It seems that whenever the UC Bearcats have a chance to redeem themselves, they always find a way to blow it, and the game at Charlotte (February 15) was no exception. The 49ers played host to the Bearcats in a game that can only be described as depressing. When 2nd ranked Louisville lost to Saint Louis early in the week, it gave the ‘Cats the opportunity that they needed to climb back into the rankings and to place themselves near the top of the leader board in Conference USA.
This extra incentive should have been enough to motivate the UC players, but as the score shows, it clearly was not. By the end of the night, it was another somber defeat as UC fell 74-64 to Charlotte.
Not only did the loss blow any chance for UC to get back in the C-USA race, but it was also the team’s fourth loss in five games.
During UC’s last seven trips to Halton Arena in North Carolina, UC has won a dismal three times.
UC was dominated in every aspect of the game, including physically and mentally. The 49ers out-rebounded the ‘Cats 50-34, and Charlotte was also able to snag an enormous 24 offensive rebounds. When a team is allowed to grab this many offensive rebounds, it becomes difficult for them to lose. For a Charlotte team that is under .500, Saturday was a huge victory for them.
Huggins expressed his disappointment in his team’s performance in his usual explosive manner when he received his first technical of the year with 4:05 remaining in the first half. In the final minutes of the first half, the 49ers went on a 9-1 run to take a seven point lead heading to the locker rooms.
UC came out characteristically in the second half with more intensity, but the end result would be the same. UC changed its defense in the second half by moving to a 2-3 full court press in the hopes that the added pressure would lead to some turnovers. But the dominance of the 49ers offensive rebounds cancelled out any of the positives that were enforced by the full court press. As is the norm, UC failed to capitalize off of the mistakes of their opponents.
Taron Barker led UC with 12 points, followed closely by Jason Maxiell with 10. Maxiell, who is generally one of UC’s top scorers, was contained all night, and left the game when he fouled out in the second half. Field Williams added to the ‘Cats total by contributing seven points, and Leonard Stokes also added seven. Every starter for UC scored below his average. Oddly enough, the Bearcats outshot the 49ers 41.2% to 36.8%. But this is still a mark that is below their average.
The 49ers were led by Curtis Nash, who scored 20 points. Damon Brown was on fire from beyond the arc, as he hit six three-pointers, giving him 18 points for the game.
With the win, Charlotte has improved its overall record to 10-12. They are 5-5 in C-USA. UC has fallen to 14-7, and they are 6-4 in the league.