Charlotte 49ers fall late again despite Curran Scott’s 30

If Charlotte’s past three games have shown Mark Price anything, it’s that the 49ers are on the verge of a breakthrough win.

That nearly came Saturday, as Charlotte battled to its second straight last-second loss, this one coming to Conference USA frontrunner Alabama-Birmingham, 74-72, at Halton Arena.

Curran Scott scored a season-high 30 points, Joseph Uchebo had 14 points and 19 rebounds, and Jon Davis added 11 for the 49ers (4-13, 1-4), who rallied from a 16-point deficit early in the second half.

“We had a rough first half,” said Price, Charlotte’s first-year coach. “But I told the guys at halftime that we had to battle, and give more and more. That’s what we did in the second half … and got ourselves back in the game.”

Scott’s last basket, a 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining, capped Charlotte’s rally and tied the score at 72.

But after a missed shot and timeout, Robert Brown banked in a short jumper with 3.5 seconds left to give the Blazers (15-3, 5-0) their 12th consecutive win.

“We were playing pretty hard in the first half,” said Price, whose team trailed 46-33 at the half. “But we didn’t play smart and together.

“The second half, we did all three. If we had done that for the whole game, we might’ve had a chance to win. … It’s coming, though; it’s coming.”

Three who mattered

Curran Scott: The 49ers’ most consistent scorer Saturday, making 11 of 20 from the field, 3 of 6 on 3-pointers and 5 of 7 from the free throw line.

Robert Brown: Scored 18 points to lead three other players in double figures for Alabama-Birmingham.

Joseph Uchebo: Another double-double – his third straight – for the 49ers center. He also had nine offensive rebounds, almost as many as UAB had as a team (10).

Observations

▪ The Blazers shot 48.4 percent from the field in the first half (15 of 31), and hit 7 of 10 3-pointers in building a 46-33 halftime lead. Charlotte shot 40 percent (12 of 30), but only made 2 of 8 3-pointers.

▪ The 49ers were dominated inside by Alabama-Birmingham in the first half, with a 23-14 rebounding advantage. That changed in the second half, with Uchebo pulling down 14 rebounds himself as Charlotte outrebounded UAB 22-18.

▪ Another interesting statistic from Saturday’s game – assists. The Blazers had eight in the first half and 13 for the game; Charlotte had none in the first half, five for the game.

▪ The Blazers led by 16 points twice in the second half, the last at 57-41 with 13:46 remaining. Over the next 13 minutes, the 49ers outscored UAB 31-15.

▪ The 49ers could easily be in the race for the C-USA title, had things gone better in their last three games. In that span, they’ve lost to Louisiana Tech 93-90 in overtime, to Middle Tennessee 73-72 and now to UAB.

Worth mentioning

▪ At 12 games, the Blazers have the second-longest active winning streak among Division I teams, just behind No. 10 SMU’s 16-game run.

▪ 49ers forward Bernard Sullivan missed his seventh consecutive game while recovering from concussion symptoms. Forward Anthony Vanhook, who missed Thursday’s game against Middle Tennessee with an ankle issue, was dressed Saturday but did not play.

▪ UAB coach Jerod Haase is a former assistant to Roy Williams at North Carolina. In nine seasons there, the Tar Heels won two NCAA titles, advanced to the Final Four once and the Elite Eight three times.

▪ Charlotte continues its Conference USA homestand on Thursday, hosting Marshall at Halton Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.

They said it

“A loss is a loss at the end of the day, but we all know this is a process for us right now. … Our guys are gaining confidence by the day. They’re seeing every day that when we step on the floor, we’ve got a chance to win.” – Price

“We’ve just been playing better together as a team. When your teammates have confidence to give you the ball, then that should give you the confidence to make the shot.” – Scott

“Being out there with the freshmen, the young guys, I’m not really focusing on getting the ball in the post. I want them to shoot the ball. They know I’m a good rebounder, so I have to be ready. Every time they shoot it, I’m going for a rebound, no matter what.” – Uchebo

This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 10:16 PM with the headline "Charlotte 49ers fall late again despite Curran Scott’s 30."