Charlotte 49ers face ‘gut check,’ take OT win over Texas-San Antonio

It took more than 14 months, but Charlotte’s men’s basketball team finally won a game in overtime.

The 49ers, led by six players in double figures, pulled out a 114-108 double-overtime Conference USA victory over Texas-San Antonio on Thursday night at Halton Arena.

Curran Scott scored seven of his team-high 22 points in the final overtime period, including the final five points for Charlotte (11-17, 7-8), which snapped a six-game losing streak in overtime games.

“It was a big gut check for us,” 49ers coach Mark Price said. “The highs and lows of a game like that … but these guys were able to suck it up and get the W.”

Joseph Uchebo had a double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Jon Davis also had 21 points for Charlotte, which had its last overtime win on Dec. 16, 2014, a 90-85 victory over College of Charleston.

Braxton Ogbueze added 17 points, and Andrien White and Anthony Vanhook had 15 each for the 49ers, who also snapped a two-game C-USA losing streak.

After trailing 46-45 at the halftime break, Charlotte pulled ahead by as many as 11 points in the second half, the last at 77-66 with 8:54 remaining. But the Roadrunners (5-24, 3-13) fought back to tie the game at 91 at the end of regulation.

Texas-San Antonio took command early in the first overtime, leading 98-95 with 2:07 remaining. But this time, the 49ers rallied, tying the game at 102 and forcing a second OT.

Charlotte found its second wind in the second overtime period, pulling ahead 109-103 on two free throws by Scott and a layup and 3-pointer by Davis with 59 seconds remaining.

Scott then closed out the game by going 5 of 6 from the line over the final 44 seconds.

Three who mattered

Curran Scott: Was 4 of 8 from the field, including making his only 3-point attempt. But his biggest contribution came at the free throw line – 13 of 15, including 7 of 8 in the second OT.

Joseph Uchebo: Was nearly perfect from the field (9 of 10), and nearly dominant on the boards (13 rebounds in the second half and OT periods) in getting his 14th double-double this season.

Jon Davis: Was 7 of 15 from the field, including 3 of 8 on 3-pointers, and 4 of 4 from the free throw line. But his baskets in the second OT gave the 49ers breathing room.

Observations

▪ Texas-San Antonio entered the game as one of C-USA’s worst 3-point shooting teams (31.7 percent), averaging just 6.6 3s made per game. But the Roadrunners made their first five attempts and went 8 of 16 in the first half, and made 14 of 31 for the game, equaling their season best.

▪ Five players finished in double figures for Texas-San Antonio – Ryan Bowie had a game-high 23 points, Lucas O’Brien scored 21, Christian Wilson 20, J.R. Harris 18 and Phillip Jones had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

▪ Uchebo set a Conference USA record for rebounds in a season in conference games with his second rebound in Thursday night’s game. The record-setter came with 7:39 left in the first half. The former record of 185 was set by Kenyon Martin during the 1999-2000 season.

Worth mentioning

▪ A moment of silence was held before Thursday’s game for 49ers student manager Austin Rainey, who died in an auto accident in northern Virginia last week.

▪ Charlotte plays its final home game of the season at 7 p.m. Saturday against Texas-El Paso. The 49ers’ five seniors – Uchebo, Bernard Sullivan, who ended his career after suffering a concussion; and walk-ons Cameron Pappas, Mitch Warner and Gavin Wilson – will all be honored before the game.

They said it

“It means a lot. I wasn’t paying attention, but when my host family told me about it, I was jumping around my room, saying ‘I’ll break it, I’ll break it today.’” – Uchebo on setting the C-USA rebounding record.

“We knew we needed to get a win here after dropping two last week. It was just a really close game throughout. We had to dig deep and keep fighting, and that’s what we did.” – Scott.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 10:39 PM with the headline "Charlotte 49ers face ‘gut check,’ take OT win over Texas-San Antonio."