Charlotte 49ers Outlast Penn State, 106-97 in 2OT

The joke in Big Ten Basketball is that the first team to 60 wins. The Charlotte 49ers did not use that approach last night or they would have been in big trouble. The 49ers were playing Penn State in the Charleston Classic early season tournament. By all accounts things were going well, with the 49ers up over the Nittany Lions by seventeen points with ten minutes to go.

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That was when things looked like they might unravel, as Penn State came roaring back. Guard PJ Newbill hit some of his game high 35 points and Charlotte watched a 37-20 run occur. That run was culminated by a three pointer at the end of regulation by John Johnson. During that run, the 49ers lost Terrence Williams, Willie Clayton, and star point guard Pierria Henry to fouls.

What happened in the overtime periods was a confirmation of Coach Alan Major’s roster building as he did indeed have the fresh bodies to continue competing with the Nittany Lions. Florida transfer Braxton Ogbueze did half of his dirty work in the overtime periods. He scored ten of his twenty-six during that span. He also had a little help as Cameron Blakely blocked Newbill’s attempt to win the game at the end of the first overtime.

It was Penn State who lacked the horses in the second overtime, and the 49ers slowly pulled away.
Williams had 13. Torin Dorn had 12. Keyshawn Woods had 11. Mike Thorne Jr had a big game with 23 points and 16 rebounds.

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