Box Score
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The University of Charleston men's basketball team got their season started with a bang as they eclipsed the century mark for a 107-81 victory over Puerto Rico-Mayaguez in the Nove Southeastern Thanksgiving Tournament, Friday evening.

Aleksander Kesic (Belgrade, Serbia) got his UC career started off quickly as he got the first look at the basket of the 2012-13 season.  Terrell Lipkins (Canton, Ohio) quickly slipped the ball through the middle of the paint to Kesic who delivered the opening points for a lead the Golden Eagles never reliquished.

Kesic was dominant in the paint for the first 20 minutes of play as his jumper at the 15:29 mark started a 14-0 run, which vaulted Charleston to a 21 point advantage. Xavier Humphrey (Wake Forest, N.C.) did his part on defense during the run by closing two PR-Mayaguez fast breaks with towering rejections off the glass.

The larger and more physical Golden Eagle lineup held the advantage in the paint outscoring the Bulldogs 28-8 with 17 points coming from the UC bench leading to a 53-37 halftime lead.

Just as in the first half Kesic got the second stanza started with a power move in the paint for an easy layup. Charleston kept the pace up through the second half as Puerto Rico-Mayaguez had no answer to the depth and speed of the University of Charleston lineup.Humphrey hit a three-pointer with 14:12 left in the game for a 23 point lead to equal the highest point difference of the night.

Charleston kept the distance on the scoreboard in the 20 ponit range down the stretch with Hayden Annett (Portland, Australia) sinking a pair of free throws with 2:22 left to create the final margin for the contest.

UPR-Mayaguez stayed within reach by converting 26 points off 23 Golden Eagle turnovers, while the University of Charleston completely owned the lane with a 56-22 advantage scoring in the paint. Also contributing in the win was 32 points from the UC bench as 12 players saw extended action.

Lipkins slashed to the basket with ease all night for a game-high 20 points and six assists, while Kesic was just behind with his great play under the basket ending in 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Humphrey had a double-digit scoring night with 14 points, while newcomers Quincy Washington (Florence, SC) and Corey Jackson (Louisville, KY) followed with 13 each. Rounding out the top scorers on the evening was Annett with 10 points in 19 minutes of action.

UC hit 57 percent of their attempts from the floor in the victory including 10-of-21 attempts from behind the arc.

With the win Charleston advances to face host Nova Southeastern at 7:30 pm on Saturday, Nov. 24 in the championship game of the Thanksgiving Tournament.