SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Mike Thorne had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Denzel Ingram added 12 as UNC Charlotte held off a late second half charge and beat Kansas State 68-61 in the opening game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan on Thursday.
Charlotte (3-1) led by as many as 13 points in the second half and won their second straight despite being held under 80 points for the first time this season.
Nigel Johnson led the Wildcats with 14 points.
K-State's loss ends a two-game win streak. The Wildcats (2-2) led only once in the game, and struggled in the paint where they were outrebounded 46-34. It was the third time this season they have been beaten on the boards.
The 49ers will play the winner of Northeastern and Georgetown Friday.
As fouls mounted for Kansas State, Charlotte opened up 52-39 lead midway through the second half.
The Wildcats were able to hang around, though, and used a 13-2 run to cut down to 54-52 with 5:12 to play.
49ers' big man Willie Clayton fouled out during the run and Charlotte switched to a zone to stop the bleeding. The 49ers immediately got a stop and basket on the other end, but then lost Thorne for the day after he picked up his fifth foul.
They then got some breathing room again thanks to a 3-pointer by Denzel Ingram and layup by Terrence Williams that made it 61-53.
Kansas State hoped to get more of a contribution from forward Thomas Gipson, who entered the tournament having played only 19 minutes on the season after missing the Wildcats' first two games with concussion-like symptoms.
He was saddled with foul trouble throughout, and fouled out with about 13 minutes to go in the game. He finished with just two points.
The game was tied at 30 after a fast first half that included its share of turnovers on both sides.
Charlotte forced the action early, opening up a 20-8 lead. The 49ers offense came mostly by Clayton, who had 10 first-half points and had his way in the paint.
K-State was stunted by some early foul trouble, with both Gipson and later Nino Williams forced to sit stretches with a pair of fouls.
The Wildcats defense picked up late in the half, though, and got back into the game with 13-2 spurt that included a pair of 3-pointers by Johnson.