CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Freshman Marcus Banks came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points, but Charlotte used an 11-0 run early in the second half to open up what had been a tightly contested game as the Catamounts trailed by just two at halftime in a 98-82 win over the Catamounts on Wednesday.

Charlotte improves to 7-5 on the season, while WCU drops to 6-7 to close the nonconference portion of its regular season.

Banks surpassed his previous career-best mark of 13 points before halftime as the Hampton, Va., native had 17 points at halftime. He made all six of his first half field goal attempts with five coming from behind the 3-point line. Graduate student Nicholas Robinson added 19 points with junior Vonterius Woolbright tying a career-best 17 points. Junior Tyler Harris corralled a team-best five rebounds.

Robert Braswell and Austin Butler paced the 49ers with 22 points each followed by Jahmir Young with 20. Clyde Trapp also finished in double figures with 17 points. Butler grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

Woolbright opened the scoring with a layup as the Catamounts sprinted out to a 7-3 advantage two minutes into the contest. Charlotte answered with a 15-4 run, holding an 18-11 advantage at the 13:56 mark, which was the first stoppage in the game. A pair of Marvin Cannon free throws gave the hosts a 20-11 lead before a Woolbright jumper sparked a 10-2 run capped by a Banks 3-pointer to bring WCU within one, 22-21, just before the midpoint of the half. Charlotte quickly pushed its lead back to six points and continued to lead until Banks drained a 3-pointer to even the score at 43 with 28.4 seconds left. Butler sent the 49ers into the locker room with a 45-43 advantage with a buzzer-beating layup.

After a Woolbright layup brought the Catamounts within a point, 49-48, just over a minute into the second half, Charlotte went on an 11-0 spurt capped by a Musa Jallow 3-pointer for a 60-48 lead at the 15:02 mark. The 49er lead stayed between 12 and 15 points for the next six minutes until Robinson drained a 3-pointer at the 9:27 mark to bring WCU within 10, 76-66. Charlotte answered with a 7-0 run and led by no fewer than 15 points the rest of the game.

Charlotte held a slim 27-26 edge in rebounds and converted 17 Catamount turnovers into 21 points. WCU finished the game 32-for-56 (57.1 percent) from the field, 9-for-18 (50 percent) in 3-point attempts, and 9-for-11 (81.8 percent) at the free throw line. Charlotte was 34-for-59 (57.6 percent) from the field, 13-for-25 (52 percent) behind the arc, and 17-for-26 (65.4 percent) at the free throw line.

Following the holiday, WCU opens Southern Conference play next Wednesday, hosting UNCG at Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center at 7 p.m.

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