Birmingham, AL (SportsNetwork.com) - Perrin Buford had 14 points and five rebounds as Middle Tennessee defeated Charlotte 63-60 in the opening round of the Conference USA Tournament.

D.J. Jones was the only other double-digit scorer for the sixth-seeded Blue Raiders (17-15), finishing with 10 points.

MTSU will play Old Dominion Thursday in the quarterfinals.

Mike Thorne Jr. posted 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Torin Dorn added 17 points to lead the 11th-seeded 49ers (14-18).

Thorne sunk a pair of free throws to stake Charlotte, which led 30-29 at halftime, to a 60-58 edge with 1:23 left, but MTSU scored the final five points of the game. Buford made a jumper to tie it and after Pierria Henry missed a layup, Reggie Upshaw's dunk with 30 seconds to play put the Blue Raiders in front.

Thorne was off the mark on a 3-pointer, but Terrence Williams came down with an offensive rebound, Henry then turned the ball over and Giddy Potts split a pair of foul shots to make it 63-60 with nine ticks on the clock.

Williams' 3 was off the mark with a second left to seal the outcome.