The Niners coming off a pair of difficult losses scored a much needed road victory over the Wright State Raiders(2-4) 70-66 Saturday night at the Nutter Center.  Leading the way for the Niners were a pair of Jrs. in Chris Braswell (22 pts. 6 rbs.) and Deuce Briscoe (13 pts including 4-4 from the line. With the win Charlotte improves to 3-2 on the season as they enter a week off to prepare for LeboMania Dec. 3rd.

Last night’s game opened up much the same way as the Central Michigan game with the Niners scoring at will and most every Wright State shot missing the mark.  By the 7:00 minute mark in the first half, the Niners had a comfortable 21-9 lead.

“”It was really important to come out in the first four minutes of the second half and reestablish ourselves,” said 49ers Head Coach Alan Major. What was even more impressive was the Lamarian domination of the glass with Charlotte enjoying an eye-opening 19-4 advantage on the glass in the early going.

So what happened to that nice lead and rebounding advantage?  Round up the usual suspects.

It won’t take much of an interrogation (Wright State is no Keyser Söze) to figure out turnovers were again a major issue and played a role in the Raiders’ comeback.  For the game the Niners had 20 of them compared to Wright State’s 11.  What’s more surprising is that Chris Braswell, who excelled scoring the ball last night, had 7 of them.

Another large factor in Wright State’s comeback and ability to keep the game close was the play of NCSU transfer Julius Mays.  Mays poured in 25 points including 5-9 behind the arc.  Also playing well was Fr. post player Tavares Sledge.  Sledge only scored 6 points but hit all 3 of his shots and should be a nice player for the Raiders in the future.

One thing the Niners desperately need to work on is taking care of the ball in crunch time.  Two Derrio Green turnovers in consecutive possessions in a tight ballgame is not what this team needs.  Fortunately Deuce Briscoe subbed in and took care of duty hitting his aforementioned free throws.  Perhaps it’s time to settle on Henry and Briscoe as closers, with Voncina mixed in to certain offense/defense situations (translation: Free throws only).

Another point of concern is the pair of technicals received.  DeMario Mayfield and Chris Braswell both received them, Braswell’s coming at a critical juncture in the game.  Not only did he receive them late in the game, it was also his 4th personal foul.  Mayfield’s technical should have been a crystal clear indicator the officiating staff wasn’t in the mood for shenanigans.

This was a game the Niners should have won but were fortunate to do so.  Wright State is an extremely young team (save for Mays and Mpdondo, who was a non-factor) that the Niners should have dominated on the inside.  However, as the game wore on the Niners were decisively outrebounded.  Though the final tally was 34-29 in favor of the Niners, the early 19-4 advantage meant the Raiders out-rebounded Charlotte 25-15 down the stretch.   That said, it was a road game and we’ll take any road victories we can get for a team that is still trying to forge an identity on the court.