Charlotte men’s basketball prepares for East Carolina

CHARLOTTE ATHLETICS

Igor Milicic Jr. traces the Charlotte 49ers' improved play to better team chemistry that developed during the nonconference schedule. Charlotte puts its seven-game win streak on the line Saturday against East Carolina at Halton Arena.

Halton Arena – for the first time since the 2012-13 season – will be packed on Saturday.

Also, for the first time, the Charlotte 49ers will host the East Carolina Pirates as members of the American Athletic Conference, and fans are excited.

“[I’m] super excited,” said Nate McPherson, a Charlotte senior and president of the CLT Goldmine, the school’s official student section. “I’m not excited for East Carolina, but I’m excited to watch the dang Niners.”

Since the Goldmine's inception two years ago, the student section has started to fill out at games. Students will camp out at Halton for the first time in years, and interim coach Aaron Fearne and Athletic Director Mike Hill will provide breakfast Saturday morning.

It’s alumni weekend at Charlotte, so it will also contribute to the large crowd, but what has fans rushing to the game is the 49ers’ play.

Charlotte (13-7, 7-1 AAC) is putting its seven-game win streak on the line when they take the court against in-state rival East Carolina (11-11, 4-5). The 49ers proven they can withstand adversity, coming back from 20-point deficits in two games on their recent streak.

Even with the crowds loud and the lights bright, the plan is to stay grounded and stick to the process that has gotten them this far.

“We’ve been talking about staying attention to detail,” Fearne said, “and focus on the things we’ve been doing, and continue to find ways to get better.”

Junior forward Igor Milicic Jr. feels the team chemistry is great. They have come together over the last month and a half – and it shows with the wins. Before the win streak, though, things weren’t always as good.

“After some of the losses in the non-conference [schedule] we got mad at each other,” he said. “We figured it out. We had some grown people conversations with each other, and I feel like that really helped. Now we see how it helped us in the long run.”

The 49ers are hot at the right time, and Fearne doesn’t want his team to lose focus on that. The crowd will be loud, and the 49ers are appreciative of the support. But, as a veteran coach, Fearne is making sure his team is locked in.

“What’s important is inside our huddle,” he said. “The stuff outside the huddle is noise. The most important thing is what we are talking about and what we need to execute, how to perform, and how we need to perform.”

A win Saturday would give the 49ers their first-ever eight-game win streak in conference play. The game, which will be broadcast on ESPNU, is the first nationally televised contest from Halton Arena this season.

Comments