CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The University of Charleston men’s basketball team looked sharp and poised for an upset using its power inside game to dominate the smaller line-up of visiting Wheeling Jesuit….for a half.
The Golden Eagles (5-8, 3-6) used the brute force of Ibrahim Marone (Trotwood, Ohio / Madison) and the elusive dribble-drive ability of leading scorer Jon Liggins (Cleveland, Ohio / Cuyahoga CC) to exert control of the contest early. UC pulled away from the smaller Cardinals (7-4, 5-4) lineup over the first 15 minutes of the game to get up by 11 points (37-26), before a switch in the offensive style of Wheeling Jesuit would turn the game around.
WJU moved away from being dependent on the jump shot over the tall UC defenders and instead decided to put their heads down to slice to the basket, which was to say the least effective. The Cardinals managed to get to the line four times in the two and a half minutes before break, yet hit just half the free throws to send the teams into the locker room with the Golden Eagles leading 38-33. Charleston outscored Wheeling Jesuit 20-to-8 in the paint in the first half with Marone and Liggins accounting for 18 of the points, each with nine.
In the second half, a different team came out of the locker room for Charleston as WJU used its new found treasure of an offense to turn the five-point halftime deficit into a 10-point advantage after just six minutes of play. As Charleston battled the issues it has faced in closing games this season, Wheeling Jesuit slowly pulled out of reach behind shooting 63 percent in the second half (19-of-30) to comfortably put the game away and secure the 86-65 win.
"We won't take a charge," Downey said. "People figure out halfway through the first half that if you just drive it at us, good things will happen. They just out-toughed us.
"I've said it over and over again, and I know people get sick of hearing it, and my guys get sick of hearing it. But it's the truth."
Liggins and Marone were the only Golden Eagles in double-figures for the contest, while Wheeling Jesuit had four players led by Steve Catich’s 25 points.
The Golden Eagles will shake off the loss and look for vengeance quickly as they face off against conference opponent Shepherd at 4pm on Saturday, January 15. Live stats and audio will be available for the contest here at ucgoldeneagles.com
