Charlotte 49ers fall to Old Dominion in Conference USA opener

Joseph Uchebo posed the question. Old Dominion had several answers.

Uchebo scored eight of Charlotte’s first 10 points – he fed Anthony Vanhook for the other two – then was shut down for most of the rest of Saturday afternoon in the 49ers’ 74-65 loss in their first Conference USA game of the season.

Going at Uchebo after playing a bit shy early on, the Monarchs (8-6, 1-0) went on an 11-0 run, from 12-12 to 23-12, during a 6:17 span of the first half in which Charlotte (3-10, 0-1) missed six shots and turned the ball over five times. The 49ers came no closer than six points the rest of the way.

“We defended OK in the first half, but we just couldn’t make a shot early on,” 49ers coach Mark Price said. “Usually you feel pretty good about holding a team to 32 points in the first half, but we were still down 13 (at halftime). You’ve got to put the ball in the basket.”

Much of Charlotte’s scoring came from freshman guard Andrien White, who made eight of 12 three-point shots – seven of nine in the second half – and finished with 27 points.

After seeing what Uchebo was doing to them, Old Dominion challenged Brandon Stith, Denzell Taylor and Nik Biberaj to do something about it. They muscled Uchebo on defense, getting help from the Monarch guards, and went at him on offense, combining for 23 points and 30 rebounds.

Uchebo – at 6 feet 10, the only big man on the floor for Charlotte (3-10, 0-1) for much of the day – finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.

Three who mattered

Joseph Uchebo: After earning double-doubles in his last two games, the 49ers center got off to a fast start Saturday with eight points and four rebounds, then had only seven points and four rebounds in the last 32:24 of the game.

Brandon Stith: After a soft start, he challenged Uchebo, scoring the first two baskets on the Charlotte center in an 11-0 run that led the Monarchs’ win.

Andrien White: Freshman 49er had a career-best 27 points, 22 of them in a second half in which he hit seven of nine from 3-point range.

Observations

▪ Old Dominion outrebounded Charlotte 41-28 for the game, 24-13 in the second half. ODU had a six-minute second-half stretch in which it had an 8-0 edge in offensive rebounds.

▪ Charlotte made 10 of 24 from 3-point range, Old Dominion only one of eight.

Worth mentioning

▪ Old Dominion stretched its home court winning streak to 32 games, tied with Kansas for fourth longest in Division I. The Monarchs’ last home loss was to Louisiana Tech Feb. 22, 2014. Tech has the longest home streak, 38 games, and hosts Old Dominion on Thursday.

▪ White had an entourage of about 40 friends and family who drove 100 miles from Richmond. Half of them wore white T-shirts with “Team White” on the front and his No. 2 on the back.

They said it

“I’m worried about trying to keep them out ... to force two guys out (at a time), but they kept coming. … We need more big men to help me on offense.” – Charlotte’s Uchebo.

“(Our guards) were close, but we were only about three feet off from where our position should have been. That may not sound like a big deal, but if you limit the amount of space those big guys have, you can force them to feel uncomfortable down low.” – Old Dominion coach Jeff Jones on collapsing around Uchebo.

This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Charlotte 49ers fall to Old Dominion in Conference USA opener."