Webb, the most goals in an American Athletic Conference program’s first game. The inaugural game in program history brought hundreds of spectators to Jerry Richardson Stadium, and the white-jerseyed home team opened with 14 unanswered goals.
“You’re never really expecting all this, especially for a women’s lacrosse game,” sophomore attack Isa Torres, a former five-star recruit who transferred to Charlotte from Virginia Tech, said after recording two goals and a pair of assists. “We’re spreading the game and the sport, especially in this women’s sports industry. It was great to have such a big turnout, seeing everyone supporting these Niners here in Charlotte.
“It’s everything. This team has poured everything they could into me and this program, and I hope to give that back. To grow up (around lacrosse), this is everything you ever dreamed of, and to finally have it and for everyone on the team to buy in, it’s honestly indescribable.”
Senior attack Kylie Gioia led the way for the 49ers, scoring four goals and adding three assists in her debut after spending three seasons as a key player at Cincinnati. Redshirt junior Lily Barger, a Matthews native and former Weddington standout who transferred after attending Liberty and Wofford, started on defense for Charlotte.
“This is a message to all North Carolina girls: This is a place where you can come and be so close to home, just have this right in your backyard,” said Charlotte head coach Clare Short, who previously guided Queens to four Final Fours in six seasons at the helm.
“It’s another testament to how much this sport is growing in the South and this region in general, and we want to continue to grow this throughout the state and the city of Charlotte.”
