Coaches Corner Mark Downey; Adam Collins
Charleston, WV - Two of the biggest games on the schedule just happen to occur within a two-day time frame as UC will host our rivals from down the road in West Virginia State University on Saturday and WVIAC leading Men's & Women's teams from West Liberty University on Monday evening. Not to mention, the Hilltoppers are ranked #1 nationally on the men's side.
The University of Charleston women will try to rebound off a recent loss to Bluefield State against the Yellow Jackets who had dropped 7 straight contests before getting a win at Shepherd to go to 4-4 in the WVIAC. A victory for the Golden Eagles will put them a game over .500 and take their record to 4-5 in WVIAC play. It will also set up a big game with WVIAC leading West Liberty. An upset victory over the Hilltoppers will no doubt jump start this Golden Eagle squad for the second half of the season and also bring their conference record to 5 wins and 5 losses, putting them in good position down the home stretch of the season.
For the Golden Eagles to be successful, they will need to do a better job on the glass. For the season, UC is being outrebounded by 10 boards per game. If Charleston can hit the boards hard and continue scoring points (74 pts./game), it will put them in a position to get a much needed win against the Yellow Jackets but also make for an entertaining contest against West Liberty (78 pts./game). Coach Collins will have his girls ready for these two big matchups and will also get his first taste for this long standing rivalry between UC and WV State.
Coach Downey and the Golden Eagles (10-2) will be riding a 5 game win streak going into Saturday's game against WV State (6-7), with all 10 of UC's victories coming by double digits. UC seems to have come together following the loss to Fairmont on December 15 and are playing intense defense in the process. Charleston has held their opponents to scoring an average of just 57 points per game during the win streak, while scoring about 81 per contest. For many of UC's players this will be their first time meeting the Yellow Jackets, but will rely on the leadership from Charleston veterans Humphrey and Faulkner to stress the importance of focusing on the Yellow Jackets and throwing the records out of the window.
This all important matchup precedes the game against WVIAC leading and #1 nationally ranked West Liberty University (14-0) on Monday evening. The Hilltoppers come into the contest averaging 115 points/game while UC gives up only 67, so something is going to have to give. If UC is able to manage the clock, dictate tempo, and continue to play tight defense an upset will be in the making. This will be the fifth time UC/Morris Harvey has squared off against the top team in the nation, with the most recent coming in 2000 against Salem-Teikyo University. UC was able to pull off an upset against the Tigers, 105-92, behind a 50 point game from Ajamu Gaines who hit 9 3-pointers in victory.
The last meeting between UC and WLU came in last year's WVIAC tournament championship where UC dropped a heartbreaker in overtime 93-90. Coach Downey and his players look to get revenge for last year's defeat and are extremely excited to be hosting the #1 team in the nation in Eddie King Gym.
University of Charleston will also be running a few special promotions for the upcoming contests. Saturday is our BrickStreet Appreciation Game with all BrickStreet employees and family members getting free admission into the games. BrickStreet has been a long-time supporter of UC Athletics and will be presented with an appreciation gift during halftime of the Men's game.
On Monday against West Liberty, we will have a "Gold Rush" encouraging all fans to wear their gold UC gear in support of the Golden Eagles. We will also be giving away free gold "Eagles Nest" t-shirts to the first 50 UC students who come to the game. We want a raucous crowd for both games, making Eddie King Gym a difficult place to play for our visitors.
Game times for Saturday are a 4pm tip-off for the women followed by a 6pm tip-off for the men. For Monday, we are set to start the women's game at 5:30pm and the men's game at 7:30pm.
