CHARLESTON, W.Va.- Paul "PJ" Reyes (Taylor, Mich.) continued his early season tear leading the University of Charleston men's basketball team beyond the 100-point mark for the second game in a row. UC dispatched WVIAC contender Pitt-Johnstown 102-86, Saturday night.

Pitt-Johnstown (2-2) outshot Charleston (4-0) in the first half hitting 62 percent of their shots, yet it was the constant pressure applied by the Golden Eagle defense that swayed the results hitting the scoreboard. UC forced nine first half turnovers by the Mountain Cats that led directly to 17 points for the home team who were also helping themselves with the three-ball. Reyes had the hot-hand early hitting 4-of-5 attempts from well behind the three-point line; he would finish with 16 points in the opening stanza.

Charleston's bench proved to be a major factor in the contest, especially early as the Golden Eagles pushed the tempo and continued to throw fresh bodies on the court to press the UPJ offense. Xavier Humphrey (Wake Forest, N.C.) came off the bench to become a major factor in the game as he netted seven points and four rebounds before halftime to finish just behind Reyes at the break. Going into the locker room the score was 47-38, but the game was played much closer than the lights on the scoreboard showed.

Leaning on Patrick Grubbs, a player many considered a West Virginia Conference Player of the Year candidate, Pitt-Johnstown took their offense inside the paint trying to use its big bodies to make a dent in the Charleston advantage. Grubbs big presence in the lane helped UPJ stay within reach for much of the second half, but it was the scrappy strength of the Golden Eagles that would prevail. Despite fighting against the 6-8, 280 size of Grubbs UC held a +13 rebounding advantage led by Marco Richardson (Canton, Ohio) with nine rebounds.

As the home team pulled away with its constant pressure it was newcomer Eladio Espinosa (Norlina, N.C.) that put the exclamation point on the night. Espinosa powered through the Mountain Cat defense on two occasions for slams that rattled the rafters of Eddie King Gym. He would end the night with 14 points and six rebounds.

Just as the game started UPJ ended with a 69 percent to 47 percent shooting edge, but Charleston's persistence on the boards led to a 19-9 differential on second-chance points to go along with the 27 points off turnovers.

Pulling away in the final four minutes was assisted by a strong performance by UC on the free-throw line as the Golden Eagles buried 24-of-29 shots at the charity stripe.

Evan Faulkner (Sandyhook, Ky.) and Noah Fischer (Kenna, W.Va.) each chipped in 13 points on the night.

The win keeps Charleston's record spotless at 4-0 heading into a big regional matchup with Johnson C. Smith on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 pm. Follow all the action of the big game here at ucgoldeneagles.com as a live audio broadcast will be provided.