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Rice University
Next Game:
vs. Rice University
3/12/2025 | 1:00 PM
Mar. 12 (Wed) / 1:00 PM
Rice University
vs. Rice University
History
CHARLOTTE – With a combined 43 points, the backcourt duo of Nik Graves and Kylan Blackmon nearly willed the Charlotte 49ers (10-21, 3-15 AAC) to an American Athletic Conference victory in the regular-season finale, but UTSA (12-18, 6-12) escaped with an 83-80 win at Halton Arena on the Niners' Senior Day on Sunday, March 9.
Trailing 81-74 with under two minutes to play, Charlotte fought back for a chance to force overtime, but Giancarlo Rosado's halfcourt shot with 1.8 seconds remaining could not find the bottom of the net. The last-ditch opportunity was made possible by freshman Ben Bradford, who secured an offensive rebound and made a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds on the clock. The Roadrunners had a chance to ice the game and push the lead to four but missed both free throws, setting up Rosado's heave.
Kylan Blackmon finished with 22 points, a season-high for the fifth-year senior. He made 9-of-10 field goals, four-of-five triples, and pulled down seven boards. Blackmon made his first seven shots and tallied 16 points in the second half. Nik Graves scored 21 points, including 16 in the first half. In his 12th 20-point game of the season, the Durham, N.C., native shot five-of-seven from beyond the arc and six-of-eight from the free-throw line.
The Niners will now shift their focus to the 2025 American Athletic Conference Championship, where they will face 12th-seeded Rice in the first round on Wednesday, March 12, at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas.
"What we've talked about here the last three or four weeks is—details. Attention to detail, the little things," said Charlotte Head Men's Basketball Coach Aaron Fearne. "Like I've said from week one, the game is about mistakes, and it's who ultimately makes the least."
THE BLACKMON SHOW IN THE SECOND HALF
Blackmon delivered two clutch triples in the second half to keep the Niners afloat. With 3:13 remaining, he took a handoff from Rosado and drilled the three-pointer to trim the Roadrunners' lead from 79-71 to 79-74. In transition, following a defensive rebound by Bradford, Blackmon positioned himself in the corner where Folkes found him for the three-ball. The Oxford, Miss., native then sank another triple to cut the deficit to 81-78 with 1:17 remaining.
Blackmon went on a scoring run all by himself, scoring five consecutive field goals, including eight straight points for Charlotte, to keep pace with UTSA. His first basket in the span, a three off a feed from Graves, put Charlotte back in front 44-43. His final shot in the stretch, a three-pointer from the top of the key following a steal by Folkes, broke a 50-50 tie with 13:48 to play. The sequence also included a smooth turnaround jumper at the elbow and another jumper to tie the game at 50. However, the Roadrunners countered with an 8-0 run to take a 58-53 lead.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Blackmon's three-pointer cut the deficit to 81-78, UTSA missed a shot, giving Charlotte a chance to pull within one. However, the Niners turned the ball over on the possession. With 14 seconds left, UTSA secured an offensive rebound off its missed shot, forcing Charlotte to foul. The Roadrunners made both free throws to push their lead to five before Bradford's two free throws and the misses by UTSA.
The Niners and the Roadrunners traded baskets throughout most of the second half. When UTSA made a three-pointer to take a 70-64 lead, Nik Graves answered back on the next possession with a triple as the shot clock expired to bring the deficit back to three points. Bradford attacked the paint for back-to-back layups in consecutive possessions, with his second basket making it a 74-71 game.
In the final 3:39, Charlotte locked down defensively, holding UTSA scoreless from the field as the Roadrunners missed their last four shots, giving the Niners a chance to force overtime.
In the first half, UTSA used an 8-0 scoring run to briefly pull away, ballooning its lead from 28-25 to 35-25 with four minutes remaining in the period. Rich Rolf stopped the run with a corner three off an assist from Blackmon.
THE GRAVES SHOW IN THE FIRST HALF
Graves closed the first half by intercepting an inbound pass with 2.4 seconds remaining and calmly sinking the deep triple. That basket gave him 16 points for the period and his fourth triple of the half as Charlotte entered halftime down 39-38. Down 37-28 late in the stanza, Graves added a pair of free throws and then, following a Roadrunners turnover, swished a triple at the top of the arc while getting fouled to further trim the deficit to 37-33.
His first basket of the day was a triple to give Charlotte a 7-4 lead. Trailing 20-14, he found a cutting Rolf for a dunk and his first assist. His second basket was a deep triple with the shot clock expiring.
STAT FACTS
Robert Braswell IV contributed 12 points, four rebounds, and a block. Rosado finished with seven rebounds, four assists, and four points.
Off the bench, Bradford scored nine points on three-of-four shooting from the field, while adding four rebounds, two assists, and a key block late in the second half.
The Niners shot just 16-of-24 (66.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
Charlotte edged UTSA on the boards 30-29 but fell to 8-5 when winning or tying the rebounding battle. Despite a slim 12-11 advantage in offensive rebounds, UTSA capitalized, outscoring the 49ers 19-10 in second-chance points.
The Niners knocked down 12 triples, their second-highest total this season. The Niners entered Sunday 4-1 when they made at least 10 three-pointers.
SENIOR DAY
Before tipoff, Charlotte honored the careers of Isaiah Folkes, Giancarlo Rosado, Dean Reiber, Tyler Fearne, Nika Metskhvarishvili, and student-manager Ethan Finlayson.
MBB Senior Day
UP NEXT
Charlotte will face Rice in the first-round matchup of the 2025 American Athletic Conference Championship. The 49ers will face the Owls at the Super Pit in Denton, Texas, on Wednesday, March 12 at 1 p.m. The winner advances to Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, to play fifth-seed Florida Atlantic on Thursday, March 13 at 2:30 p.m.
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