Staff report

CHARLOTTE — Livingstone’s men’s basketball team had the opportunity to play Division I UNC-Charlotte for the first time on Wednesday.

The campuses are about 40 miles apart.

Charlotte pulled away to win 83-61 in front of an announced crowd of 2,432 at Halton Arena, but the Blue Bears scared the 49ers for a while.

The game won’t count as far as Livingstone’s won-lost record. Livingstone (6-1) led by as many as 10 points in the early going and was still up by six at 27-21 when Donovan Leak made a 3-pointer with 8:17 left in the first half.

That shot was a wakeup call for Charlotte. The 49ers had a good run and led 39-32 at halftime.

Jamal Cannady led the Blue Bears with 21 points on 7-for-10 accuracy, shaking off a rough shooting night at USC Aiken on Tuesday. Paul Tako scored 11 for LC.

Nik Graves and Isaiah Folkes scored 13 each for the 49ers.

Charlotte (4-3) shot 44.6 percent to Livingstone’s 38.6. Charlotte hurt the Blue Bears with 10 3-pointers and had a 45-36 advantage on the boards.

It was a low-turnover game for both teams. Livingstone made only seven turnovers.

Livingstone    32    29   — 61

Charlotte        39    44    — 83

Livingstone scoring — Cannady 21, P. Tako 11, Collins-Johnson 6, Leak 5, Nipper 5, Jenkins 4, Minard 3, S. Tako 2,  Shaw 2, Herd 1, Rogers 1.