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CHARLOTTE – As the regular season comes to a close on Sunday, March 9, Charlotte Men's Basketball (10-20, 3-14 AAC) looks to finish on a high note as it hosts UTSA (11-18, 5-12) for the 49ers' Senior Day at Halton Arena.
The 49ers and the Roadrunners tip off in American Athletic Conference play at 4 p.m. At pregame, Isaiah Folkes, Dean Reiber, Giancarlo Rosado, Nika Metskhvarishvili, and Tyler Fearne will be honored.
Fans can watch the Senior Day game live on ESPN+, HERE, or follow along via Sidearm Live Stats, HERE. As always, Niner Nation can also listen to the action on ESPN 730 The Game with the Voice of the Niners Matt Sweirad and Charlotte alum, Trevor Wilt, calling the game, HERE.
Niner Nation can purchase tickets to the game, HERE.
LAYUP LINES
- Sunday marks the conclusion of the regular season.
- This will be the 14th overall meeting and the first this season between Charlotte and UTSA.
- Sunday is also Senior Day for the 49ers. Isaiah Folkes, Dean Reiber, Giancarlo Rosado, Nika Metskhvarishvili, and Tyler Fearne will be honored in a pregame ceremony.
-Folkes, Reiber, and Rosado have exhausted their collegiate eligibility, along with Robert Braswell IV, who was honored on last year's Senior Day.
- Redshirt junior Fearne and sixth-year Metskhvarishvili are participating in Senior Day despite having more college eligibility. Fearne will have two more years of eligibility after this season and Metskhvarishvili will have one more.
- Fifth-years Kylan Blackmon and Jeremiah Oden intend to use their final year of eligibility in 2025-26.
- The 49ers are back at Halton Arena for the first time since defeating Temple in overtime on February 19. Charlotte played its last three games on the road.
- A win on Sunday would improve the 49ers to 9-7 at home this season.
- The Niners' loss to North Texas on Thursday means that Charlotte will face Rice in the first round 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 competing in the conference tournament at Dickies Arena.
- Graves ranks 13th nationally in free throws made (160) and 19th in attempts (208). Charlotte ranks 16th in the country in free throws made per game (17.4).
- Graves ranks fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.5 points per game. Graves is also the only 49er to start all 30 games this season.
- The Niners are averaging just 9.8 turnovers a game, the fewest in the AAC and 21st-fewest in the NCAA.
SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
- UTSA has lost seven of its last eight games, with an 84-56 win over Rice being its lone victory.
- All seven of the Roadrunners' losses in February and March have been by five points or fewer.
- Trailing by as many as 13 points in the second half to #16 Memphis on Tuesday, UTSA fought back to make it a one-possession game. UTSA missed five go-ahead or game-tying field goals in the final three minutes left before the Tigers won 75-70.
- Primo Spears and Marcus Millender each scored 25 points in Sunday's win over the Owls.
- Spears is averaging 19.8 points per game, ranking third in the AAC. He has turned in 8 25-point games, including a 40-point performance (13-23 FG, 5-7 3PT) versus Tulsa on January 7.
- Millender is second on the team with 14.4 points per game, shooting 44% from the field and 43.1% from long range on 5.3 attempts per game.
- Austin Claunch is in his first season as head coach of UTSA after winning 90 games over five seasons at Nicholls State. He led the Colonels to two 20-win seasons and Southland Conference regular-season championships in 2021 and 2022.
SERIES HISTORY
- Charlotte is 8-5 all-time against UTSA, including the last four matchups at Halton Arena and four of the last five meetings overall against UTSA.
- Charlotte is 5-1 all-time at home versus the Roadrunners, with its lone home loss coming on February 17, 2018, when UTSA won 97-89 in overtime despite Andrien White's 25 points.
- This series has delivered some thrillers, like the overtime game in 2018 and the double overtime game in 2016. Charlotte won 114-108 in the 2016 matchup that featured 16 lead changes. Joseph Uchebo posted a 21-point, 17-rebound stat line.
NORTH TEXAS FENDS OFF UPSET-MINDED NINERS
- Charlotte (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. 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 and finished with 42 points on 17 shots.
- 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.
SENIOR DAY
- Isaiah Folkes, the longest-tenured 49er, has appeared in 116 games over five seasons with Charlotte. The Gainesville, Va., native has played a key role in the Niners' success. He made the game-sealing basket with less than a minute to go in the 2023 CBI Championship, and Charlotte went 14-5 with him as a starter in 2023-24.
- After four seasons at Florida Atlantic, Giancarlo Rosado is enjoying career highs this season in starts (20), points (11.7), rebounds (5.8), and assists per game (3.4). The graduate student is 45 points away from reaching 1,000 points in his collegiate career.
- After seven seasons and 141 games, Robert Braswell IV's collegiate career is coming to a close. In his fourth season with the 49ers, the former Syracuse forward is posting career highs in starts (25), points per game (11), rebounds per game (2.5), total steals (24), and blocks (21).
- Dean Reiber has provided a steady presence and vocal leadership for Charlotte. The Greensboro, N.C., native has appeared in 59 games over two seasons for the 49ers.
- Tyler Fearne has appeared in a total of 12 games for Charlotte, battling back from a torn ACL in January 2023.
- After dealing with injuries in the offseason and preseason, Nika Metskhvarishvili had a slow start to his Charlotte career. Now healthier, his play has improved in conference play, averaging 5.1 points against AAC foes versus 2.8 points in non-conference games.
THE OLD ADAGE: BASKETBALL IS A GAME OF RUNS
- Sunday's game against East Carolina was a prime example of how basketball is indeed a game of momentum swings. Charlotte's first-half lead evaporated when the Pirates went on an 11-0 run. An 8-0 ECU run early in the second half extended their lead from 40-36 to 48-36. The Niners trailed by as many as 13 points, but as the game showed, things can change in an instant.
- Charlotte made back-to-back triples in just 4.5 seconds, turning a 78-70 deficit into a two-point game. The Niners ended up being one shot short of pulling off the dramatic comeback.
- Charlotte's 14-point loss at Tulane on February 26 can be traced back to a 14-0 run that Charlotte surrendered to the Green Wave in the first half, which turned an 11-6 Tulane lead to 25-6. The Niners were forced to play catch-up from that moment as the Green Wave grew their lead to 21 points in the first half.
- A 13-0 run late in the first half by Florida Atlantic was the difference in the 87-75 loss to the Owls on February 10. Trailing 33-29, the Owls went on a game-altering 13-0 run that flipped the four-point deficit into a 42-33 Florida Atlantic lead. In that three-minute span, the 49ers turned the ball over on five straight possessions. Charlotte finished the first half with 11 turnovers as Florida Atlantic took a 46-37 lead into halftime.
- Against East Carolina on February 15, Felton's second-half surge turned the tide for the Pirates. The guard scored 17 points on five-of-six shooting from long range in the second half alone as ECU erased its 35-29 halftime deficit.
- To start the second half versus the Pirates, Rosado and Graves executed a perfect pick-and-roll to take a 37-29 lead. The eight-point advantage matched Charlotte's largest lead. In response, the Pirates made a pair of triples en route to a 10-0 run that gave them a 39-37 lead. The Pirates hit seven of their last eight three-pointers to stretch a 48-45 lead into a 73-56 advantage. In 97 seconds, Felton drained triples on three consecutive possessions to extend a seven-point lead to 14 with four minutes remaining.
LAST TIME AT HOME: 49ERS GET REVENGE ON TEMPLE WITH 78-72 OVERTIME WIN
- Clutch plays from Giancarlo Rosado and Robert Braswell IV forced overtime, and the Charlotte 49ers capitalized on the extra period with an 8-2 run to secure a hard-fought 78-72 victory over Temple in AAC action on Wednesday (Feb. 19) afternoon in Halton Arena.
- After 15 lead changes and 11 ties, the Niners avenged their 90-89 double-overtime loss to the Owls in Philadelphia, Pa., earlier this season.
- Down 68-66 with 33 seconds remaining, Nik Graves and Rosado executed the perfect inbound play, leading to a Rosado dunk that tied the game. On Temple's ensuing possession, Braswell forced a jump ball on an Owls' drive with 3.4 seconds left.
- The 49ers carried their momentum into overtime, opening with a three-pointer from Jaehshon Thomas off an assist from Graves. Meanwhile, Temple missed its first five shots of the extra period and shot just two-of-10 overall in overtime.
- Graves scored a team-high 23 points, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 3-of-8 from deep. The junior also dished out a game-high 6 assists. Rosado finished with 15 points, 4 assists, and a game-high 7 rebounds, while shooting an efficient 5 of 7 from the floor, including a three-pointer.
EARLY NATIONAL SIGNING DAY
- Head Coach Aaron Fearne began building on his 2025-26 roster by signing two high school products— Jaylen Cross and Jairne Elouna Eyenga on Early National Signing Day on November 15.
- Cross, ranked No. 159 in the country and No. 8 in North Carolina by 247Sports' Composite Rankings, is the highest-ranked recruit to sign with Charlotte since 2009.
- Cross is a six-foot-four guard out of Greensboro, N.C. The Caldwell Academy product is rated as a three-star recruit by On3, 247 Sports, and ESPN, and a four-star recruit by Rivals.
- Elouna Eyenga is a Belgian national currently attending JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The six-foot-nine forward was a member of the Under-18 Belgian National Team, who participated in Division A of FIBA EuroBasket this summer.
- On July 28, 2024, Elouna Eyenga dropped eye-popping totals of 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists against Turkey in the U18 Eurobasket, followed by a 10-point, seven-rebound, two-assist performance on the very next day against Germany.
THE BOYS ARE BACK AGAIN
- Junior Nik Graves headlines the list of eight returners for the 2024-25 campaign. The point guard averaged 10.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game last season. He led the team with 85 assists, was second with 30 steals, and was the fourth-leading scorer on the squad.
- Isaiah Folkes is back after making 19 starts in 2023-24 for the 49ers. The 49ers were 14-5 with the Gainesville, Va., native as a starter. This will be his fifth season with the program after joining the team in the middle of the 2020-21 campaign.
- Robert Braswell IV is back for his seventh season of college. Over his six-year career, which started at Syracuse, the Jacksonville, Fla., native has made 110 appearances. In his three years in the Queen City, Braswell IV has averaged seven points per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from deep.
- Dean Reiber transferred to Charlotte last year after three seasons at Rutgers. He was a mainstay on the court for the 49ers as one of three players to appear in all 31 games last season.
- Nick Richart and Rich Rolf are also back for another season in the Queen City. This is their second and third seasons with the program, respectively. Richart did not play his freshman year after redshirting and Rolf appeared in three games before suffering a season-ending injury in 2023-24.
NEW TO THE QUEEN CITY
- Charlotte retooled its roster with seven new additions, including six transfers. Giancarlo Rosado, Ben Bradford, Kylan Blackmon, Aleks Szymczyk, Jaehshon Thomas, Jeremiah Oden, and Nika Metskhvarishvili are new to Charlotte and will be relied on heavily if the Niners wish to improve upon their success last season.
- Rosado is very familiar with the Queen City, but this time he's on the other side of the court as a presumed Charlotte starter after four seasons at Florida Atlantic. The six-foot-eight forward appeared in 118 games with the Owls and he was instrumental in the 2023 run to the Final Four.
- The American is a tough league for freshmen to come in and play, but for guard Ben Bradford, maybe he will be an exception. He certainly has the skill after averaging 27 points per game at Gaithersburg High School. Coach Fearne and this Charlotte staff have a track record of playing freshmen. Graves appeared in 22 games in his first season and former players Brice Williams and Jahmir Young also saw a lot of action as freshmen.
- Blackmon is a silky smooth shooter who shot nearly 36 percent from deep on more than five attempts per game last year for Coastal Carolina. He arrives to the Queen City after two seasons with the Chanticleers. He was the team's third-leading scorer with 11.4 points a game in 2023-24.
- Szymczyk gives the Niners another solid option in the frontcourt. The Frankfurt, Germany native and Florida transfer missed all of the 2023-24 season, but he did appear in 14 games as a true freshman.
- In Thomas, Charlotte has a player with three-level scoring abilities and a combo guard archetype. At Florida Southwestern State, the Aurora, Ill., native led his JuCo with 16 points per game en route to all-conference and all-state honors.
- Oden played at DePaul last season after spending three years at Wyoming. The most experienced player of all the newcomers, the six-foot-nine wing has made 86 starts in his career with averages of 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. In 2022, he started 32 games for Wyoming and helped the Cowboys to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven seasons.
- Nika Metskhvarishvili is a native of Tbilisi, Georgia and he transfers to Charlotte after three seasons with UL-Monroe. In 2023-24, the six-foot-eight forward was a third-team All-Sun Belt selection after leading the team in points (12.3) and rebounds (5.8) per game.
NON-CONFERENCE RECAP
- Charlotte finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 7-6 record.
- The 49ers started the season 3-1 with home wins over Presbyterian, Richmond, and Gardner-Webb.
- After suffering home defeats to LIU and ETSU, Charlotte bounced back by winning three of its next four games.
- The highlight of the non-conference schedule was a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, for the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
- In the 2nd of 3 games in the event, Charlotte and Murray State delivered "Game of the Year" vibes with a double-overtime thriller that the 49ers won 94-90. Nik Graves scored a career-high and game-high 31 points in the win.
- The Niners nearly forced a second straight overtime game against the College of Charleston on the final day of the event. Charlotte missed the game-tying three as time expired.
2023-24 SEASON RECAP
- Last year, the Niners went 19-12 overall with a 13-5 mark in their first season in The American. The 49ers recorded their first top-three league finish since 2006.
- The 49ers' 13 conference wins and 13 wins at Halton Arena tied program records. Charlotte also recorded its first-ever eight-game conference winning streak, as well as the first win over a ranked opponent at home since 2013.
- The 49ers were led by Lu'Cye Patterson, who was a second-team All-AAC and second-team all-district selection in 2023-24. He had a team-high 14.6 points per game.
- Igor Milicic Jr., last year's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, was a third-team All-AAC pick.
- The duo helped the 49ers outdo the expectations that picked them to finish 13th of 14 in the AAC.
NINER NUGGETS
- Nine regular season games were featured on national television through the ESPN Family of Networks, including 5 Charlotte games on ESPN2.
- Last season, Charlotte's first in The American, the Niners finished 13-5 in conference play, earning their first top-three league finish since 2006. The 49ers' 13 conference wins and 13 victories at Halton Arena tied program records.
- For Christmas 2024, Charlotte traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii, to play in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
- With five fifth-year players, a sixth-year, and a seventh-year player on its roster, Charlotte trails only Oklahoma State (eight) for most players in their fifth year or longer of college.
UP NEXT
Charlotte will face Rice in the first round 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 competing in the conference tournament at Dickies Arena.
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