The 49ers are down right now.

"They better be down," Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. "If not, you're not a competitor."

The No. 1 question the 49ers face following their 81-67 loss to Xavier on Saturday at Halton Arena is how to turn the tide of what had been a season with the promise of an NCAA tournament appearance.

Saturday's loss was Charlotte's third straight - its longest losing streak of the season - and perhaps more troubling, its second consecutive loss at home, where the 49ers started the year 9-1.

"I thought we competed, we just missed too many shots," Lutz said. "They got more rebounds (38-32), but not something unbelievable, so that shows our effort. We forced more turnovers (18 to 14) - that shows our effort.

"I told the team as long as we play that hard, we're going to make shots. I believe that. We've won seven in a row twice."

Xavier (19-7, 10-2 Atlantic 10) grabbed control of the game early, running out to a 12-point lead, 28-16, with three minutes, 17 seconds left in the first half. Charlotte closed the gap but the Musketeers still led 31-22 at halftime.

Charlotte (18-8, 8-4) twice got within five in the second half, the last time trailing 45-40 with 12:23 to play but could get no closer.

Xavier's talented sophomore guard Jordan Crawford hurt the 49ers, finishing with 23 points, six assists, four rebounds, two steals and three 3-pointers.

For the third straight game, the 49ers were cold from the field. Saturday was their best effort in their three losses and they made 23-of-63 shots (36.5 percent).

Among those having the most trouble of late is sophomore shooting guard Derrio Green. He led the 49ers with 23 points Saturday, but struggled from the field, making 6-of-17 shots, including 3-of-12 3-pointers.

"I feel like I'm getting looks at shots that I have been making but a lot of them are going in and out," Green said. "I can't get frustrated, though, I need to keep shooting. I can't lose my confidence."

Xavier completed a season sweep of the 49ers with the help of a stellar shooting night. The Musketeers shot 52 percent for the game, including 58 percent in the second half.

"I'd say Charlotte is certainly in the top five of the conference," Xavier coach Chris Mack said. "Sometimes, you go lose a couple games and you have to be able to regroup.

"I thought our kids did that early in the year when everybody was telling us how bad we were. We were able to get in our own locker room and figure things out.

"That's where Charlotte's at right now. That's an outsider's perspective."

By Jim Utter
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