Florida State Seminoles at Charlotte 49ers observations

Observations from the Charlotte 49ers' 79-76 loss to Florida State on Saturday:

• Charlotte coach Alan Major got emotional - he teared up, actually - when talking about the play of freshman guard Ivan Benkovic. Benkovic, one of the 49ers' best 3-point shooters, entered the game for the first time with 12 seconds and Charlotte trailing 78-73. His instructions: to shoot. Instead, Benkovic passed up an open 3 and passed to E. Victor Nickerson, who nailed a 3 from the corner, cutting the lead to two points. Benkovic got the ball back later, missing a long 3 as the buzzer sounded that would have tied it.

"I want to give credit to Ivan Benkovic," said Major, pausing to compose himself. "He doesn't go in the whole game and he's in there to shoot. Instead he passes to an open teammate. He tries to do the right thing. As a coach, that's all you want, to see your kids do the right thing."

• The 49ers wore black uniforms, something they rarely do, as part of a "Black Out" for fans at Time Warner Cable Arena. The upper deck of the arena was curtained off, making for a more intimate atmosphere for the crowd of 7,249.

• Charlotte's next game is Jan. 2 against UNC Asheville at Halton Arena. Although they're only 5-7, the Bulldogs won at St. John's 72-65 Friday and narrowly lost to N.C. State 82-80 in November. The 49ers are off until Friday, when they'll return to campus for practice.

• Biggest hit of the game was the pick set by Florida State's Terrance Shannon on Charlotte guard Denzel Ingram in the open court. Ingram went down hard, but bounced back up.

• Happy holidays to all.

Halftime: Charlotte 40, Florida State 35

Halftime from Time Warner Cable Arena:

The 49ers lead Florida State 40-35, thanks to an 18-9 run to close the half. Charlotte is holding the Seminoles to 37.9 percent shooting and outrebounding them 14-11.

Florida State guard Michael Snaer leads all scorers with 17 points. Chris Braswell has been a spark for Charlotte, coming off the bench to score 10 points and grab four rebounds.

The Seminoles led 26-22 with 7:02 left in the half before a 49ers rally, fueled by Braswell and point guard Pierria Henry, allowed Charlotte to take control. A free throw by Henry gave the 49ers a 34-33 lead with 2:30 left and Charlotte stretched the lead to 5 by halftime.

49ers football signs two 4-year transfers

The 49ers added some experience to their football program Thursday, signing two senior transfers from four-year colleges: wide receiver Mikel Hunter from Air Force and tight end CJ Crawford from Marshall.

“With the addition of these two guys we satisfied our need to continue to put age on our team,” coach Brad Lambert said in a statement. “We added some much needed senior leadership to our team.”

Hunter (5-foot-9) is from Rockdale, Ga., had 19 catches for 350 yards in his three-year career with the Falcons (he didn't play in 2012), also rushing for 380 yards and three touchdowns. He scored on an 80-yard run against South Dakota in Air Force's 2011 season opener.

“He’s a senior wideout that brings a lot of speed to the table,” Lambert said. “He has a lot of experience playing at a high level at Air Force. We can throw him the ball or hand him the ball -- he’s done both for them. We’re excited to have him join our program.”

Crawford (6-2) graduated from Marshall earlier this month and will be a graduate student at Charlotte. He caught 11 passes for 107 yards last season for the Thundering Herd and had 21 receptions for 175 yards as a sophomore. He caught a 3-yard, game-winning touchdown pass against Louisville in 2011.

“CJ plays in the H-Back spot and we think we can move him around,” Lambert said. “We can use him as a wideout, a tight end, a back. He’s athletic and can stretch the field for us and he brings a lot of versatility to our offense.”

Observations: Radford

 Observations from Charlotte's 68-52 victory against Radford on Wednesday:

-- This was a game the 49ers should have won handily, and they did (despite the Highlanders cutting it to 12 with three minutes left). Charlotte (11-1) had plenty of defensive intensity early and was able to outscore Radford 50-28 in the paint. Although seven of the 49ers' previous 10 victories had been in double figures, they hadn't gotten out of the gate as decisively as they did Wednesday.

 -- That leads Charlotte to Saturday, when the 49ers face Florida State at Time Warner Cable Arena. Things didn't go too well the last time they faced an ACC team -- a 31-point loss to Miami (Charlotte's only loss of the season) last Friday. Players say they learned from that game -- mostly that they have to compete from the opening tip -- and this will be a chance for some redemption. But facing the defending ACC tournament champs Seminoles will be a challenge.

-- Radford had two players from Charlotte in its starting lineup: senior guard Blake Smith (United Faith Christian) and freshman point guard Rashun Davis (Davidson Day), who replaced the injured R.J. Price (ankle), the Highlanders’ second-leading scorer.

-- Heard that 5,300 seats had been sold as of Wednesday to Saturday’s game against Florida State. So, plenty of good ones are still available.

-- Charlotte center Chris Braswell usually comes into the game after four or five minutes. He often announces his presence by shooting a 3-pointer, which sometimes goes in.

-- This season's 9-0 start this season was the best in 49ers history; Charlotte's 11-1 record has now been matched only by the 1976-77 Final Four team's 13-1 start and the 11-1 start of the 1991-92 team that won the Metro Conference title.

Halftime update: Charlotte 38, Radford 19

Charlotte leads Radford 38-19 at halftime.

The first half was mostly about Charlotte’s defense as the 49ers jumped to a 38-19 lead. The 49ers, who entered the game holding opponents to 37.3 percent shooting, limited the Highlanders to 26.7 percent (eight of 30). Charlotte had five steals (three by point guard Pierria Henry), which helped account for eight Radford turnovers, as well as three blocked shots.

The 49ers, on the other hand, had their way offensively with Radford. Among the first-half highlights were an alley-oop pass from freshman guard to freshman forward Darion Clark, as well as back-to-back dunks by guard DeMario Mayfield.

Henry ended the first half with a 3-pointer, giving the 49ers their 19-point lead. Henry and forward Willie Clayton both had eight points at halftime as Charlotte shot 56.6 percent. 

49ers add Kansas State to 2016 football schedule

The 49ers have added a game at Kansas State to their 2016 football schedule -- a Sept. 10 contest that will have added meaning to Charlotte coach Brad Lambert, who was an All Big Eight second-team defensive back for the Wildcats in the 1984.


Lambert says when the 49ers begin play in the FBS' Conference USA in 2013, he hopes to have a game scheduled against a team from an BCS league each year. Charlotte has games scheduled against the Big East's Temple in 2015 and '16, is scheduled to play at Virginia Tech in 2019 and is working on a game against Tennessee in 2017.

“We know those guys out there and we’ve talked about scheduling a game and it’s worked out,” Lambert said in a statement. “Things really changed when we joined Conference USA. They had expressed interest when we were FCS, but I don’t know if it would have happened without us going to Conference USA and the FBS. It will be a good homecoming."   
 
2013 schedule

Aug. 31, Campbell.

Sept. 7, Chowan; 14, N.C. Central; 21, Bye; 28, at Presbyterian.

Oct. 5, Gardner-Webb; 12, UNC Pembroke; 19, Bye; 26, at Charleston Southern.

Nov. 2, at Coastal Carolina; 9, Wesley (Del.); 16, at Old Dominion; 23, at Morehead State.

2014 schedule (subject to change)

Aug. 28, at Campbell.

Sept. 6, Johnson C. Smith; 13, at N.C. Central; 20, Bye; 27, Charleston Southern.

Oct. 4, at Gardner-Webb; 11, at The Citadel; 18, Bye; 25, Old Dominion.

Nov. 1, at Western Carolina; 8, Coastal Carolina; 15, Wesley (Del.); 22, Morehead State.

Other seasons' schedules (subject to change):

2015: Georgia State (Sept. 3); Presbyterian (Sept. 12); Temple (Oct. 3).


2016: at Kansas State (Sept. 10); at Temple (Sept. 24).
2019: at Virginia Tech (TBA).

--The 49ers have also signed linebacker/fullback Caleb Clayton-Molby from Georgia Military College. Clayton-Molby (6-2, 240 pounds) is from Panama City Beach, Fla., and could play H back or inside linebacker at Charlotte.

-- Three 49ers football players (all receivers) will be on Charlotte's track and field team next spring: Will Thomas will be a high jumper; Austin Duke and Ja'quil Capel will be sprinters.


-- The 49ers baseball team signed eight players  for the 2014 season: Pitchers Brett Bond (Barton, Kan., CC), Matt Davis (Wilmington Ashley High), Eric Eason (Wilmington Ashley); infielders Zach Jarrett (Hickory High), T.J. Nichting (Badin High); pitcher-first baseman Jeremy Schelhorn (Weddington High), third baseman-pitcher Logan Sherer (East Mecklenburg High) and infielder-pitcher Brandon Vogler (Winston-Salem Reagan High).

The 49ers open the season Feb. 15 at home against Delaware State.


-- The 49ers will honor the 2003 women's basketball team that made the NCAA tournament during Friday's game against Davidson at Halton Arena.

Observations: Charlotte 49ers at Kennesaw State

KENNESAW, Ga. - Observations from the 49ers' 66-52 victory Sunday over Kennesaw State:

-- Here's one way to look at Charlotte's nonconference schedule -- which has been criticized as being too soft (perhaps justifiably so), but was not assembled with an eye on helping the 49ers (10-1) get an at-large NCAA tournament berth -- that's not the goal yet of this young team):

The 49ers beat eight of their first nine opponents convincingly on the way to a 9-0 start -- only Davidson was close in the final minute or so. To fall flat the way they did against Miami wasn't what the 49ers wanted, but they have the chance now against Kennesaw and Wednesday against Radford to get back on track. Then they can measure themselves again against Florida State on Saturday, taking the lessons of Miami into it (most importantly, to expect the Seminoles to come at them hard early in the game). Then comes what will be a challenge against UNC Asheville on Jan. 2 before heading into Atlantic 10 play.

-- Kennesaw State's 3-point percentage was 26.5 entering the game. The Owls made 5-of-6 from long range in the first half (tailing off in the second half to finish 6 of 16).

-- Kennesaw State's Convocation Center is small by Division I standards (4,600 capacity), but it is relatively new (built in 2005) and has a very impressive looking, large video board at one end that was installed last summer. The only banner hanging in the building signifies Kennesaw's 2004 Division II national championship.

-- Charlotte center Chris Braswell struggled offensively in the first half, scoring just three points (on three free throws). But he played well defensively, with two steals and one block (although he had another that he wasn't credited with).

-- 49ers point guard Pierria Henry had another solid floor game, scoring seven points (on 3-of-4 shooting, with two assists and four steals (he also had three turnovers).