CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Curtis Withers scored a game-high 20 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Charlotte over Georgia State 80-65 on Saturday.
The win handed Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz his 300th career coaching victory, which includes a 119-77 record with the 49ers in six-plus seasons.
Charlotte (5-2) broke open a close game, erupting on an 18-4 run to start the second half and took a 46-31 advantage with 12:43 left in the game.
The 49ers' lead reached 17 points before Georgia State (3-5) began to climb back. A 3-pointer from Boyd Copeland cut the Panthers' deficit to seven, trailing 64-57, with 3:42 left.
Brendan Plavich then sandwiched 3-pointers around a dunk by Martin Iti to push the 49ers' lead to 13 with 1:35 left.
Georgia State (3-5) never got closer than 10 the rest of the game.
Sylvester Morgan led four Panthers in double figures with 16.
Both teams rank nationally in the top-10 in 3-pointers made per game, but neither team could find its mark from long-range. The teams combined to connect on 12-of-48 three-pointers, and neither team shot better than 41 percent from the field.
Charlotte shot 31 percent In the first half _ including 2-of-12 3-pointers _ and Georgia State hit 33 percent.
