Box Score

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Eladio Espinosa (Norlina, N.C.) showed he is still a scoring threat to be dealt with under the hoop in leading the University of Charleston men's basketball team to a 77-72 WVIAC win on the road at Shepherd, Thursday night.

Espinosa had been quiet for much of January before breaking out in the last week with three-consecutive double-digit scoring efforts culminated by his 16 point and seven rebound effort against the Rams, tonight.

Shepherd (8-9, 6-7) came out on fire hitting five three-pointers in the opening half as they hoped to avenge a 28-point dredging at the hands of the Golden Eagles (15-5, 10-4) from 12 days ago. The flurry of shots from behind the arc along with 50 percent shooting from the floor allowed the home standing Rams to run out to a 35-31 advantage at the midway point.

Charleston shifted the sands in the second half by scorching the nets on 14-of-23 attempts, which included 5-of-10 shots from three-point land. When the Golden Eagles find their mark from beyond the arc it opens an entirely new attack, which proves to be able to put points up in a hurry. Points in a hurry is exactly what stunned SU in the second half after the home team had built what looked to be a comfortable 14 point lead.

UC erased the deficit in four minutes with Paul "PJ" Reyes (Taylor, Mich.) taking the lead for good (53-52) with a layup at the 8:56 mark. The University of Charlston never looked back once they put some space on the scoreboard stretching their lead to as much as eight points headed into the final minute of play.

Shepherd hit a pair of three-point shots, including one from well beyond the arc in their comeback attempt. Charleston managed to keep the home team out of reach with a 5-of-6 effort at the charity stripe down the strech in order to secure the 77-72 victory.

Espinosa led Charleston in the scorebook, yet Reyes and Xavier Humphrey (Wake Forest, N.C.) followed close behind with 14 points each. Nine Golden Eagle players recorded double-digit minutes in the game with everyone recording points as UC continues to benefit from great depth that will become rapidly more important in the final weeks of the season.

Mark Downey and crew now get a day to recharge before embarking on a trip to Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday, Jan. 28. UC tips off in Johnstown, Pa. at 3:00 pm with live audio coverage available only at www.ucgoldeneagles.com