The Penn State Nittany Lions lost in the quarterfinals of the Gildan Charleston Classic to a tough Charlotte 49er team 106-97 on Thursday night. The Nittany Lions were led by senior guard D.J. Newbill, who scored 35 points, while Charlotte was led by sophomore guard Braxton Oqbueze, an impressive transfer from Florida, who scored 26 points.
The loss drops Penn State to 2-1 on the season. Penn State also got a big night from junior forward Brandon Taylor, who scored 19 points. Newbill, the Nittany Lions' leading scorer, played all 50 minutes of the game, also contributing 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Penn State only made 32% of their three point shots today, leading to a bevy of defensive rebounds for Charlotte.
Charlotte improves to 2-0, and also advances to the semifinals of the Gildan Charleston Classic. In addition to the 26 points from Oqbueze, the 49ers got 23 points out of Mike Thorne Jr, and 16 rebounds from Thorne. 13 of those 16 rebounds were defensive rebounds from a Penn State team that shot only 39%, a number that is almost unheard of in these days of high scoring affairs.
The semifinal game of the Gildan Charleston classic is Friday, and Charlotte will play the winner of Cornell - South Carolina. The other semifinal will feature Miami and Akron, and that game will also be played on Friday. Times are to be announced.
GAME MVP: D.J. Newbill (Penn State)
Next game for Penn State: 11/25 7:30 ET - Akron
Next game for Charlotte: 11/21 TBA - Cornell/South Carolina