Charlotte 49ers blow double-digit lead, lose momentum at Tulsa
The Charlotte 49ers made their first trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 17 years Saturday, and it really didn’t go so well.
Coming off a 24-point loss to Memphis on Wednesday night, Charlotte blew a double-digit lead and lost 69-67 to a Tulsa team that had been struggling.
Before Saturday’s come-from-behind win, Tulsa had lost five of its last six games. And in the first half, Charlotte (17-10, 11-4 AAC) was up 14 and looking comfortable.
Then, the 49ers had a second half similar to the one they had in Memphis on Wednesday. Memphis outscored Charlotte 36-17 in the second half.
Saturday, Tulsa (14-13, 5-10) outscored the 49ers 38-25 in the final 20 minutes. And the final half- minute or so was zany.
“We lost all types of rhythm,” Charlotte coach Aaron Fearne said. “We moved the ball extremely well that first half. They ramped it up a little bit and we just lost rhythm to move the ball and trust each other in moving it and that’s kind of two games in a row.”
To finish its comeback, Tulsa freshman P.J. Haggerty made a wild, banked 3-point shot with 34 seconds left to give his team a 3-point lead. After a timeout, Charlotte’s Igor Milicic Jr. calmly sank a 3-pointer off an out-of-bounds play to tie the game.
Tulsa gave the ball back to Haggerty, who was fouled trying a step-back jumper by Charlotte’s Lu’Cye Patterson with just under three seconds left. Haggerty made two free throws and Charlotte couldn’t get off a game-tying attempt in time.
“Toughness Is the word,” Fearne said. “You can’t win in this game at this point of the year if you don’t rebound. And rebounding is all about toughness. We are not doing a good enough of [executing under pressure] so we got some things to work on in the next week.”
▪ Charlotte fell to third place in the conference, three games behind South Florida with three games to play. The 49ers will need to hang on in their remaining games with South Florida, Rice and East Carolina to keep a double-bye for the conference tournament next month.
Three Who Mattered
P.J. Haggerty, Tulsa: The freshman star made only 6 of 15 shots but finished with 17 points and the game-winning free throws. Haggerty, one of the nation’s top freshmen, also had seven rebounds and seven assists.
Lu’Cye Patterson, Charlotte: After not scoring and fighting foul trouble against Memphis, Patterson made 8 of 15 shots and had a team-high 20 points plus five assists. Patterson made 4 of 6 3-point attempts.
Dishon Jackson, Charlotte: The 49ers’ big man had another good floor game, finishing with 10 points, on 5-of-8 shooting, to go with a team-high 12 rebounds and three assists.
Notes
▪ Saturday’s game was the seventh meeting between Tulsa and Charlotte, including the 49ers’ 84-76 win over the Golden Hurricane at Halton Arena on Jan. 10.
▪ Tulsa junior Jared Garcia played two seasons for Charlotte, where he averaged 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds. Saturday, he made 10 of 11 shots and had 24 points and five rebounds. He more than doubled his 9.0 points per game average against his old team.
“Good for him,” Fearne said of Garcia. “He’s always shown that potential. Really happy for him and Jared’s a good dude. He was a good part of our program and helping us slowly grow over the years and now he’s found a good spot here.”
▪ Tulsa out-rebounded Charlotte 29-24 and had 36 points in the paint, compared to 24 for the ‘Niners.
“We just couldn’t keep the ball out of the paint,” Fearne said. “They got downhill and put pressure on the rim. And how many did we miss around the rim in the second (half). I can list off the top of my head think of a couple basic plays that we just didn’t finish.”
