Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -  WV State stunned the University of Charleston men's basketball team 60-59 by withstanding three game-winning attempts in the final 12 seconds of the Kanawha Valley rivalry, Tuesday evening in Eddie King Gym.

UC (12-5, 7-4) managed to hit just 18-of-68 attempts for the contest, while the Yellow Jackets (8-7, 6-5) stayed just ahead on the scoreboard with a 41 percent (23-of-56) effort from the floor.

The Golden Eagles opened the contest shooting just 29 percent, but were able to take a one-point advantage (30-29) into the halfime break with six three-pointers.  Paul "PJ" Reyes (Taylor, Mich.) led the way for Charleston hitting three shots from behind the arc for 10 points, leading all scorers at the break.

WVSU struggled with the University of Charleston full-court press leading to 11 turnovers in the second stanza, yet the home squad was unable to take advantage of numerous chances at putting the game away with a dismal 24 percent shooting after the break. Charleston's size allowed the Golden Eagles to get the ball in the paint leading to increased opportunities from the foul line to stay within reach down the stretch.

Just as was needed after the Yellow Jackets took a four point lead with 1:30 left to play Evan Faulkner (Sandyhook, Ky.) drilled a highly-contested three-point shot to pull UC to within one point. Charleston would be unable to convert on three consecutive attempts at the rim as time clicked away allowing WVSU to slip out of Eddie King Gym with a hard-fought 60-59 victory.

Reyes led all scorers on the evening with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Faulkner rounded out the double-digit scorers for the University of Charleston with 11 points to go along with five rebounds. West Virginia State held advantages in most statistical categories except for rebounding as UC as they have all season long finished the night strong on the boards with a +4 rebounding margin.

Eladio Espinosa (Norlina, N.C.) came off the bench to provide the top shooting performance on the night going 4-of-6 for nine points, four rebounds and a steal.

"I'm really stunned with this game, we didn't attack the zone but had a few looks under the basket where we are strong but couldn't get it done tonight when it counted" stated Head Coach Mark Downey. "We got out 'toughed' tonight and were lucky to just be in the game shooting only 8-of-33 from three"

Charleston continues WVIAC play on the road at streaking Ohio Valley as they face the Fighting Scots at 4:00 pm on Saturday, Jan. 21.