INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Charleston earned a come-from-behind victory Thursday evening at the Walker Convocation Center against rival West Virginia State University, defeating the Yellow Jackets 70-68 for their fourth consecutive win.
 
WVSU started strong in the Kanawha Valley rivalry game, holding double digit leads for much of the first 10 minutes of play but Charleston whittled the lead down to six, 21-27, at the under five media timeout despite frigid first half shooting.  The Yellow Jackets answered with a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to claim a 36-23 lead, forcing Charleston's coach Osborne to take a timeout with 1:55 to play.  UC closed the half with four unanswered points to get the deficit under 10, trailing 27-36 going into halftime.
 
The Golden Eagles brought some needed enthusiasm to start the second half and outscored the Jackets 15-4 over the first seven minutes, claiming their first lead, 42-40, after a Darrion Stokes-Graham wing three.  At the midway point of the final 20 minutes, UC's Tino diTrapano broke a 45-45 tie with a layup to give Charleston a two-point edge going into the final 10 minutes.  However, a WVSU 7-0 run put the home team up four, 52-48, before an Aleks Kesic layup ended the run and brought Charleston within a bucket.
 
The Yellow Jackets held a five-point lead late in the contest but some timely three's by Stokes-Graham, Justin Coleman and diTrapano gave Charleston a four-point edge, 66-62, with under two minutes to play.   The Golden Eagles struggled to close out the game from the foul line in the final minute of action, as State had a couple looks inside the paint in the final few seconds but both attempts drew iron.  Jevonte Hughes secured the final rebound with Charleston escaping Institute with a 70-68 win.