Friday’s Charlotte 49ers vs. Georgia basketball exhibition will have a special meaning

Friday’s preseason men’s basketball exhibition between the Charlotte 49ers and Georgia at Halton Arena will have a special meaning for the UNC Charlotte community.

Proceeds from the 7 p.m. game will benefit the April 30th Remembrance Fund, which supports the memorial and remembrance efforts from the on-campus shooting last spring in which two students were killed and four others were injured.

“This is really a positive thing on so many levels for our university and (basketball) program, to have a game like this on campus, and to benefit the Remembrance Fund,” 49ers athletics director Mike Hill said.

Hill said he was contacted over the summer by Georgia assistant athletics director John Bateman about the possibility of the two teams playing an exhibition.

“The more we talked about it, a light bulb went off, and the more it seemed like it would be an opportunity to do something for the Remembrance Fund,” Hill said. “And Georgia had a real interest in playing on the road.”

Hill said the 49ers had to receive a waiver to play the exhibition from the NCAA, which only allows tickets to be sold for preseason games if they are for charity. Teams may play as many as two preseason scrimmages. (Charlotte recently played Wofford behind closed doors.)

“While it’s a charity event, I hope we face a true road environment at Halton Arena,” second-year Georgia coach Tom Crean said in a statement. “I’m pleased, we will be able to gain this experience and at the same time support the April 30th Remembrance Fund and remember those affected by the tragic events of that day.”

Second-year 49ers coach Ron Sanchez has three starters back from last season’s 8-21 team.

Georgia, 11-21 in Crean’s first season, has one of the top freshmen in the country in 6-foot-5 forward Anthony Edwards.