Colorado 76, Charlotte 74
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—James Wright made a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left as Colorado held on to beat Charlotte 76-74 on Saturday in the Pepsi Classic.
Charlotte’s Demon Brown missed a 3-pointer as time ran out, giving the Buffaloes (7-3) their fourth straight win.
The 49ers erased a 14-point deficit late and tied the game 74-74 on Curtis Nash’s steal and layup with 18 seconds remaining. But Mitchell Baldwin fouled Wright on the next possession, setting up the winning shots.
Stephane Pelle led Colorado with a season-high 21 points and 14 rebounds in the second game of the round-robin tournament for the two teams. Michel Morandais added 12 points, while Blair Wilson and Wright scored 11 each.
Brown scored 15 points and Curtis Withers and Butter Johnson added 14 each as the 49ers (5-4) saw their three-game winning streak end.
Charlotte led 23-17 on Withers’ bank shot with 11:45 left in the first half but went cold the rest of the period. Colorado closed the half with a 20-10 run, with Pelle’s baseline jumper as time expired gave the Buffaloes a 46-37 lead.
Pelle scored six of the Buffaloes’ final eight first-half points and led all scorers with 13 at the break. Withers paced the 49ers with 11.
The Buffaloes had a 43-31 rebounding edge for the game.