Michigan vs. Charlotte: Wolverines shocked by 49ers, 63-61

Dec. 14, 2012; Coral Gables, FL, USA; Charlotte 49ers head coach Alan Major walks the bench during the first half against the Miami Hurricanes at the BankUnited Center. Miami won 77-46. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

The Michigan Wolverines played in the NCAA Championship Game last March against Louisville, and they’re currently ranked #14 in the nation. But on Sunday night, they lost the Puerto Rico Tip-off Classic to the Charlotte 49ers.

That’s right. The Charlotte 49ers. And it wasn’t a fluky comeback or anything, as the Charlotte led at halftime, 35-30, and led by as many as 8 points at one point in the second half. In fact, Michigan only led for a brief moment in the second half, with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining and the score 47-46. After that, it was all 49ers until one final late charge by Michigan.

The Wolverines tied the game with a layup by Mitch McGary with eight seconds remaining. But Charlotte’s Terrance Williams followed up his own miss with a tip-in with two seconds left on the clock to lift the 49ers to an unexpected victory at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan.

The game’s high scorer was Michigan guard Nik Stauskas, who scored 20 points on 6 of 13 shooting from the floor and 7 of 9 from the free throw line. Nobody else on either squad finished with more than 12 points (Denzel Ingram scored 12 points off the bench for the 49ers).

Michigan shot an embarrassing 31.1% from the floor. Charlotte wasn’t much better, putting up a 39.4% mark of their own. Michigan is now 4-2 in the young season, while Charlotte improves to 5-1 with the impressive neutral court victory.