Charlotte 68, Kansas State 61: Mike Thorne Jr. had 16 points and 11 rebounds as the 49ers upset the Wildcats on the opening day of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Denzel Ingram added 12 points off the bench for Charlotte (3-1), which advances to play Northeastern on Friday despite committing 19 turnovers and shooting 39.3 percent from the floor. Willie Clayton added 10 points and 10 rebounds and Pierria Henry, who came in leading the nation in steals at 4.7, finished with 10 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals for the 49ers.

Nigel Johnson scored 14 points off the bench to lead Kansas State, which meets Georgetown in the losers' bracket Friday. Marcus Foster and Shane Southwell contributed 11 points apiece for the Wildcats (2-2).

Charlotte surged to a 20-8 lead midway through the first half as Kansas State starting forward D.J. Johnson picked up two fouls in the game’s first three minutes and his replacement, Thomas Gipson, was whistled for two in 21 seconds, putting both on the bench. The Wildcats finally found their footing and worked their way back into a 30-30 tie at the half.

Johnson, the Wildcats’ tallest player at 6-9, was called for his fourth foul with 13:17 left and Thorne converted the three-point play to give the 49ers a 43-36 lead and they quickly stretched the advantage to 13 with 11:35 remaining. The 49ers then went without a field goal for the next 7:21, allowing Kansas State to cut the deficit to two with 5:13 left, but the 49ers were able to hang on in their first meeting against Kansas State.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Kansas State shot 37.3 percent from the field, 5-for-26 from 3-point range and was outrebounded 46-34. … Ingram returned after missing the first three games with a foot injury. … Kansas State coach Bruce Weber was the top assistant at Purdue when Charlotte coach Alan Major was the student manager, and Major later served as an assistant under Weber at Southern Illinois.