Junior forward Shamari Spears and the Charlotte 49ers dumped Johnson C. Smith 91-70 in exhibition action Thursday night at Halton Arena. Spears had 26 points to lead all players and showed the promise of Charlotte’s retooled frontcourt that should help Charlotte to a stronger performance this season.
Spears shot 7-13 from the field, was a perfect 12-12 from the foul line and pulled down four rebounds in just 21 minutes of play. It was the first game action Spears had seen in more than a year after NCAA regulations wouldn’t allow him to play last year after transferring from Boston College.
“I’ve been talking to a lot of reporters and I’m always telling them for the last year, it’s just practice, practice, practice and I haven’t been able to beat up on nobody else but my teammates,” Spears said. “So it felt good tonight to come out there and play against somebody different.”
Charlotte jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The 49ers’ lead swelled to as much as 31 in the first half and Charlotte held a 52-27 halftime advantage over the Golden Bulls.
“They shocked us, we expected that a little bit as a young basketball team, especially at the point guard position,” Bulls head coach Stephen Joyner Sr. said. “So we experienced some trouble there but I think after we settled our young people down and gave them some understanding, some things they could do to help themselves, they began to execute a little bit better, but they shocked us.”
In 29 minutes of action, senior point guard DiJuan Harris contributed eight points, 10 assists, three steals and six rebounds. Freshman forward Chris Braswell added 13 points of his own, senior Rashad Coleman had 11 points in just 16 minutes and newcomer Derrio Green had 11 points.
“Really happy with our first half, I thought we came out and really dictated play,” 49ers head coach Bobby Lutz said. “I thought we started with DiJuan (Harris), he really disrupted their guards early, then they settled in.”
JCSU, who is the two-time defending champion of the CIAA Tournament, was led by forward Jerry Hollis with 16 points and six rebounds in 31 minutes of play. The Golden Bulls struggled all night long, shooting just 39 percent from the field, getting outscored 48-18 in the paint and getting outscored 31-10 by Charlotte’s bench.
The Niners enjoyed a 40-35 rebounding advantage and had 11 blocked shots on the night. Freshman standout Chris Braswell led all players with eight rebounds to go along with his 13 points while junior center Phil Jones scored five points, had four rebounds and five blocks.
“Chris (Braswell) obviously was very, very effective tonight,” Lutz said. “He’s got his best basketball ahead of him. He made some really good passes, he’s got great feel for a high-low action and he’s got a knack around the basket of getting fouled or putting it in the hoop.”
Charlotte enjoyed a convincing win against the Golden Bulls, but will face a stiffer test next Friday night when UNC Asheville comes to town for the regular-season home opener.
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