FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Aleksander Kesic's three from the top of the key with three seconds remaining lifted Charleston past Fairmont State, 84-83, on Thursday evening at Joe Retton Arena. UC erased an 11-point FSU lead in the final 11 minutes of the game to pick up the victory.

After shooting just 35 percent in the opening half, Charleston shot a sizzling 63 percent in the second half and out-rebounded the Falcons, 47-27, in the victory. The Falcons outscored the Golden Eagles, 48-34, in the paint and held a 26-3 advantage in points off turnovers. The Falcons shot 47 percent from the floor and turned the ball over just five times in the loss.

Charleston (4-2, 2-1 MEC) was led by Chris Evans with 24 points on 9-of-15 from the floor. Vincent Dillard chipped in 18 points and Kesic finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Tino DiTrapano also filled the stat sheet for UC with nine points, seven boards and a team-high five assists.

Fairmont State shot 53 percent in the opening half, led by 13 points from Morris, to take a 46-34 lead into the locker room. FSU had 26 points in the paint and scored 12 points on six UC turnovers to help grab the double-digit advantage in the first half.

In the second half, however, UC dominated the glass with a 24-9 rebounding advantage and held a slim 24-22 margin scoring in the paint.

With the Falcons still holding a 70-60 lead with 8:39 remaining in the game, UC went on a game-changing 15-3 run over the next five minutes to grab a 77-75 advantage after a jumper by Dillard with under four minutes remaining. The Golden Eagles grabbed a four-point lead after a layup by Kesic, pushing their lead to four for the second time on as many possessions. After the teams traded turnovers, Wells found Morgan for the open three and the Falcons trailed by just one with 1:55 remaining. A minute and a half later, Harney was fouled going up for a layup and converted on a pair of free throws to give FSU its first lead since the 5:12 mark of the second half.

On the next UC possession, Morris forced a steal and UC fouled to put Wells at the line with 12 seconds remaining. Wells went 1-of-2 from the line and Ditrapano found a wide open Kesic at the top of the key for the game-winning three for Charleston. Morgan's three at the buzzer was blocked to seal the Charleston victory.

Nick Harney scored a team-high 20 points after going 8-of-13 from the field to lead the Fairmont State (4-2, 1-2 MEC). Chase Morgan came off the bench and scored 19 points after going 5-of-5 from behind the arc. Jamel Morris (17) and Caleb Davis (10) also reached double figures. Morris had a team-high six rebounds and Shammgod Wells had seven assists.

Charleston back in action Saturday Dec. 6th as they host MEC opponent Shepherd University with tip off slated for 4pm.