Charlotte explodes for 92 points in basketball opener

CHARLOTTE ATHLETICS

Charlotte guard Ben Bradford scored a career high 31 points in the 49ers' 92-76 win against Indiana State in the season opener for both teams.

Long gone are the days of slow, methodical 49ers basketball.

They unveiled a glimpse Monday of what coach Aaron Fearne has tried to establish since he took the job three years ago: a fast-paced, high-scoring offense that puts pressure on opponents to keep up. Charlotte beat Indiana State 92-76 in their season opener behind a 31-point outburst by sophomore Ben Bradford. Fearne was pleased with how his team opened, but his mantra is “you never arrive.” 

“[I’m] really proud of the guys for game one,” Fearne said. “I think we all kind of sit here around the country not really knowing what we’ve got, and I’m no different. Going into game one I know I’ve got a team of players, and how good are we? How good can we be? I think that’s obviously a big question for everybody around the country to start the season unfortunately in the transactional environment we're in. But the students’ turnout was sensational. I thought the guys really fed off that and needed it.”

For Bradford, who averaged about 8 minutes and 2.5 points per game as a freshman, the game marked his arrival. 

“As soon as the season ended last year, I met with coach Fearne and basically broke it down to three parts,” he said. “He said, ‘have a great spring, a great summer and a great fall,’ and I just came in every day and just trusted and worked hard.”

Bradford’s offseason was a new challenge and so was practice.

“Every day, practice is like a battle defensively and offensively,” he said. “Having to guard a guy like Dezayne Mingo all summer, I know that guard anybody, because I'm guarding him. On the other hand, Major [Freeman], there’s just so much talent that I have to go against, and it makes me a better defender and makes them better on offense that we have to push each other.”

In a season opener, it isn’t uncommon for a team to struggle. The 49ers didn’t and Fearne attributes it to the way coaches challenge the squad in the offseason. 

“I put them through it every day,” he said. “I talk to them all the time about the three levels of toughness – mental, emotional, physical – and trying to kick their butt every day in it. It's not easy for them to do it, because I’m pretty hard about it, but I do want them to get out in an environment like that. We tend to test you a little bit. Well, that becomes a mental, emotional situation, and you’ve got to put the physical fight into it as well.”

Fearne acknowledged there is a lot of season left, but it’s a promising start. 

“We're going to take some really, really good teams moving forward,” he said. “[We had an] excellent test tonight. Indiana State is really good. They are a really good team, really, really sharp and disciplined and pay attention to the details and stuff. But it should be like that. [We showed] some good signs.”

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