The Charlotte men’s basketball team continues to breeze through its early schedule, now holding a 7-0 overall record after defeating East Carolina 76-64 this weekend.
The 49ers have relied on the play of senior forward Chris Braswell all season long, and got another solid effort from him Saturday night with 18 points and seven boards to hand the Pirates (6-1) their first loss of the season.
Braswell continued his sharp shooting from the field, hitting five of eight shots in the game. Braswell also knocked down eight of 10 from the charity stripe. Alongside Braswell, freshmen teammate Willie Clayton tacked on 14 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte.
The 49ers have started 6-0 three times in the past, making their 7-0 start the best start to a season in school history.
Charlotte dominated East Carolina on the boards, out-rebounding the Pirates 45-21.Maurice Kemp and Robert Sampson, the starting big men for the Pirates, totaled just five rebounds combined in the game.
East Carolina’s standout player was point guard Miguel Paul, who dropped 12 points and added five assists.
Owls remain unbeaten
Temple did not skip a beat Saturday afternoon, grabbing its fifth consecutive win to start off the season at home against Wagner.
Senior guard Khalif Wyatt scored 26 points for the Owls (5-0) in the team’s 70-62 defeat of the Seahawks (3-4) this weekend. Wyatt shot an outstanding nine of16 from the field and added three assists for Temple.
The Owls have jumped out to their first 5-0 start for the first time since 1987-88. That season, Temple was the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 32-2 regular season record.
Wagner began the game on a 10-2 run, but the Owls quickly responded with a 17-5 stretch of their own.
Behind Wyatt was his fellow senior forward Scootie Randall, who finished just shy of a double-double, adding 10 points and nine boards in the game. The team shot lights-out from downtown in the game, knocking down nine of19 from behind the 3-point line.
Wagner received strong play from its senior guards. Both Jonathon Williams and Kenneth Ortiz added 15 points each in the defeat. Forward Mario Moody added nine points and 14 rebounds.
Musketeers charge ahead
Xavier remains among the top teams in the Atlantic 10 with an impressive, 63-57 win on the road against Purdue Saturday afternoon.
Freshman Semaj Christon led the Musketeers (6-1) with a breakout performance with 25 points, while shooting eight for 12 from the field. Christon hit a clutch three-pointer with just 2 minutes49 seconds remaining in the game to give them a 55-48 lead that they would not relinquish.
Sophomore forward Justin Martin chipped in with 12 points of his own and four boards.
Xavier was out-rebounded by Purdue 44-29 but still managed to make up for this mishap by shooting 43 percent from the field as a team.
For the Boilermakers (4-4), junior guard Terone Johnson led the team with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Other than Johnson, Purdue did not get much production out of its starting lineup. The other four players combined for a total of 13 points.
The Boilermakers went 0-for-17 from 3-point range. This was the first time Purdue did not hit a 3-pointer in a game in 20 years.
Chris Corso can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Corso.
