Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A 54 point second half explosion paved the way for the University of Charleston men's basketball team to book an 87-56 blowout of WVIAC opponent Davis & Elkins, Monday night.

D&E (1-5, 1-4) kept pace with the Golden Eagles (6-2, 3-2) throughout the first half enduring multiple runs by the Golden Eagles, yet by shooting 46 percent from the floor and holding UC to just 36 percent the Senators were never out of reach at any point.

A Terrell Lipkins (Canton, Ohio) tip-in with 4:35 remaining in the opening half handed Charleston its largest advantage of the half at nine points (29-20), but it would not hold up for long as a quick timeout rallied the Senators offensive efforts. A 13-0 run by Davis & Elkins followed allowing the visitors to not only close the half with momentum but take a 31-29 lead with just 1:26 before the break.

UC was able to level the scoreboard with a strong move to the basket by Robbie Dreher (Greenville, SC), which set the halftime tally at 33-33. A strong presence on the glass led to a 13-2 advantage in second chance points by the Golden Eagles.

The first four shots coming out of the break were made three-pointers, two each by Evan Faulkner (Sandyhook, Ky.) and Hayden Annett (Portland, Australia), that sparked a quick strike scoring effort that nearly put the game out of reach immediately. Before Davis & Elkins to collect their thoughts and change the defensive zone scheme that UC had found ways to exploit the score was 50-36 only five minutes into the final stanza.

Marwan Sarhan (Alexandria, Egypt) booked his first career points for the Golden Eagles at the 8:44 mark with a pair of free throws that handed Charleston a 20 point advantage from which they never looked back. UC kept the man-to-man pressure up defensively devestating one of the top three-point shooting teams in the conference by holding them to 1-for-13 from behind the arc allowing the Golden Eagles to cruise down the stretch.

The second half saw Charleston's bench pitch-in for 22 points in the final 20 minutes as Tino diTrapano (Charleston, WV) nailed a trey going away to set the final score at 87-56.

UC dominated the boards to a 52-to-34 differential leading to a 32-2 advantage in second chance points.

Five players saw double-digit scoring efforts on the evening led by Dreher and Annett who each registered 14 point performances. Lipkins narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds from the point guard position, while Aleksander Kesic (Belgrade, Serbia) and Quincy Washington (Florence, SC) booked 10 points apiece.

Next on the slate for the University of Charleston is a trip to Urbana on Dec. 19 at 7:30 pm.