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  • Butler and Young Aren't Enough to Keep Charlotte From Falling at WKU, 77-67

Butler and Young Aren't Enough to Keep Charlotte From Falling at WKU, 77-67

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Basketball

Despite 21 points from senior Austin Butler and a double-double from junior Jahmir Young, the Charlotte men's basketball team fell on the road to Western Kentucky, 77-67, on Thursday night at Diddle Arena.

The loss dropped Charlotte (13-12, 6-7 C-USA) to below .500 for the first time in Conference USA play, while WKU (15-11, 8-6 C-USA) upped its win streak to six straight.

AB's 21 points came on 8-of-13 from the field, while knocking down a season-high-tying three shots from 3-point range.

Young's double-double included 18 points and a career-high-tying 11 rebounds. Young also finished the night with seven assists, while scoring 14 of his points in the second half to lead Charlotte's late-game run.

A battered and bandaged Aly Khalifa was the third Niner in double-figures, scoring 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and reeling in four rebounds.

The opening half was largely a back-and-forth affair with the programs going seemingly bucket-for-bucket in the night's opening 15 minutes.

A late run that saw the Hilltoppers outscore the 49ers, 14-6 over the period's final four minutes to give WKU a, 47-36 halftime advantage.

The hosts lead for the remainder of the contest, with Charlotte cutting its deficit to a pair on multiple occasions.

The nail in the coffin came with less than three minutes to play. With WKU up five, the Hilltoppers scored on an inbound play, before draining a night-sealing three on their very next possession.

MIR IS JUST…MIR
Junior Jahmir Young scored in double-figures for the 39th consecutive game, dating to the middle of last season and is still the only player in Conference USA to have scored in double-figures and play in every game for his team this season.

Mir currently leads the team and ranks third in C-USA with 19.5 points per outing and is just 10 points away from passing Phil Ward for 17th on Charlotte's all-time scoring list.

UP NEXT
Charlotte will play its final game in its three-game road swing on Saturday night at Marshall. The opening tip from the Cam Henderson Center is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.