Charlotte 49ers basketball split opening night results

CHARLOTTE ATHLETICS

Keyshaun Tillery scored a team-high 29 points on 7-of-10 three-point shooting in the Charlotte 49ers' 78-70 win at Indiana State on Nov. 2, 2026.

Charlotte’s Wes Miller era opened with a 78-70 road win at Indiana State. 

The result was Charlotte's sixth straight season-opening win, but perhaps more important was the 49ers controlled tempo from the opening tip.

“If I were doing the schedule, which I didn’t do this one, I wouldn’t start with this kind of game,” Miller said. “This is a tough place to play. It’s the second time I’ve coached here. I am really impressed with this Indiana State team, so I am proud of our guys for starting off the year with a really good road win.”

There were bright spots for the 49ers, none larger than the high-level play of sophomore guard Keyshuan Tillery, who scored 29 points on 7-for-10 shooting from three-point range. 

“The work is showing,” Miller said. “He has been really consistent every day that I have had him. There hasn’t been a day he hasn’t worked. There have been days that he didn’t play well, but he hasn’t had a day where he didn’t work. So, it’s not surprising, because we see the work he puts in and his confidence continuing to rise.”

The only other 49er to reach double-figures was guard Dorian Finister with 11 points. It is early in the season after a handful of preseason scrimmages, but the trend after the opener and the final scrimmage against North Carolina suggests Tilllery’s ball dominant. 

The 49ers shot well from beyond the arc at 48% with Tillery shooting 70%, but overall, there was noticeable improvement. One facet of concern was carelessness with the basketball, especially in the first half. Charlotte had 16 turnovers, which Indiana State converted into 17 points. 

Charlotte’s home opener is against Georgia State on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. 

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A sluggish first half put Charlotte behind 11 at halftime and despite rallying in the fourth quarter, the 49ers could never get within striking distance in an 83-71 loss. 

“I am really excited to be here, just to be a part of this season,” Charlotte coach Tomekia Reed said. “Richmond is a really good team. They play hard. They were well-coached and we knew they would be a challenge for us. We have a new team, and I think they gave their best effort, but we got outrebounded. There’s a lot of things for us to really work on.” 

Richmond’s Aneisha Scott and Ally Sweeney scored 30 and 22 points respectively.

“There’s plenty to work on,” Reed said. “Our transition defense wasn’t that good for us, so there are just a lot of areas that we have to get better in. … We have some things that we can build off from this game, but we definitely need to get better.”

The 49ers head to Texas Tech on Nov. 5 at 6 p.m.

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