Charlotte 49ers see positives in win against The Citadel

Charlotte coach Mark Price is still tinkering with the 49ers’ lineup and player rotations.

But Price has seen some positives the past three weeks, especially after Charlotte’s 111-93 victory over The Citadel on Tuesday night at Halton Arena.

Joseph Uchebo put up a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds, Andrien White and Curran Scott scored 20 points each, Jon Davis added 17 and Ridell Camidge 11 for the 49ers (3-9).

“We came out tonight with a lot of energy and purpose,” Price said. “Really, the last three games, we’ve made really big strides. The guys are playing harder, playing smarter and we’re coming out and competing.

“The Citadel is the kind of team that’s difficult to prepare for, but for 80 percent of the time, we were pretty good with them. But we’re still growing, getting better, and there’s still a lot more room for growth.”

Charlotte led 49-43 at the halftime break, and stretched it out over the final 20 minutes behind 69.4 percent shooting (25 of 36) in the second half in winning for the second time in the past three games.

That, and forcing the Bulldogs – the nation’s top-scoring team at 93.1 points per game – into 20 turnovers (leading to 21 49ers points) allowed Charlotte to put up its highest-scoring game of the season.

Quinton Marshall scored 20 points, Derrick Henry added 17 points and Brian White 14 for The Citadel (7-6), which lost its second straight.

Three who mattered

Andrien White: Had 15 first-half points on 6 of 8 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers. He also had five of Charlotte’s 11 steals.

Curran Scott: Scored 13 points in the second half, finished 7 of 10 from the field and 6 of 10 from the free throw line.

Joseph Uchebo: Posted his third double-double this season; scored 14 points in the second half to help 49ers pull away.

Observations

▪ Bernard Sullivan, the 49ers’ No. 2 scorer (10.5 points) and rebounder (5.6 per game), missed his second straight game Tuesday with what a team official said were “concussion-like symptoms.” Charlotte was also without Anthony Vanhook (illness) and Reid Aube (foot).

▪ Because of the missing players, Price went small against the Bulldogs, starting four guards – White, Davis, Camidge and Braxton Ogbueze – along with Uchebo. It was the ninth different starting lineup the 49ers have used this season, and the sixth straight game with a different starting five.

▪  The Citadel is second in the nation in 3-pointers made per game (11.9) and fifth in total 3-pointers made this season (143). But the Bulldogs were 10 of 29 against Charlotte.

▪ On the plus side, the 49ers shot a season-best 60 percent from the field (42 of 70), and outrebounded the Bulldogs 43-31. But the 49ers finished with 16 turnovers, and shot just 61.8 percent from the free throw line (21 of 34).

Worth mentioning

▪ First-year Citadel coach Duggar Baucom is a Charlotte native who got his degree at UNC Charlotte in 1995.

▪ Charlotte’s 111 points is its most in a win in 25 years to the day. The 49ers put up 117 points in beating Navy on Dec. 28, 1990.

▪ The 49ers begin Conference USA play on Saturday, traveling to Norfolk, Va., to face Old Dominion. Game time is noon.

They said it

“I pick them apart on the little things, because that’s how you become a really, really good team. But we’re getting better every game.” – Price.

“I’m sure we’re going to run into a few teams that are going to try to throw that at us … but we learned from tonight. We can do better.” – White, on The Citadel’s full-court press.

“We’ve definitely been hitting our stride the past few games, and we’re starting to come together. That definitely gives us some confidence going into conference play.” – Scott.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 9:11 PM with the headline "Charlotte 49ers see positives in win against The Citadel."