CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Charleston men's basketball withstood a late rally by West Virginia State University to cling to a 76-70 win over their Kanawha Valley rival, the first of two regular season matchups between the Golden Eagles and Yellow Jackets. 
 
UC controlled the opening tip and scored on a layup by Jonathan Tshibuy, giving the Golden Eagles a lead that they never relinquished.  Charleston held a lead as large 10 points in the first half but the Jackets played a solid final three minutes to trim UC's advantage to just six, 38-32, going into the locker room after 20 minutes of play.  LJ Johnson carried UC in the first stanza, scoring 10 points, dishing out four assists and coming up with two steals. 
 
Charleston's lead ballooned to 14 points, 64-50, near the eight-minute mark of the second half only to see the Jackets fight their way back into the game down the stretch.  WVSU would cut into UC's lead over the next eight minutes and get it to a one possession game, 68-66, with 1:43 left on the second half clock.  Charleston wasn't to be denied this time around, canning all six of their free throw attempts in the final minutes to earn the six-point, 76-70, victory.
 
The win stops a six-game losing streak for the Golden Eagles and marks the fifth consecutive victory for coach Dwaine Osborne over West Virginia State.  UC had four players in double figures led by Elliott Cole's 16 points while Johnson and Tshibuy scored 14 and 11 respectively.  Justin Coleman turned in another double-double, scoring 10 and grabbing 11 rebounds.  Coleman was also Charleston's lead assist man with five dimes on the night.
 
UC (10-7, 4-7) looks to make it two in a row with a matchup at UVa.-Wise on Saturday.  Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.