GAME NOTES: The Charlotte 49ers and the South Carolina Gamecocks will meet up in the semifinals of the Charleston Classic at TD Arena on Friday night.

The winner moves on to Saturday's championship game against either Miami- Florida or Akron, while the losers face off in the third-place game.

Charlotte needed two overtimes to decide its opening-round contest but eventually finished on the positive end of a 106-97 decision over Penn State. The win allowed the 49ers to move to 2-0 on the season after previously downing Elon on the road on Sunday, 73-60.

South Carolina had a much easier time in its opening-round win, as it cruised to a 69-45 triumph over Cornell on Thursday. The Gamecocks successfully bounced back from a 69-65 loss to Baylor on Tuesday to pull to 2-1 on the campaign.

The Gamecocks and the 49ers have never before played one another on the hardwood.

The 49ers coughed up a 17-point lead with less than 12 minutes to play in regulation to PSU, allowing the game-tying 3-pointer in the waning seconds to force overtime, but after playing to another tie after one extra session, they took control in the second overtime to claim the nine-point win. They shot an impressive 49.2 percent from the field, including 9-of-19 from 3-point range, and they were active and effective at the free-throw line as well (33-of-46). Braxton Ogbueze led the way with 26 points, draining all 11 of his free-throw tries. Mike Thorne Jr. was a beast in the paint with 23 points and 16 rebounds, while Terrence Williams (13 points), Torin Dorn (12 points) and Keyshawn Woods (11 points) were also integral in the win.

On the young season, Charlotte scores just shy of 90 ppg on 49.6 percent shooting from the floor, while holding opponents to just 35.8 percent shooting and 78.5 ppg. Ogbueze nets 19.0 ppg and has drained all but one of his 17 tries from the stripe. Thorne (15.5 ppg, 14.5 rpg) is an anchor down low, and Dorn and Pierria Henry both net 10.0 ppg.

The Gamecocks were far from their best on the offensive end of the floor in the opening round, as they shot just 37.9 percent from the field, but luckily their defensive performance was outstanding in the 24-point win, holding Cornell to 26.9 percent shooting while forcing 17 turnovers. Sindarius Thornwell poured in 14 points to lead the team, knocking down 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. Mindaugas Kacinas came off the bench to log a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

On the season, South Carolina is scoring a solid 71.7 ppg while allowing only 55.3 ppg. Tyrone Johnson is the leading scorer with 13.3 ppg, with Thornwell hot on his heels at 12.0 ppg.

These evenly matched teams should be in for a hard-fought battle from start to finish, but the 49ers' balance will win out.