by Don Mooney
Senior guard made a tournament-record eight 3-pointers en route to a career-high 35 points. photo by Don Mooney
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Dezayne Mingo set an American Conference Tournament record with eight 3-pointers and finished with a career-best 35 points to lead No. 5 seed Charlotte (17-15) to an 83-78 win over No. 4 seed UAB (20-12) Friday afternoon at Legacy Arena.
The Niners delivered another dazzling second-half shooting effort to erase a two-point halftime deficit and move on to the conference tournament semifinals for the first time since 2008, when they were a member of the A-10.
Soph Ben Bradford added 17 pts to win over host UAB. photo by Don Mooney
One day after setting the American Conference Tournament record for field goal percentage in a half, Charlotte made 14 consecutive field goals over a 10-plus-minute span and shot a blistering 20-of-26 (.769) from the field, including 10-of-14 (.714) from three-point range, after halftime.
Mingo finished the day 11-of-17 from the field, including 8-of-11 from long range, while adding four rebounds and six assists. Ben Bradford had another strong game with 17 points and seven rebounds, with Donald Harrison coming up big after the break. Harrison scored all 13 of his points in the second half, going 5-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
photo by Don Mooney
UAB stayed connected in the contest despite Charlotte’s hot shooting, attacking the paint with abandon. The Blazers posted a 52-28 advantage in points in the paint but could not overcome a 14-of-29 (.483) effort from three-point range by Charlotte. Daniel Rivera led a trio of double-figure scorers with 20 points to go along with nine rebounds, while Chance Westry set a tournament record with 15 assists.
7’2″ center Anton Bonke made his presence felt in the paint. photo by Don Mooney
Charlotte advances to the American Conference Tournament semifinals Saturday, where it will face No. 1 seed South Florida. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET from Legacy Arena on ESPN2.