CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Christian Wilson’s potential game-winner rattled in and out at the end of the first overtime and Charlotte held off UTSA for a 114-108 double-overtime victory on Thursday night at Halton Arena.
Bowie totaled a game-high 23 points for his sixth consecutive contest with at least 20 to pace the Roadrunners (5-24, 3-13 C-USA), who played their first double overtime contest since 2009. Bowie led all five starters in double figures as Lucas O’Brien added a career-high 21 points and Wilson chipped in 20 points and eight boards.
In addition, J.R. Harris had 18 points on the strength of six 3-pointers and Phillip Jones picked up his second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. UTSA shot 50 percent in the contest, including 60.7 percent in the second half.
Meanwhile, Joseph Uchebo added 21 points and 16 rebounds to help lead the 49ers (11-17, 7-8 C-USA), who shot 53.7 percent and held a 40-37 edge on the glass. Curran Scott led the squad with 22 points and Jon Davis added 21.
A pair of free throws from Scott with 8:26 left in regulation gave Charlotte a 79-69 lead.
However, Harris and Austin Karrer hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Harris used a no-look pass to Nick Allen for a layup to ignite an 11-0 run. The stretch ended when Harris drilled another trey with 6:39 left that gave UTSA its first lead since halftime.
The teams traded leads briefly and the Roadrunners led 88-83 with just 3:46 left. The score would be tied three times in the final 2:45, including on a pair of free throws from Bowie that knotted the score at 91 with 1:06 remaining.
Neither team could score in the final 66 seconds, thanks in part to a steal by Jones on the 49ers’ final possession.
The Roadrunners led for much of the first overtime, but Charlotte grabbed a 99-98 advantage with a pair of free throws at the 1:28 mark. It was one of four lead changes in the final 90 seconds and UTSA had a chance to win it after Anthony Vanhook tied the score at 102 with 11 seconds to play.
Wilson dribbled up the floor and just before the buzzer went off, the sophomore let fly a 17-foot jumper that rattled in, then out to force another extra session.
The 49ers scored the first four points of the second overtime and they would not trail again. With a 106-103 lead, Davis hit a 3-pointer with one minute to play and UTSA could not get closer than four, 112-108, the rest of the way as Charlotte salted away the 114-108 final at the free-throw line.
In all, the contest featured 13 ties and 18 lead changes.
The Roadrunners held a 46-45 lead at halftime, but saw Charlotte open the second half on a 9-0 run and the home squad would not trail again until UTSA’s big run that set the stage for a thrilling finish.
After Charlotte opened the contest with a fast break layup, the Roadrunners caught fire from behind the arc, where they would make their first five shots to build an early 15-4 lead.
Harris started the action with a triple that was followed by three straight treys by O’Brien. Bowie then capped the stretch and forced a 49ers timeout with his first 3-pointer of the night.
However, Charlotte responded with a 13-2 run to knot the score at 17 and the home squad took its first lead since the opening basket on Andrien White’s 3-pointer to pull ahead 20-19.
Wilson’s three-point play regained the lead for UTSA and the Roadrunners answered each Charlotte bucket with one of their own until a 6-0 spurt for the 49ers pushed the home team to a 40-38 lead.
Jones got a layup and Harris hit his third trey of the half to slow the Charlotte momentum. Jones then closed the half with an old-fashioned three-point play, his second of the period, to give the visitors their 46-45 lead heading to the locker room.
UTSA will be back in action at 7 p.m. (CT) on Saturday when it travels to Old Dominion (16-12, 9-6 C-USA).