49ers look to break skid
Losers of three in a row and five of six, the Charlotte 49ers will play their final two home games of the season over the next three days, beginning Thursday against Western Kentucky.
Poor shooting, especially from 3-point range, can be attributed to the 49ers’ woes in recent weeks. In their last three games, the 49ers shot 18-for-57 from 3-point range, a paltry 31.6 percent.
Prior to their game against Old Dominion, 49ers head coach Mark Price said that the team’s spacing on offense needed work. Against Old Dominion, the 49ers went 6-for-25 from 3-point range. They scored 48 points, which was their second lowest offensive output of the season.
“Overall, I thought our spacing was pretty good,” Price said. “Unfortunately we didn’t execute. We tried to force some passes that weren’t there into traffic. That was a big part of the challenge to overcome.”
The 49ers (11–14, 5–9) turned the ball over 18 times, 13 of those coming in the first half.
“[We were] just trying to force things that weren’t there,” Price said. “Sometimes you just have to make the easy pass. I think sometimes we got a little impatient, tried to get the quick hitter when it wasn’t really there.”
In their last two games, the 49ers have produced 12 assists and 30 turnovers. Sophomore point guard Jon Davis has not logged one assist in his last two games. Normally, you do not see a starting point guard go so long without an assist.
“I think it’s a combination of things,” said Price. “One, he did make some really good passes and guys just didn’t make the shots. Then I think it kind of snowballs [where] sometimes that he feels like he has to maybe do more, take on more for himself and looks for his shot more.”
Davis ranks second in scoring in Conference USA, averaging 20 points per game in league games.
“He takes a lot of responsibility on himself and he is an important piece for us to win,” said Price. “I think the growing process at the point guard position, when you have the ability to score, [you must] be able to do that, but you also have to make sure you’re getting everybody else involved offensively and make sure you’re trying to get everybody else feeling good and getting them in a rhythm as well.”
Davis is the only 49er to consistently score in double figures each game. In each of the last three games, the 49ers have only had two players score in double figures. Davis has been the only constant in that category.
“We’re evaluating everything as a coaching staff,” Price said. “I feel like our defense has continued to improve. When we make shots from the outside it really opens things up for us. When we’re not, we tend to struggle.”
Price has not lost confidence in his team when it comes to their recent shooting struggles. “These are shots that we work on in practice everyday,” Price said. “I know as a player there’s time when you go through spells or slumps when you just gotta continue to play with confidence. I believe in them. I believe everytime they shoot it has a chance to go in, they gotta believe that. Hopefully they’ll see a few go in and get it going in the other direction.”
Another area that has consistently hampered the 49ers has been their rebounding. The 49ers rank last in Conference USA games in rebounding margin (-7.3), and second to last in rebounding offense and defense.
“It’s a mindset that we have to have,” Price said of the team’s rebounding struggles. “We don’t have that one or two guys we can count on to just go up and get the rebound everytime. It’s a five guys on the floor propostion for us.”
The 49ers have two 7-footers listed on their roster that play sparingly. In the case of redshirt freshman Lukas Bergang, who hasn’t played in any of the last eight games, it boils down to continuing to get stronger according to Price.
“Lukas is still young in his development,” said Price about the 7-foot-1 center from Sweden. “We still like Lukas. We think he has some potential. His biggest thing is he’s just got to physically get stronger, to be able to take on the pounding against the guys that he would playing against on a daily basis.”
In the case of redshirt junior Benas Griciunas, it comes down to simply not fouling for the 7-footer. Griciunas has played in four of the 49ers last five games. In three of those games, Griciunas picked up two fouls quickly each time. Against Old Dominion, he picked up two fouls in two minutes.
“It’s just hard to get into a groove,” Price said. “You gotta defend without fouling.”
