Instant Recap: The Huskies shake off slow start, eke out win over Charlotte

The Huskies were able to pull off a close win Friday night as they knocked off a scrappy Charoltte team 71-66. The Huskies seemed largely disinterested in the game altogether through the first 28 minutes of the game, as the 49ers out played them throughout the entire first half and into the second half as well. You can find the entire recap of the game and a few thoughts on the game below.

Charlotte got off to an early lead  against the Huskies,as  they clearly had more energy than the Huskies from the jump, building up an early 10-5 lead in the first four minutes of the game. The 49ers started off the game with an easy dunk on inbounds play under their own hoop. Marqese Chriss theb picked up two ticky tack fouls on two straight possessions,To  make matters worse, Noah DIckerson picked up his second foul as well, forcing head coach Lorenzo Romar to bring Malik Dime and Devinir Duruisseau  off the bench much sooner than usual.

Andrew Andrews did his best to jump start the Huskies offense early, getting to the rim to cut the lead 16-9 with 15 minutes left. On the next possession, Dejounte Muray found Mattisse Thybulle for a wide open three, and cut the lead to 16-12. Unfortunately the 49ers immediately answered with a wide open three of their own, as the Huskies left Freshman Curran Scott completely unguarded behind the arc. Shortly there after Andrien White finished an emphatic dunk over Chriss, stretching their lead to six at 21-16.

The Huskies did respond pretty well on the offensive end coming out of the break. Dickerson knocked down a nice jump hook and Murray finsihed a finger roll that Earl the Pearl Monroe would have been proud of. After an Andrews lay up the Huskies cut the lead to four with eight minutes left in the half.

Both teams went cold from the field as they both failed to score for nearly three minutes. Andrews was able to break this dry spell as he converted a layup and was fouled in the process. He was able to knock down the foul shot and tied the game up at 29. The 49ers were able to counter with an and-one of their own as Brendan Sullivan was able to finish through Chriss, who picked up his third foul in the process.

With little over three minutes left in the first half, Andrews was called for a defensive foul. It was an obvious push off and an absolutely terrible call. Romar let the officials know that he was unhappy. He erupted in protest and was assessed a technical. After a frantic stretch the Huskies went into the half trailing by three, 38-35, searching for a way to slow down Charlotte's big men and match their team's effort.

The Huskies did not start out the first half particularly well. Dickerson gave up a wide open lay up and Andrews instantly through an ugly pass that was intercepted. To make matters worse, Chriss picked up his fourth foul. It was a nightmare start to the half. The huskies opened up the second half with three turnovers and were largely dominated on the glass.The 49ers were able to extend their lead to seven points after Joseph Uchebo knocked down a nice jump hook.

Dickerson was able to give the Huskies a boost in the middle of the second half. He drew a foul and knocked down both free throws and then followed that up with a nice finish off a well designed duck in play. The Huskies were able to pull within one after an emphatic dunk by Dime. After a hectic sequence, Murray led the Huskies down the court on a fast-break and found Andrews on the right wing who was able to knock down the wide open three and give the Huskies their first lead of the game, 48-47 at the 12:48 mark. Dime finished a nice put back, stretching the Huskies lead to 50-47. The Huskies seemed to have the momentum and seemed poised to finally pull away.

However, Charlotte countered well, knocking down two straight threes as they regained the upper-hand, taking a 52-50 lead with a little over 10 minutes left to play.

After a nice drive from Mattisse Thybulle that tied the game at 52, Andrews knocked down a wide open three, pushing the lead back to two. The 49ers were able to counter yet again as Scott knocked down a nice pull up jump shot. Andrews then found a streaking Dime down the court for an emphatic dunk that gave the Huskies a 59-55 lead with 7:50 left in the game.

Dickerson was able to finish a nice reverse lay up and then followed that up with a nice step back 13 foot jump-shot that pushed the lead to seven. The Huskies finally seemed to break the back of the 49ers, who missed free-throws, second chance looks and open jump shots as they seemed to run out of gas.

Charlotte's John Davis was able to end his teams' cold streak when he knocked down an open three cutting the lead to six. On the next possession Andrews knocked down an incredible step back shot that should've iced the game. However Dickerson's youth was on display on the next play as he  committed an ill advised foul on the next possession that gifted the '9ers an extra point. Andrews did a nice job of drawing a foul with 1:20 left in the game, but was unable to knock down either free throw attempt.

After the 49ers were able to pull down an offensive rebound, Davis got  to the rim and covertrf a layup, cutting the Huskies lead to just three, 67-64 with 40.2 seconds left in the game.

Andrews missed yett another freethrow, but was able to salvage the second trip, knocking down his second attempt. After Braxton Obeeze missed a deep three, Andrews was able to knock down both free thows as the Huskies were able to escape with the 71-66 victory. To the takes!

• Andrew Andrews turned in another phenomal performance tonight. He poured in 30 points, pulled down 13 rebounds, dished out five assists. He was efficient as he knocked down nine of his 18 field goal attempts, knocked down three of his six three point attempts. He made great decisions all game yet again (execpt for  one ill advised turnover to start the second half) and outside of three misses from the foul line that left the door slightly open for the 49ers, his play was nearly flawless. Andrews is proving to be the Huskies most vaulable player so far this season., Husky fans are lucky that he didn't join the mass exodus last season. It's not fun to think about how this game may have gone without him.

• Noah Dickerson shook off early foul trouble and turned in a strong perfomance, he ended the game with 13 points and nine rebounds. Though he only shot 4/11 for the field, he had some big baskets in the second half. The Huskies desperately needed someone besides Andrews to get it going from the floor and Dickerson was that man.

• Charlotte's big men had their way against the Huskies front court nearly all night long. Joseph Uchebo pulled down 18 rebounds and added nine points, and Brendan Sullivan also added 14 points and six rebounds. The Huskies front court will need to work on their ability to box out going forward.

• The Huskies front court was in foul trouble yet again tonight. Malik Dime, Marquese Chriss and Noah Dickerson all ahd four fouls. This seems to be an official problem for the team, they will need to cut down on their fouling in a major way before Pac-12 play kicks off.

• Dejounte Murray struggled tonight. He was never able to get into a rhythm on the offensive end as he went just three for seven from the floor, and turned the ball over quite a bit. The official box score has not yet been released, but I would guess that he had at least four turnovers. He was really forcing the issue tonight and will need to clean up his paly quite a bit before league play starts.

• The Huskies lacked energy for the majority of this game. Charlotte was coming off a 55 point shelling at the hands of Michigan the night before and it seemed the Huskies took them for granted a bit. Still, they shook of the slow start, battled hard late in the second half and eked out a close win.

That's all i've got. If you are still reading, congratulations, you just read nearly 1500 words about this game. I hope you enjoyed it. As always, go Dawgs.