Box Score Box Score

Coaches Corner #1

Athens, WV - The University of Charleston Men's Basketball team came off the long break to play tough, tight defense against Concord Thursday evening to earn a 66-50 victory over the Mountain Lions.

The Golden Eagles came out of the gates quickly showing no signs of rust from the layoff as they built an 11-0 lead in the first 5 minutes of play while also forcing three Mountain Lion turnovers in the process.  UC was able to maintain a comfortable cushion throughout the first half capitalizing on 10 first half turnovers by Concord resulting in 10 points off of those errors.  Charleston took a 14 point lead into the locker room with the scoreboard showing UC 34 - Concord 22.  Concord shot only 32% from the field in the first half going 7 for 22.

UC kept up the defensive pressure in the second half, forcing Concord into bad shots througout the next 20 minutes. However, Concord would close in on the Golden Eagles, drawing the margin down to just 6 points after a jumper by Nick Ruffin with nearly 11 minutes remaining in the contest.  Charleston responded with a 12-4 run to push the margin back up to 14 points with 6:45 remaining on the clock.  Concord  was never able to get the deficit under 12 for the remainder of the game as UC finished the game with a victory 66 - 50 for the Golden Eagles. 

UC's defense held Concord to 33% shooting for the game as they shot 16-48 from the field.  Terrell Lipkins (Canton, Ohio) led the Golden Eagles with 23 points on a solid shooting performance from the floor going 10-14. 

The Golden Eagles return to action Saturday, January 5 on the road against West Virginia Wesleyan College with tipoff set for 4pm.