STARKVILLE, Miss., - On paper, Mississippi State's 70-64 loss to Charlotte on Wednesday may not look that bad.

But go deeper inside the numbers and it tells a different tale that the six point differential.

The 49ers dominated the game from the game's opening tip and led by as many as 24 points midway through the second half. Had it not been for a 22-4 run in the final 7:14, MSU would have been blown out in front of the 3,894 at Humphrey Coliseum.

"I don't think I have ever been part of a game where I felt like our team played with the least amount of toughness and the least amount of grit in my 11 years," said MSU head coach Rick Stansbury. "They hit us in the mouth on the first possession and we never recovered. The out-toughed us in every area offensively and defensively and we never could change it. We absolutely couldn't change anything they did. I have no answers why we played like we did."

Wednesday's loss ended a nine-game winning streak at The Hump. The Bulldogs last loss at home was on Feb. 2 against then No. 7 Tennessee.

Charlotte, who improved to 3-6 on the season, shot 38.8-percent from the field including 38.1-percent from behind the arc. It was the second win in a row for the 49ers after a win on the road at Southern Illinois on Saturday.

"I felt like we were ready," said Charlotte head coach Bobby Lutz. "I thought (Mississippi State) might sleep on us because of our record. When I looked in our eyes, I knew that we thought we could win. That is a big part of winning on the road is believing that you can win and I could tell we did. I hope this is a turning point."

Lamont Mack led Charlotte with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting and eight rebounds. Mack knocked down three treys on the night.



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