Box Score
WVIAC Tournament Bracket

INSTITUTE, W.Va. - The No. 25 ranked University of Charleston men's basketball team snapped its skid against rival WV State with a 74-68 win where they controlled the contest from tip-to-buzzer, Saturday afternoon.

Brandon Ross (Chicago, Ill.) provided highlights of his own in his final regular-season contest in a Golden Eagle uniform as he booked his 1,000th career point. Ross made 5-of-8 shots for 10 points to become the 45th player to score 1,000 career points in UC men's basketball history.

Charleston (23-5, 18-4) opened the afternoon in front of a rowdy crowd at Fleming Hall, but proved to not be shaken as the visitors ran out to an 8-0 advantage forcing a quick timeout by WV State. UC shot just 39 percent to close out the opening half, but held a continious lead with four three-pointers and 8-of-10 attempts at the charity stripe. Going into the break the Golden Eagles held a six-point lead (38-32) behind the shooting prowess of leading scorer Paul "PJ" Reyes (Taylor, Mich.) and Evan Faulkner (Sandyhook, Ky.) who each booked 11 points.

The second half saw a flurry of whistles that put WV State at the free throw line twice as many times as the visitors. UC countered the foul trouble by scorching the nets with 52 percent shooting (14-of-27) to keep the lead just out of reach of the home squad.

West Virginia State made a run with under two minutes to play, but the University of Charleston buckled down with physical play to contain possessions and dampened the charge by hitting 5-of-6 shots from the free throw line for the six point win.

UC made just 7-of-25 shots from three-point range, yet pressured WV State continiously down the floor allowing them just one shot from three.

The win gives Charleston its 23rd win of the season, which moves this season into the top-10 all-time during the programs 94-year history.

Reyes led all Golden Eagle scorers with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Faulkner ended the afternoon with 13 points, while Ross finished out the double-digit scorers with 10.

Sophomore Montavious Marc (Jacksonville, Fla.) came off the bench to provide arguably his top performance of the year with seven points and four rebounds in just nine minutes of action.

The win clinches the No. 2 seed for the University of Charleston in the WVIAC Tournament, which in turn gives the Golden Eagles a first round home contest. UC will host Bluefield State at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at Eddie King Gym.