Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Junior Brandon Ross (Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park) was nearly perfect as he led the University of Charleston men’s basketball team to the first win for new head coach Mark Downey, Wednesday night. Ross’ 20 points paced the Golden Eagles in a 96-72 victory.
Ross made 8-of-9 attempts from the floor, which included a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the three-point arc. Last season’s All-WVIAC Tournament selection Jon Liggins ended the evening with 17 points on 7-of13 shooting, but contributed five assists to the offensive attack of Charleston.
Bluefield State (0-2, 0-1) held the tight throughout the first half by shooting 55 percent from the floor with five three-pointers to send the game into the break with the Golden Eagles holding a hard-fought 48-38 advantage. The Downey high-pressure defense took control in the second half as the Big Blues managed just 38 percent shooting (8-of-21) and missing all five attempts from three-point range.
The constant pressure that forced 20 Bluefield State turnovers seemed to ignite a run-and-gun offense for Charleston as they were on fire in the second half shooting 73 percent (19-of-26) to pull away from BSU over the final five minutes of the contest.
Three additional Golden Eagles joined Ross & Liggins with double-digit scoring efforts on the evening. Newcomer Marco Richardson (Canton, OH/Northland CC) had 14 points and seven rebounds, while Malik Thomas (Forestville, MD/Univ. of Memphis) and Ibrahim Marone (Trotwood, Ohio/Madison) finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Golden Eagles now hit the road for two tough games in the 29th annual John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic in Highland Heights, KY on Friday, November 19 & Saturday, November 20. The first test will come against NAIA opponent Cincinnati-Clermont at 5:30pm on Friday, before taking on the defending Great Lakes Valley Conference champions and tournament host Northern Kentucky at 7:45pm on Saturday evening.
Live stats for all games this weekend will be available here at www.ucgoldeneagles.com
