Michigan blasts Charlotte 49ers 102-47 in Bahamas

Michigan’s hot shooting and substantial rebounding advantage added up to a 102-47 victory against the Charlotte 49ers in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament Thursday.

The 55-point differential was the largest margin of defeat in Charlotte’s 46-year Division I history, easily eclipsing a 44-point loss against Florida State in 2013.

Defense has been an issue all season for the 49ers (1-4). At no time was it more pronounced than against the Wolverines (3-2), who shot 61.9 percent from the field and outrebounded the 49ers 44-27.

Charlotte will face Washington (3-2) in the tournament’s seventh-place game at 9:30 p.m. Friday. The Huskies lost to Texas 82-70 Thursday. Michigan will play the Longhorns for fifth place at 7 p.m.

Michigan, which led 44-22 at halftime, got 19 points from Moritz Wagner. Charlotte was led by freshman Andrien White’s nine points. The 49ers shot 25.9 percent from the field.

Three who mattered

Moritz Wagner: Charlotte had particular problems in the first half with Wagner, Michigan’s 6-foot-10 freshman center. Wagner made all six of his shots (including a 3-pointer). He finished with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting.

Andrien White: The only 49ers player who came close to scoring in double figures, scoring nine points on 2 of 7 shooting.

Kameron Chatman: His eight rebounds led Michigan, which had a huge advantage in that department.

Observations

▪  49ers coach Mark Price wasn’t pleased with his team’s effort in the second half, allowing deep substitutes Reid Aube and Cameron Pappas a good chunk of playing time while the starters watched from the bench.

▪ The 49ers fell behind 44-22 at halftime, due in large part to their 8-of-28 (28.6 percent) shooting. Only freshman guard Curran Scott (2-of-4) made at least half of his shots.

▪ Michigan had an overall size advantage. When Wagner wasn’t in there, 6-9 Ricky Doyle was.

▪ Joseph Uchebo earned his first start of the season for Charlotte after playing well in a first-round game against Syracuse (16 points, 12 rebounds). Uchebo struggled against Michigan, however, with six points. He did pull down nine rebounds, however.

Worth mentioning

▪ Washington, Charlotte’s opponent Friday in the seventh-place game, has played Texas twice already this season. In addition to their game Thursday in the Bahamas, the Huskies and Longhorns played Nov. 13 in Shanghai, China, a 77-71 Washington victory.

▪ The 49ers entered the game with a 2-0 all-time record against the Wolverines. Charlotte beat Michigan on the way to the Final Four in the 1977 NCAA tournament and also in the championship game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in 2013.

They said it

“There’s not much to say about that. It was a disaster. Michigan laid the wood to us.” -- Price.

“It was very embarrassing. It’s one that’s going to sting for a little while. But we’ll put it behind us as best we can and let it build a fire in us. We won’t lay down. We’ll stand up.” -- Charlotte forward Bernard Sullivan.

“(Price) is going to have some games like this. But he’s going to have game like he did against Furman (Charlotte’s only victory), so he can go out and win some games.” -- Michigan coach John Beilein.

This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Michigan blasts Charlotte 49ers 102-47 in Bahamas."