Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The University of Charleston men’s basketball team proved it is a team to be watching for in the West Virginia Conference tournament as it led Kanawha Valley rival WV State the first 36 minutes of the game before stumbling late to drop a hard-fought 99-94 decision, Saturday afternoon.
UC (14-12, 12-10) wasted no time in showing the Yellow Jackets (17-9, 16-6) they were going to be in the game to win it as typical power man John White (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel) showed a soft-touch with a long range three-pointer just 15 seconds into the contest. The Golden Eagles continued to light the nets on fire for the opening half shooting 70 percent (19-of-27), which included 5-of-8 attempts from behind the arc. The hot hands from the floor allowed Charleston to keep a speedy WV State lineup just out of reach for much of the half as the Golden Eagles managed a seven point advantage at halftime.
The teams showed true rivalry flair in the second half battling for every touch and loose ball, yet the seven point cushion for UC held true until 7:19 remaining in the game. Corey Bethea hit a three-pointer to close the visitors to within five points at 84-79. Charleston would counter by going 2-for-7 over the next five minutes creating a window the dangerous offensive lineup of the Yellow Jackets would exploit.
WV State’s fleet-footed and unpredictable point guard Josh Miller ran his team back into the game with hard cuts through the lane using his body to create contact and get himself to the free-throw line on back-to-back trips down the court to turn a 91-91 deadlock into a four-point WVSU lead. UC did not recover from the fast-paced comeback over the final two minutes as Charleston had its chances to get within reach in the last 50 seconds, yet hit just 1-of-4 foul shots with West Virginia State sinking all four of their attempts in the span leading to the final score of 99-94.
Leading scorer Jon Liggins (Cleveland, Ohio/Cuyahoga CC) paved the way for UC with 23 points and three assists. Junior Marco Richardson (Canton, Ohio/Northland CC) continued his late-season surge with a career-high 22 points, while hauling in seven rebounds and three steals. White ended the afternoon with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Neither team will look past seeing the other again next week in the conference tournament, yet each will host games in the first round of the West Virginia Conference tournament on Tuesday, March 1. Charleston secured the No. 7 seed in the tournament and will face No. 10 Davis & Elkins at 7:30pm in Eddie King Gym, while No. 2 WVSU hosts No. 15 Glenville State the same night. WVSU and UC would be slated to meet in the conference quarterfinals on Thursday, March 3 should each team win their opening round games.
WVIAC Tournament Bracket
