Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Xavier Humphrey (Wake Forest, N.C.) ignited the Eddie King Gym crowd with a game tying shot with 1:50 remaining as the University of Charleston men's basketball team rallied from a double-digit deficit to win 82-78, Saturday evening.

Seton Hill (10-14, 8-12) looked to spoil the party on a night the Golden Eagles (21-5, 16-4) were honoring five seniors who have helped to elevate the University of Charleston program. The Griffins came off the pre-game ceremony hitting nearly every shot they tossed towards the rim to run out to a 17 point lead against the heavily favored Golden Eagles.

There were just five minutes left before halftime when UC finally recovered from the punch SHU had delivered off the opening tip, but when the Golden Eagles got to their feet they looked like the team that entered the night with eight-straight wins.

Charleston bounced back into the game by getting the ball under the rim to Eladio Espinosa (Norlina, N.C.) who's size and athletism couldn't be matched by Seton Hill. Espinosa was delivering blocks for the Golden Eagles defensively and getting to the foul line on the other end of the court as the home team clawed back to within eight points (45-37) headed into the locker room.

SHU continued to shoot well in the second stanza as they held off the UC charge on two seperate occasions before taking a 10 point advantage with 11:14 to play.

In the final 10 minutes of play the University of Charleston just whittled away at what energy the Griffins had left with a deep bench providing waves of scorers for head coach Mark Downey. The momentum shifted with 4:12 on the clock when sharpshooter Evan Faulkner (Sandyhook, Ky.) nailed a three-pointer, while being fouled. He capped off the four-point play to instantly get Charleston within four points and energize the crowd who had to that point been taken out of the game by SHU.

A minute later leading scorer Paul "PJ" Reyes (Taylor, Mich.) seemingly floated around defenders while in the air for an underhand layup to get within 76-75.

Seton Hill took their last gasp with a pair of free throws to expand their lead to 78-75, which would be short lived as Humphreys delivered the decisive blow on the next Charleston possession. UC clamped down defensively to keep Seton Hill off the scoreboard in the final minute of play as Faulkner and Reyes each dropped two points in the last 31 clicks to secure the hard fought 82-78 victory.

For the contest the University of Charleston bench outscored Seton Hill's 44-to-16.

Reyes led the way offensively with 27 points and seven rebounds, while Espinosa booked a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds in the win.

Faulkner hit two shots from behind the arc and was 5-of-6 at the charity stripe en route to a 15 point performance with a game-high three steals.

UC now hits the road to close out the regular season. They travel to Concord on Wednesday, Feb. 22 for a 7:30 pm contest as they look to seal the No. 2 seed in the WVIAC Tournament.