Charlotte, N.C. ? There’s something about games against top-10 opponents that makes Charlotte play just a little bit harder than usual.

Curtis Withers scored 23 points, including two free throws with 30 seconds left, to help the 49ers beat their third top-10 team of the season with a 77-71 victory Thursday night over No. 9 Louisville.

Charlotte (15-5 overall, 7-2 Conference USA) also won at then-No. 7 Syracuse and then-No. 8 Cincinnati, but needs more victories over quality opponents to strengthen its case for an NCAA Tournament bid. The 49ers have a habit of losing games they should win — such as home contests against George Washington and UAB.

“I guess the exposure makes us go harder against the bigger teams,” Withers said. “We’ve lost some games we shouldn’t have, and those are learning lessons. We try to turn it up against the big teams.”

The 49ers have won four straight games, but this was their first big win at home, and the students stormed the court to celebrate.

Afterward, Louisville coach Rick Pitino said the practice of rushing the court needed to be examined.

“Something has to be done about security,” he said. “Our players almost got trampled. If people want to run on the court, fine, but jumping over people … security has got to be better.”

It was just one issue Pitino addressed: He also denied speculation he might be interested in coaching at St. John’s.

“I will say it one more time because this is the 101st time I have said it: I am ending my coaching career at the University of Louisville,” he said. “The train stopped a long time ago for me.”

Charlotte players Martin Iti (2), Chris Sager (21), Calvin Clemmons (35) and Butter Johnson (12) celebrate as time expires in a 77-71 victory over Louisville. Charlotte stunned the No. 9-ranked Cardinals Thursday at Halton Arena in Charlotte, N.C.

Louisville (17-4, 7-3) lost for the third time in four games and blew a 12-point lead, partly because Luke Whitehead, Francisco Garcia and Nate Daniels each played most of the second half with four fouls.

Charlotte used an 11-0 run to pull back into the game with 5:34 to play, but it still wasn’t decided until a frantic final minute.

Withers gave the 49ers their first lead of the second half, 67-66, on a jumper with 1:42 to go, and Louisville regained the lead on Garcia’s basket.

Then Brendan Plavich, having a horrendous shooting night, finally converted a three-point attempt to put Charlotte up 70-68 with 56 seconds to go. Garcia calmly answered with his own three for Louisville to put the Cardinals back up, but Mitchell Baldwin responded by going coast-to-coast for a layup that drew a foul.

“Baldwin has great speed, and we were in foul trouble,” Pitino said. “We just made very poor defensive plays, and we’ve been a very good defensive team. And I’m talking about simple recognition plays.”

Baldwin missed the free throw after his layup, but Withers got the rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws to put Charlotte up 74-71. Louisville turned the ball over on the rest of its possessions.

Baldwin had a superb game while filling in for senior guard Demon Brown, Charlotte’s second-leading scorer at 12.6 points per game. He served a one-game suspension stemming from his arrest for allegedly communicating threats against three people.

Baldwin finished with 13 points, six assists, two steals and one turnover while playing all 40 minutes.

“I call him the fastest man on the planet,” Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. “He got a little tired, but he made huge plays, and I couldn’t be happier for him.”

No. 7 Gonzaga 71, San Francisco 48

San Francisco — Cory Violette had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Gonzaga won its 13th straight game. Blake Stepp and Kyle Bankhead each added 11 points as Gonzaga improved to 7-0 in road games and won its 13th in a row against the Dons, including a seventh consecutive game at Memorial Gym. Tyrone Riley led San Francisco with 15 points and six rebounds, an improvement for the Dons from their 92-50 loss to Gonzaga in Spokane last month in which no San Francisco player scored in double digits. The Bulldogs (20-2, 10-0 WCC) can clinch their eighth West Coast Conference regular-season title with a victory Saturday at Saint Mary’s. They have reached 20 wins for the 11th time since 1992.

No. 16 Arizona 97, USC 70

Tucson, Ariz. — Salim Stoudamire scored 22, and Arizona reversed a loss last month to slumping USC. Down by a point at the break, the Wildcats (15-6, 7-5 Pac-10 Conference) outscored USC 58-30 with a parade of spectacular fast-break dunks. Arizona avenged one of its worst losses of the season — 99-90 at USC Jan. 15. The Trojans (9-12, 4-8) have lost six of seven since. Gregg Guenther Jr. led the Trojans with 17 points.

No. 19 Utah State 69, CS Northridge 47

Los Angeles — Mark Brown had a career-high 25 points, and Nate Harris 14 points and a career-best 13 rebounds in Utah State’s 17th straight victory. The Aggies (20-1, 12-0 Big West) shot 75 percent in the first half to take command and wound up shooting 63.4 percent.

No 20 Wake Forest 82, Clemson 67

Clemson, S.C. — Justin Gray scored a career-high 29 points, and Wake Forest ended a two-game losing streak. The Demon Deacons (14-6, 5-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) had lost six of their past eight after rising to No. 4 with an 11-0 start. The Deacons beat the Tigers (9-12, 2-8) for the 11th time in 12 meetings.