Tough schedule continues for Charlotte 49ers with Georgetown
The Charlotte 49ers will bring a much-needed dose of self-belief into their game Tuesday against Georgetown at Time Warner Cable Arena.
“We’ve had a lot of confidence taken away from us and we’re working ourselves out of it,” coach Mark Price said Monday, two days after his team broke a six-game losing streak with an 82-66 victory at Appalachian State. “It was good to get that win out on the road. We needed something good to happen to these guys.”
The 49ers (2-8) got a season-high 25 points and a perfect 3-point-shooting performance (7-of-7) from junior guard Braxton Ogbueze against the Mountaineers. They face a much stiffer challenge against Georgetown (6-5), which lost to UNC Asheville 79-73 Saturday.
We needed something good to happen to these guys.
Mark Price
“They’re big and long, a typical Georgetown team,” said Price. “They’ve lost a couple of games lately, which probably doesn’t bode well for us. They’re going to want to come in and right the ship against us.”
The young 49ers have played a challenging nonconference schedule. But Price said losses against teams like Syracuse, Michigan, Washington, Davidson and Miami should help them prepare for Georgetown.
“One thing we’ve learned is we need to get off to a better start, and we did that against Appalachian, getting out of the blocks quicker,” said Price, who has continued to tinker with his starting lineup (10 different players have started for the 49ers).
Price said a key matchup Tuesday will be 49ers freshman point guard Jon Davis against Georgetown senior D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera.
Davis averages 7.0 points and 3.5 assists. His 2.19 assist-turnover ratio ranks fifth in Conference USA.
“Jon’s coming on a lot and getting better, but it’s a process,” said Price. “It’s the toughest position to step into, particularly as a freshman. He’s been thrown in the fire and has had tough matchups pretty much all the way.”
David Scott: 704-358-5889, @davidscott14
This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Tough schedule continues for Charlotte 49ers with Georgetown."