Charlotte, NC – Greensboro College's Men's Basketball team was in action Friday afternoon as they traveled to face off with the Charlotte 49ers. This is the tenth all time meeting between these two, but the first time these teams played each other since 1970. Greensboro came into the game today leading the all-time series 5-4. Both schools were original members of the Dixie Conference, which today is known as the USA South. Today, UNC Charlotte is a Division I program in the American Athletic Conference, and Greensboro would look to possibly shock the basketball world with an upset.
The game started off fast with Grant Thompson scoring on the first possession for the Pride. The Niners would also score on their first shot before being able to get a few stops in a row. After both teams exchanged buckets, the Niners would score 8 unanswered points to go up 10-2. After the first 5 minutes of the game the Pride found themselves down 14-4 but they would answer back. With some key three pointers and big stops on defense, Greensboro pulled all the way back to within 1 of the Niners (16-15).
Charlotte wouldn't stay silent for long as following the Pride run, they would start to open up the game. With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, the Niners had bumped the lead to 9 points and attempted to put Greensboro away early. However, Griffin Powell, Grant Thompson, and Isaiah Pruett continued to hit big shots to keep Greensboro in the game. With 5 minutes remaining, the Pride had pulled back to within 3 points of the Niners (29-26), but once again the Pride would be unable to contain Charlotte to stay close. Charlotte would finish the half on a 17-3 run and the Pride would go into the half down 46-29.
The second half would not start out in the Pride's favor. The Niners defense would be perfect coming out of the break. The Pride would be held scoreless for the first 8 minutes of the second half while Charlotte would keep pouring it on. Despite the strong efforts from the Pride, they would find themselves down 65–34 with 10 minutes remaining in the contest. The Niner defense continued to impose themselves in the second half, keeping the Pride from being able to claw back into the game.
Despite being able to keep it close early, the Pride would fall 91-44 to Charlotte. Despite the loss, there were a lot of positives for Greensboro to take away against a Division I opponent. The Pride out-rebounded the Niners in the first half, shot a season high 47% from beyond the arc, and the Pride had a lead at one point in the first half. Greensboro will head into their short Christmas break before returning to action on January 2nd. The Pride will look defend home court in Hanes Gym when Piedmont University comes to town with tip scheduled for 4pm.
Alex Trepper - Athletics Communications Intern
