CINCINNATI (AP)—Demon Brown had 15 points to lead five Charlotte players in double figures, and the 49ers took advantage of poor Tulane shooting to beat the Green Wave 78-48 in the first round of the Conference USA tournament Wednesday.
Eddie Basden added 14 points and Butter Johnson had 12 for the fifth-seeded 49ers (21-7), who advanced to meet fourth-seeded Alabama-Birmingham in Thursday’s quarterfinals. They are two of the five teams that shared the regular-season conference championship.
Curtis Withers had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte, which has won six of its past seven games and 10 of 12.
Tulane (11-17), the No. 12 seed, shot a season-worst .271 percent (16-for-59) from the field in losing for the sixth time in seven games, including a 79-65 loss at Charlotte to end the regular season Saturday.
Vincent Camper and Marcus Kinzer each scored nine points for the Green Wave in its worst loss of the season.
The 49ers took command during a 15-3 run that left them leading, 27-13, with 6:45 left in the first half. Plavich scored eight points during the run, capping it with consecutive pointers, and the Green Wave missed seven consecutive shots.