HONOLULU, Hawaii— Charlotte Men’s Basketball (7-5) closes out its time in paradise in the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic with a Christmas day (Dec. 25) duel against the College of Charleston (9-3) on ESPNU.
On the second day of the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, Charlotte Men’s Basketball returns to SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center to challenge Murray State (6-5) in a Monday (Dec. 23) night bout on ESPN2.
The 49ers and Cougars take the court of SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center at 10:30 a.m. Hawaii Time (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time) in a battle for fifth place of the tournament.
Fans can follow the action in Honolulu, Hawaii via Sidearm Live Stats, HERE, or Niner Nation can listen to the action on ESPN 730 The Game with the Voice of the Niners Matt Sweirad and Charlotte alum, Trevor Wilt, calling the game, HERE.
LAYUP LINES
– It took a tournament held 4,700 miles away in Honolulu, Hawaii, but the 49ers and the Cougars meet for the first time since 2018 and the 20th time ever on Wednesday, Dec. 25.
– Charlotte and the College of Charleston are playing for fifth place in the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
– After 11:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. tip offs, the Niners have a much more reasonable 3:30 p.m. tip Wednesday. However, it will be a 10:30 a.m. tip in Honolulu.
– For the third consecutive game, Charlotte’s contest will be nationally televised. Wednesday’s game will be on ESPNU, after the first two were on ESPN2.
– In the 94-90 double overtime win over Murray State on Tuesday, Nik Graves scored a career-high 31 points , and Giancarlo Rosado had a career-high 23 points. Rosado made the game-tying triple to force overtime and Graves had 12 of the team’s 23 points in OT.
– Oregon State and Nebraska play for the tournament championship at 8:30 p.m. ET.
– The 15th edition of the ESPN Events men’s college basketball tournament also features Oakland, Hawai’i, Loyola Chicago, and Murray State.
– Charlotte made its return to Honolulu, Hawaii for the first time since 2018.
– This is the Niners’ second time in the Diamond Head Classic. In 2018, Charlotte went 0-3 with losses to TCU, Rhode Island, and Colorado.
– The Niners move to 7-7 all-time in Hawaii-based tournaments.
– The Diamond Head Classic represents the end of the non-conference slate, as American Athletic Conference action tips off next week when the Niners host Tulane in the league opener on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
– The 49ers entered the tournament on a two-game win streak following consecutive victories over Georgia State on Dec. 14 and West Georgia on Dec. 17.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
– The College of Charleston is off to a good start with a 9-3 record that includes wins over South Florida, Florida Atlantic, and Saint Joseph’s.
– 6-10 forward Ante Brzovic, the 2024 CAA Preseason Player of the Year, leads the team with 18.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. In November, he had consecutive games where he dropped 34 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks against South Florida and then followed that up with 39/13/4/2 and the game-winning buzzer-beating three versus Florida Atlantic.
– Deywilk Tavarez, the MEAC Rookie of the Year at Delaware State, is coming off his best game as a Cougar, scoring 30 points on 7-of-16 from behind the arc in the last game against Loyola Chicago.
– Chris Mack replaced his former assistant Pat Kelsey as head coach of the Cougars after previous head coaching stops at Xavier and Louisville. Mack went 63-36 with the Cardinals (2018-22) and 215-97 (2009-18) with the Musketeers. He has led his teams to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, including three Sweet 16s and an Elite 8 appearance in 2017.
SERIES HISTORY
– Charlotte is 11-9 against the Cougars all-time.
– The Niners and the Cougars were originally both charter members of the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Association back in 1963. Charlotte went 7-4 against Col. of Charleston in league play.
– Today the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Associate lives on as the Division III USA South Conference.
– The Col. of Charleston has won five of the last six meetings dating back to 1991.
– The 49ers’ last win over the Cougars was Dec. 16, 2014. Pierria Henry had 20 points, eight boards, and seven assists in the 90-85 OT win.
CHARLOTTE’S DIAMOND HEAD RECAP
– The Niners fell to the consolation round of the Diamond Head Classic after dropping their first game to Hawai’i 78-61.
– Hawai’i shot an absurd 64.3 percent (18-of-28) from the field and 62.5 percent (five-of-eight) from beyond the arc in the first half to take a 44-31 lead at intermission. The Rainbow Warriors cooled off in the second half, but the Niners could not overcome the early deficit.
– “Defensively, we did a really poor job of guarding in that first half,” said Charlotte Head Men’s Basketball Coach Aaron Fearne.
– Jaehshon Thomas scored a team-high 16 points on six-of-10 shooting from the field against the Rainbow Warriors. Nik Graves extended his streak to 13 games with at least 10 points. The junior guard had 13 points and led the team with six rebounds.
– Charlotte bounced back with a thrilling 94-90 double overtime victory against Murray State on Day 2 of the tournament.
– In regulation, the Niners were trailing 70-65 with under 30 seconds to go before the heroics of Giancarlo Rosado and Nik Graves. Rosado forced overtime with a triple with 0.9 ticks left on the clock. His three was preceded by Graves, who sidestepped into a three-ball with 20 seconds remaining at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center. Graves scored 12 of his career-high 31 points in the two overtime periods while Rosado tallied 16 of his career-high 23 in the second half.
– Leading 84-81 with 2:36 remaining in the second overtime, Graves used a quick first step to drive past his defender, flip up an underhanded shot, and make the free throw for the big-time three-point play. The tough basket by the Durham, N.C., native extended Charlotte’s lead to 87-81.
– With 42 ticks left and the Niners sporting an 89-86 lead, Rosado corralled the offensive board with one hand, gathered the ball, and made the layup for the five-point advantage. Rosado clinched the game by making one of his two free throws with 13.6 seconds remaining.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON’S DIAMOND HEAD RECAP
– The Cougars also fell in the opening round of the tournament, losing 74-65 to Oregon State. The Beavers used a 12-1 run to take their largest lead at 22-12 with 10 minutes to play before the halftime score of 36-25.
– Oregon State regained a 12-point edge at 55-43 before an 8-0 Cougar run capped by a CJ Fulton three made it a four-point game at 55-51 with six minutes to play. After cutting the lead, the Cougars went 4-11 from the field to close the game.
– Like Charlotte, the College of Charleston bounced back on Day 2, defeating Loyola Chicago, 77-68, behind a season-high 30 points from Deywilk Tavarez. After trailing by 10 in the first half, four straight Tavarez three-pointers gave the Cougars a 37-34 lead. Then, to start the second half, Tavarez drained back-to-back triples. Charleston took their largest lead of the game thus far at 67-59 with five minutes to play. Another 6-0 Cougar run and four Loyola Chicago turnovers in the final three minutes sealed the win for Charleston.
THE ELEVATION OF NIK
– Against Murray State on Day 2, Nik Graves exploded for a career-high 31 points–the first 30-point performance for the junior guard.
– The Durham, N.C., native went from averaging 1.6 points as a freshman in 2022-23 to starting 30 games and finishing as the team’s fourth-leading scorer (10.4 points) last year.
– In his junior campaign, Graves has elevated his game, ranking fifth in the AAC with 17.6 points per game. He is the only 49er to score in double figures in every game this season. He has excelled at drawing fouls, ranking second in the conference and eighth nationally with 78 made free throw and 100 attempts. Against the Racers, he went a perfect 12-for-12 from the charity stripe.
– He previously set a career-high with 23 points against Richmond and matched it again at Georgia State.
WE’RE GOING TO HAWAII
– The 49ers look to improve upon their 2018 showing in the Diamond Head Classic, where they dropped all three games against TCU, Rhode Island, and Colorado.
– The 49ers are 6-6 all-time in Hawaii-based tournaments. In 2006, with wins over Valparaiso and Wyoming, Charlotte went 2-1 and finished fifth in Honolulu’s Rainbow Classic. In 1998, the Niners reached the finals of the tournament, defeating Murray State and Hawaii, before dropping the championship game to Princeton.
– In 1986, the Niners went 2-1 in the Hawaii Air Silversword Classic in Maui, earning wins over Chaminade and VCU.
A LOOK AT THE FIRST FIVE
– Compare the Niners’ first five games this season to last year’s and there is no doubt that the Charlotte offense is markedly improved. The 49ers are averaging 72.6 points per game this year, an improvement from 63 points/game through the first five games in 2023.
– Charlotte only scored more than 70 points once through the first five games and the Niners have already topped that number three times in 2024.
– The 2024 Niners have attempted 104 three-pointers through five games, which is 25 more attempts than at this point last season. That means that Charlotte is taking five more attempts per game, on average.
– The 49ers are also getting to the line much more often this season. Charlotte has made more free throws this season (104) than it attempted at the same point last year (77).
The first five game-by-game free throw MADE total in 2024: 15, 16, 24, 12, 37.
The first five game-by-game free throw ATTEMPT total in 2023: 21, 5, 15, 20, 16.
– In the 2024 season opener, the 49ers dropped 88 points and made 11 three-pointers, while shooting 50% from deep. At this point last year, Charlotte had not made more than six triples in a game. The Niners never scored 88 against a D-I opponent last season and they did not shoot 50% from three in a game until the regular season finale on March 9.
EARLY NATIONAL SIGNING DAY
– Head Coach Aaron Fearne began building on his 2025-26 roster by signing two high school products— Jaylen Cross and Jairne Elouna Eyenga on Early National Signing Day on November 15.
– Cross, ranked No. 159 in the country and No. 8 in North Carolina by 247Sports’ Composite Rankings, is the highest-ranked recruit to sign with Charlotte since 2009.
– Cross is a six-foot-four guard out of Greensboro, N.C. The Caldwell Academy product is rated as a three-star recruit by On3, 247 Sports, and ESPN, and a four-star recruit by Rivals.
– Elouna Eyenga is a Belgian national currently attending JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The six-foot-nine forward was a member of the Under-18 Belgian National Team, who participated in Division A of FIBA EuroBasket this summer.
– On July 28, 2024, Elouna Eyenga dropped eye-popping totals of 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists against Turkey in the U18 Eurobasket, followed by a 10-point, seven-rebound, two-assist performance on the very next day against Germany.
THE BOYS ARE BACK AGAIN
– Junior Nik Graves headlines the list of eight returners for the 2024-25 campaign. The point guard averaged 10.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game last season. He led the team with 85 assists, was second with 30 steals, and was the fourth-leading scorer on the squad.
– Isaiah Folkes is back after making 19 starts in 2023-24 for the 49ers. The 49ers were 14-5 with the Gainesville, Va., native as a starter. This will be his fifth season with the program after joining the team in the middle of the 2020-21 campaign.
– Robert Braswell IV is back for his seventh season of college. Over his six-year career, which started at Syracuse, the Jacksonville, Fla., native has made 110 appearances. In his three years in the Queen City, Braswell IV has averaged seven points per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from deep.
– Dean Reiber transferred to Charlotte last year after three seasons at Rutgers. He was a mainstay on the court for the 49ers as one of three players to appear in all 31 games last season.
– Nick Richart and Rich Rolf are also back for another season in the Queen City. This is their second and third seasons with the program, respectively. Richart did not play his freshman year after redshirting and Rolf appeared in three games before suffering a season-ending injury in 2023-24.
NEW TO THE QUEEN CITY
– Charlotte retooled its roster with seven new additions, including six transfers. Giancarlo Rosado, Ben Bradford, Kylan Blackmon, Aleks Szymczyk, Jaehshon Thomas, Jeremiah Oden, and Nika Metskhvarishvili are new to Charlotte and will be relied on heavily if the Niners wish to improve upon their success last season.
– Rosado is very familiar with the Queen City, but this time he’s on the other side of the court as a presumed Charlotte starter after four seasons at Florida Atlantic. The six-foot-eight forward appeared in 118 games with the Owls and he was instrumental in the 2023 run to the Final Four.
– The American is a tough league for freshmen to come in and play, but for guard Ben Bradford, maybe he will be an exception. He certainly has the skill after averaging 27 points per game at Gaithersburg High School. Coach Fearne and this Charlotte staff have a track record of playing freshmen. Graves appeared in 22 games in his first season and former players Brice Williams and Jahmir Young also saw a lot of action as freshmen.
– Blackmon is a silky smooth shooter who shot nearly 36 percent from deep on more than five attempts per game last year for Coastal Carolina. He arrives to the Queen City after two seasons with the Chanticleers. He was the team’s third-leading scorer with 11.4 points a game in 2023-24.
– Szymczyk gives the Niners another solid option in the frontcourt. The Frankfurt, Germany native and Florida transfer missed all of the 2023-24 season, but he did appear in 14 games as a true freshman.
– In Thomas, Charlotte has a player with three-level scoring abilities and a combo guard archetype. At Florida Southwestern State, the Aurora, Ill., native led his JuCo with 16 points per game en route to all-conference and all-state honors.
– Oden played at DePaul last season after spending three years at Wyoming. The most experienced player of all the newcomers, the six-foot-nine wing has made 86 starts in his career with averages of 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. In 2022, he started 32 games for Wyoming and helped the Cowboys to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven seasons.
– Nika Metskhvarishvili is a native of Tbilisi, Georgia and he transfers to Charlotte after three seasons with UL-Monroe. In 2023-24, the six-foot-eight forward was a third-team All-Sun Belt selection after leading the team in points (12.3) and rebounds (5.8) per game.
2023-24 SEASON RECAP
– Last year, the Niners went 19-12 overall with a 13-5 mark in their first season in The American. The 49ers recorded their first top-three league finish since 2006.
– The 49ers’ 13 conference wins and 13 wins at Halton Arena tied program records. Charlotte also recorded its first-ever eight-game conference winning streak, as well as the first win over a ranked opponent at home since 2013.
– The 49ers were led by Lu’Cye Patterson, who was a second-team All-AAC and second-team all-district selection in 2023-24. He had a team-high 14.6 points per game.
– Igor Milicic Jr., last year’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, was a third-team All-AAC pick.
– The duo helped the 49ers outdo the expectations that picked them to finish 13th of 14 in the AAC.
NINER NUGGETS
– A total of 10 games will be featured on ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU, while another 20 games will be on ESPN+.
– Halton Arena will be home to three nationally televised games this season.
– On Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, Charlotte will host Memphis on either ESPN2 or ESPNU at 2 p.m.
– On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the 49ers welcome Wichita State for a 7 p.m. matchup that will either be on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
– The Niners’ home contest against East Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 15, is set for ESPNU. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.
– For Christmas 2024, Charlotte will travel to Honolulu, Hawaii, to play in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
– Charlotte will play Hawai’i in the opening round of the eight-team tournament on December 22 at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
– With five fifth-year players, a sixth-year, and a seventh-year player on its roster, Charlotte trails only Oklahoma State (eight) for most players in their fifth year or longer of college.
UP NEXT
– Conference play begins next week for the 49ers when they host Tulane in the opener on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. ET.
