Charlotte 49ers advance to American Conference semifinals with win over UAB

Fifth-seeded Charlotte got as good a start as it could have hoped for in its American Conference quarterfinal matchup with No. 4 Alabama-Birmingham, running out to a seven-point lead from the opening tip, but UAB reeled the 49ers back in to close out the opening half, and led by a pair at the break.

Charlotte again tried to run off and hide in the second half Friday at Legacy Arena — consequently, home of the Blazers — building a nine-point advantage in the final minutes.

This time, the 49ers held on, advancing to the American Conference semifinals with an 83-78 win over UAB, setting up a showdown with tournament No. 1 South Florida on Saturday at 3 p.m.

The Blazers (20-12) trailed by nine with 4:38 to play in regulation, but an 8-0 run on a pair of Quaran McPherson 3-pointers and a deuce from Dayjuan Anderson closed the gap to one.

Charlotte’s Damon Harrison drilled an answer 3-pointer out of a timeout with 1:53 to play to reestablish a buffer, and the 49ers closed out the win with a pair of layups in the final 38 seconds.

Dezayne Mingo, a transfer in from Marshall, starred for Charlotte, hitting eight 3-pointers and scoring 35 points to lead all players. Mingo added four rebounds and six assists in his 38 minutes on the floor.

Ben Bradford added 17 for the 49ers (18-16), Harrison had 13 — including three 3s — and Anton Bonke led Charlotte with nine rebounds, eight on the defensive glass.

Daniel Rivera led UAB with 20 points and nine boards. McPherson added 14 and KyeRon Lindsay-Martin posted 12 for the Blazers.

49ers handle Tulane

It took the Charlotte 49ers a little while to get going in their 2026 American Conference tournament debut Thursday, but Charlotte found its offense in the second half of a 74-60 win over Tulane.

The win ended a three-game losing streak for the 49ers (16-16), who were picked to finish last in the league in the preseason.

Instead, Charlotte has now won five more games than it did a year ago and advanced to the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Friday against Alabama-Birmingham (20-11) on ESPN2.

The 49ers got to the quarters — three wins away from a first NCAA Tournament bid in 21 years — by going on an 18-0 run in the second half to take a 39-27 lead and take control of the game.

It was Charlotte’s best offensive run of the season, and the 49ers looked like a completely different team than in the first half when Charlotte went scoreless for more than five minutes, shot 5 for 32 from the field and trailed 20-18 at halftime.

Yes, 20-18.

What kept Charlotte in the game? The Green Wave shot 6 for 24 on offense in the first 20 minutes and looked like a team that came into the tournament on a four-game losing streak.

Tulane scored 40 points in the second half, but Charlotte had a season-best 56 in the half and won pretty much going away.

49ers sophomore guard Ben Bradford had 29 points and eight rebounds to lead the team. He made 9 of 16 field goals, 5 of 8 3-pointers and all six of his free-throw attempts.

Charlotte senior point guard Dezayne Mingo, had 19 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, just off a triple-double.

This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 9:03 PM.