Box Score
FAIRMONT, W.Va. - Charleston held off a late Fairmont State rally to knock off the Falcons 73-69, Thursday night on the road. Fairmont State was ranked No. 7 in the Atlantic Region.
Despite making only 5-of-10 free throws the Golden Eagles managed to clean up on the glass to extend possessions and limit Fairmont State to just one shot, down the stretch.
Charleston (12-11, 10-9) was led by Jon Liggins (Euclid, Ohio/Cuyahoga CC) with 19 points, while James Eversley (Fredericksburg, Va./Virginia Commonwealth) came off the bench to contribute a season-high 18 points. Marco Richardson (Canton, Ohio/Northland CC) continued to be a catalyst for the UC offense with 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Falcons (15-7, 13-7) were led by a double-double from Isaac Thornton with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Charleston, the league leader in rebound margin per game, had a 40-31 advantage on the glass. The Golden Eagles had 16 offensive rebounds.
Eversley provided a big lift off the bench for the Golden Eagles with 12 first half points. The teams traded leads in the first half, but niether team led by more than four points. Fairmont State shot 50 percent from the field, but allowed UC to control the glass and in the opening stanza, 18-12. The Golden Eagles took a one point lead, 33-32, at the break on a pair of free throws from Brandon Ross (Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park).
FSU immediately erased the halftime deficit and took a five point lead (38-33) within the first three minutes. The game remained close until the Golden Eagles went on a 13-2 run to go up 54-44 with 11 minutes to play.
Charleston led 57-46 with just under nine minutes to play, but the Falcons got right back into the game with a 7-0 run keyed by buckets from Green and Thornton and a three-pointer from Talley made it 57-53 with 6:09 to go. Fairmont State eventually pulled to within two at 61-59, but the Golden Eagle advantage swelled back to seven with just a minute to play.
The Falcons made a final comeback attempt after a three from Steve Custis and a pair of free throws from Thornton cut it to just two at 68-66 with 43 seconds remaining. Philip Outley (West Monroe, La./South Plains College) made a pair of free throws for Charleston, but Thornton promptly drilled a deep and strongly contested three-pointer to make it 70-69 with 32 seconds left.
Fairmont State fouled, and Outley missed both of his free throws, but UC strongman John White (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel) came up with the offensive rebound allowing UC to put Richardson at the line where he made 1-of-2. Trailing 71-69, Chris Talley missed a contested driving layup for FSU, and Richardson cleaned up the rebound pushing the ball up the court forcing FSU to foul White. White made both of his attempts to seal the 73-69 victory for the Golden Eagles.
Charleston goes for its sixth-straight with a quick turnaround as the Golden Eagles head to Seton Hill for a 6:00 pm contest on Saturday, February 19.
