Charlotte, NC (Basketball News) - Curtis Withers poured in a game-high 23 points to lead the Charlotte 49ers to a 77-71 upset over the ninth-ranked Louisville Cardinals in a Conference USA matchup from Halton Arena.
Mitchell Baldwin scored 13 points with six assists and five rebounds while committing just one turnover, starting in place of point guard Demon Brown for the 49ers (15-5, 7-2 C-USA), who won their fourth straight. Brendan Plavich added 12 points and Eddie Basden chipped in with 10, as Charlotte pulled off its third win of the season over a top-10 team.
"We’ve lost some games we shouldn’t have and those are learning lessons," said Withers. "We try to turn it up against the big teams."
Charlotte won without Brown, a senior and three-year starter, who was suspended prior to the game because of his Monday arrest for communicating threats.
Larry O’Bannon scored 17 points to pace the Cardinals (17-4, 7-3), and Nate Daniels contributed 11. Taquan Dean, Kendall Dartez and Francisco Garcia each finished with nine for Louisville, which lost for the third time in four games.
Trailing 59-47 midway through the second half, Garcia picked up his fourth foul with nine minutes remaining and went to the bench. That sparked an 11-0 Charlotte run, pulling the 49ers within one at 59-58 when Withers hit a basket with 5:35 to play.
"We just made very poor defensive plays and we’ve been a very good defensive team. And I’m talking about simple recognition plays." said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino.
The teams traded baskets over the next four minutes, with Charlotte taking its first lead since the early going on a jumper by Withers with 1:39 left that made it 67-66.
Garcia responded with a basket that gave Louisville the lead back, but Plavich’s three with 55 seconds to go put the 49ers back up by two at 70-68. Garcia then hit a three-pointer with just under 40 seconds remaining to put the Cardinals ahead 71-70, but those were the last points Louisville would score.
Baldwin hit a layup to make it 72-71, and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but Withers pulled down the offensive rebound and was fouled by Dean. Withers made both to make it a three-point game, and after a Louisville turnover, Basden made a free throw to make it 75-71 with less than 20 seconds left.
A missed three-point attempt at the other end led to a pair of Chris Sager free throws to cap the scoring.
The 49ers won despite making only 19-of-29 free throws. However, they did own a 43-36 edge on the boards.
A Withers free throw staked Charlotte to an 8-2 lead three minutes into the game, but Louisville charged back with a 10-3 run, capped by a Daniels layup, to make it 12-11 just 2:37 later.
The 49ers scored the next four points to move ahead 15-12, but Louisville responded again, this time with a 12-0 burst, punctuated by consecutive three- pointers by Daniels, to give the Cardinals a 24-15 advantage 9:24 into the game.
Louisville maintained a lead no less than five and no greater than 12 throughout the remainder of the first half, and when Plavich hit a three with 53 seconds left, it sent the 49ers into the locker room down seven at 42-35.
O’Bannon and Withers each had 12 points at the break to lead all scorers, while Daniels added 11 for the Cardinals.
Basden scored the first seven points of the second half for the 49ers, sparking a 7-3 burst that left Charlotte down three at 45-42 three minutes in.
Leading 49-46 six minutes into the second half, the Cardinals ran off a 10-1 spurt over the next four minutes, moving ahead 59-47 on a pair of O’Bannon free throws. The 12-point lead matched Louisville’s largest advantage of the contest.
