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3/9/2025 | 4:00 PM
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ESPN 730
Mar. 09 (Sun) / 4:00 PM
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History
DENTON, Texas – Charlotte Men's Basketball (10-20, 3-14 AAC) entered the Super Pit looking to pull off an upset against a North Texas team that was 14-1 at home, but the Mean Green (23-6, 14-3) caught fire in the second half to claim the 75-64 victory over the 49ers on Thursday (March 6) evening.
Despite never holding a lead in the first half, the 49ers battled the Mean Green to a 33-33 draw at intermission. Charlotte grabbed its first lead with a basket to start the second half, but the game flipped in North Texas' favor with a 10-0 run that turned a 43-43 tie into a double-digit lead for the Mean Green. North Texas guard Atin Wright scored 16 of the team's first 18 points in the second half. Wright finished with 42 points on 17 shots, including 29 points in the final period. While the Mean Green shot 55 percent (11-of-20) from the field and 50 percent (5-of-10) from long range in the second half, the 49ers shot 38.2 percent (11-of-27) and only made 3-of-11 triples in the final 20 minutes.
Nik Graves led Charlotte with 20 points, his 11th 20-point game of the season. Giancarlo Rosado turned in 17 points and 10 rebounds for the third double-double of his career. Charlotte outscored North Texas 24-12 in points in the paint and 12-6 in second-chance points, but that was countered by the Mean Green owning a 19-6 edge in points off turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
With seven seconds remaining in the first half, Robert Braswell IV buried a triple from the wing off an assist from Kylan Blackmon, tying the game heading into intermission. On their opening possession of the second half, Blackmon again found Braswell IV on the wing, who drained the catch-and-shoot triple to give Charlotte its first lead of the game.
North Texas responded with an 8-0 run that included a pair of Wright three-pointers to take the 41-36 lead before Rosado eventually tied the game back up at 43 with a deft up-and-under move. A tie game at the 14-minute mark, the Mean Green embarked on the game-altering 10-0 run that featured back-to-back triples from Wright and gave North Texas its first double-digit lead. Charlotte finally ended the run when Graves poked the ball free from a North Texas ballhandler, triggering a fast break that resulted in Thomas sinking a corner three to cut the deficit to 53-46 with 10:40 on the clock.
On the next possession, the Mean Green answered with a layup, and a Charlotte turnover led to a pair of North Texas free throws, pushing the deficit back to double digits again. Over the game's final nine minutes, Charlotte could not cut the deficit back under eight points.
The first half featured 10 straight points from Graves, helping the 49ers tie the game at 24 after trailing 19-14. The junior guard from Durham, N.C., drained triples on consecutive possessions, added a free throw to tie the game at 21, and then tied it again at 24 with three more free throws after drawing another foul on a three-pointer.
The Mean Green opened the game with a 12-4 run before the Niners' offense found life with triples from Graves and Braswell IV and along with a basket from Rosado. Braswell's three, off a dime from Ben Bradford, cut the deficit to 15-12.
STAT FACTS
Charlotte outrebounded North Texas 35-26. The Niners fall to 8-4 when they win or tie the rebounding battle.
Braswell IV made four-of-six shots from behind the arc to finish with 12 points. Blackmon added four rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Thomas tallied seven points and five boards off the bench and Bradford recorded four points, two assists, and two rebounds. Isaiah Folkes (illness) did not make the trip to Denton, Texas.
Wright scored 42 points, the most by any Charlotte opponent this season. He shot 12-of-17 from the field, 8-of-12 from deep, and a perfect 10-for-10 at the charity stripe.
The rest of Wright's Mean Green teammates shot 10-of-26 from the field and 3-of-10 from three-point range in the game.
North Texas already locked up a double-bye entering Thursday's contest. The win keeps the Mean Green in the driver's seat for the second seed and a possible chance at a share of the regular season title in the AAC.
Charlotte played its ninth game in front of a national television audience (ESPN2).
UP NEXT
The regular season concludes on Sunday, March 9, at Halton Arena, where Charlotte will host UTSA on Senior Day. Isaiah Folkes, Dean Reiber, Giancarlo Rosado, Nika Metskhvarishvili, and Tyler Fearne will be honored in a pregame ceremony.
Thursday's results around The American means that Charlotte will face Rice in the first-round matchup of the 2025 American Athletic Conference Championship. The 49ers will return to the Super Pit in Denton, Texas, on Wednesday, March 12 to face the Owls. The winner advances to Fort Worth, Texas, to continue playing in the conference tournament at Dickies Arena.
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