Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Junior Marco Richardson (Canton, Ohio/Northland CC) set career-highs with his fourth double-double of the season as he hammered visiting Davis & Elkins for 16 points and 16 rebounds in a dominating 84-65 win, Saturday night.
The Senators (8-12, 7-9) came into the contest with the same conference record as Charleston (10-11, 8-9) and were bent on snapping the two game winning-streak the Golden Eagles rode to Eddie King Gym. D&E exerted control from the opening tip using a fast paced offense keeping the big lineup of UC on their heels for much of the first ten minutes. A fast break layup from Davis & Elkins leading scorer Tim Turner at the 10:59 mark gave the visitors an 11 point advantage, which led to an immediate and furious timeout from University of Charleston head coach Mark Downey.
Charleston came out of the timeout an entirely different team and determined to work their inside game that has brought them an abundance of recent success. The offensive scheme was ran to perfection from every player on the court for the Golden Eagles as leading scorer Jon Liggins (Euclid, Ohio/Cuyahoga CC) who is usually a serious three-point threat was busy cutting his way through the lanes opened up by the UC post-players. Liggins slash maneuvers led to 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the first half alone, while his typical three-point partner Brandon Ross (Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park) kept the long shots warm hitting 2-of-3 attempts from behind the arc as he accumulated his average (7.9 ppg) in the opening stanza. UC rolled on to outscore D&E 15-to-7 in the final 7:38 to take a 42-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The second half saw the University of Charleston scorch the nets with 54 percent shooting (15-of-28) as they quickly expanded the halftime advantage to 18 points in the first five minutes of the final frame. Over the final 11:46 of the game UC directed the pace of the game with Richardson assuming the directors controls as he would pour in 11 points in the second half. The Charleston lead swelled to 30 points with 4:14 on the clock before Downey turned the game over to his bench to finish off with the Eddie King crowd loudly acknowledging this night’s success. The D&E starters would continue to play with pride to chip the lead back down to the final score of 84-65 when the clock struck 0:00 on the Senators.
Liggins led all players in the contest with 23 points and five assists. Beyond Richardson’s 16 points two other Golden Eagles also recorded double-digit efforts. Ross completed the night with 15 points, while the power paint presence of Ibrahim Marone (Trotwood, Ohio/Madison) accounted for 11 points and seven rebounds.
Davis & Elkins was paced by Ian Pinckney with 20 points, while Malik Tinsley followed close behind with 19 points and six rebounds.
Charleston heads into its WVIAC bye week carrying a three-game winning streak. UC will next be in action on Saturday, Feb. 12 for a 8:00 pm matchup against Glenville State in Eddie King Gym.
