EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Denzel Ingram scored 18 points as Charlotte defeated UAB 83-77 in a Conference USA tournament game Wednesday night.

The victory over eight-seeded UAB (18-13) sends ninth-seeded Charlotte (17-13) to the MEAC quarterfinal tournament game against No. 1 seed Louisiana Tech (25-6) on Thursday.

Terrence Williams added 16 points for the 49ers. Shawn Lester scored 11 and Marcus Bryan and Ben Cherry had 10 apiece.

Charlotte jumped to a 17-7 lead early and had a 46-33 advantage at the break. The 49ers continued to dominate in the second half, extending their lead to 17 points, 60-43, with a Williams layup at 13:01 and to 23, 74-51, on a Willie Clayton bucket with 4:44 left. The Blazers came back to within 10 in the final seconds with 3-pointers by Thaddeus Rideau and Karl Morton but it was not enough.

Chad Frazier led the Blazers with 19 points. Tyler Madison chipped in 11.

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