CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The University of Charleston Basketball teams are set to return home on Saturday as they play host to the Falcons of Notre Dame College with tip off scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (Women's) and 4:00 p.m. (Men's) at the Wehrle Innovation Center. Following Saturday's matchup, the Golden Eagles are set to host Concord at home on Wednesday and will travel to cross-town rival West Virginia State on Sunday, January 26
th.
Media Coverage:
Live Stats and video feed will be available for Saturday's games through the links supplied below:
Men's Basketball Outlook:
The University of Charleston Golden Eagles Men's Basketball team (13-2, 7-2 MEC) defeated the Blue Knights of Urbana University by a score of 80-64 on Wednesday evening at the Grimes Center. The Golden Eagles were led offensively by
Seth O'Neal who finished the game with a career-high in points (27), along with 3PT field goals made (5). In addition,
Devon Robinson recorded his 14
th career double-double while
Drew Rackley moved into the Top 10 in program history in 3PT field goals made. With the win, Charleston extended their win streak to eight games and hold the top spot in the Mountain East Conference Standings over West Liberty.
On Wednesday at Urbana, both teams got off to a slow start, as through the first five minutes of the game, the Golden Eagles held just a 6-2 lead over the opposition. Charleston's defense pressured the Blue Knight offense as Urbana was able to convert on just one of their first nine shot attempts. The Golden Eagles increased their lead to 11-4 behind five early points from Rackley. O'Neal increased the Golden Eagle lead to seven at the halfway mark of the first half on a made three-point attempt, increasing his scoring total to seven. O'Neal and the Golden Eagles increased their lead 12 with 7:14 remaining in the half.
After exchanging buckets, the Golden Eagles carried a 37-24 lead into the break and was led offensively by O'Neal, who scored 18 first-half points. The Golden Eagles never trailed in the opening half as despite being outscored 13-0 in bench points as only four Golden Eagles scored in the first half, including 12 from Rackley. Charleston shot 12-of-25 (48.0%) from the floor in the half while executing on 8-of-14 attempts from beyond the arc, good for 57.1%. The Golden Eagles held the Blue Knights to just 37.0% from the field in the first half on 10-of-27 shooting including zero trips to the free throw line.
Both teams exchanged buckets through the first few minutes of the second half before Charleston extended their lead to 19 with 11:00 remaining in the game, leading 54-35. O'Neal increased his scoring total to 25 while shooting 5-of-7 from 3PT range. Robinson helped the Golden Eagles take a commanding lead with 10 second-half points through the first nine minutes of play coming out of the break, increasing his total to 14.
The Golden Eagles held onto a 68-48 lead with 4:57 remaining in the contest. After just four first-half points, Robinson was able to finish the game with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals while O'Neal finished with 27 points, six assists, and five rebounds as the Golden Eagles held on for an 80-64 victory.
Full recap and box score
here
The Golden Eagles continue to shoot the ball well and come into Wednesday holding the 3
rd highest field goal percentage in the country (52.5%). In addition, the Golden Eagles are ranked 5
th in the country in rebound margin (9.8). Devon Robinson leads the MEC in rebounds (150), while
Lamont McManus leads the conference in field goal percentage (66.9%), good for 8
th in the nation. Both McManus and Robinson are ranked in the Top-15 in Division II in field goal percentage.
Notre Dame comes into the contest holding a record of 4-11 (2-7 MEC) after dropping their most recent matchup with West Virginia State on Wednesday by a score of 94-85. The Falcons are led offensively by Levi Frankland who averages 17.53 points per contest while pulling down just over five rebounds per contest. Just behind Frankland is DeAnthony Owens, who on average scores 15.6 points per game while notching just under seven rebounds per game.
In their history, the Golden Eagles and Falcons have squared off 12 times with Charleston holding a 9-3 advantage. The Golden Eagles owned a four-game win streak before losing their most recent matchup last season in South Euclid, Ohio by a score of 75-69.
Women's Basketball Outlook:
The University of Charleston Golden Eagles Women's Basketball team (12-3, 7-2 MEC), had their nine-game win streak snapped on Wednesday evening against Urbana as the Blue Knights defeated the Golden Eagles by a score of 83-78 in overtime. The Golden Eagles held a seven-point lead headed into the fourth quarter before the Blue Knights outscored Charleston 21-14 in the final frame, sending the game to overtime where the home team became the eventual winner. The Golden Eagles were led offensively by
Brooklyn Pannell, who finished the game with 15 points, six rebounds, and two assists. Emily Simon finished the game recording a season-high in steals (3), while tying a season-high in points with 12.
On Wednesday, Charleston and Urbana were deadlocked seeing three lead changes before the end of the first quarter. At the end of the frame, the Golden Eagles led 21-17 while shooting 8-of-16 from the field.
The Golden Eagles continued to lead through the second quarter leading by 16 with just under four minutes to play. The Blue Knights put together a 14-2 run over the next two minutes to tie the game up at 36-all with 1:21 to play in the half.
Megan Haines scored the final bucket of the half, bringing the score to 42-40 in favor of the Golden Eagles heading into the break.
Charleston took an 11-point lead with 3:40 to go in the third, with the Blue Knights cutting it to seven with two seconds to play.
The Golden Eagles held their lead as the fourth quarter ticked away, but over the final minute the Blue Knights clawed their way back to a 71-71 tie on a layup by Tyra James with five seconds in regulation sending the game into overtime.
The Blue Knights went on a 15-7 run in the overtime period, ending with a pair of free throws from Tyra James to boost the Blue Knights over the Golden Eagles 83-78.
Full recap and box score
here
The Golden Eagles come into the contest ranking 1
st in the MEC in free throws made (264) while converting on 72.1% of attempts, good for 6
th in the conference. In addition, Charleston is 1
st in the conference in scoring defense, giving up just 62.1 points per game.
Notre Dame comes into the contest holding a record of 14-1 (8-1 MEC), good for 1
st place in the MEC after winning their most recent contest on Wednesday against West Virginia State by a score of 95-86. The Falcons currently hold an eight-game win streak with their last loss coming on December 4
th at the hands of the Pioneers from Glenville State. Notre Dame ranks 26
th in Division II in scoring offense, averaging 78.5 points per contest and are led offensively by Seina Adachi, who averages 18.3 ppg while pulling down just over five rebounds per contest.
In their matchup history, the Golden Eagles and Falcons have squared off 14 times with Notre Dame holding an 8-6 advantage. The Golden Eagles currently hold a two-game win streak against the opposition after dropping their previous four and defeated Notre Dame 73-63 in their last matchup in February of 2019. In the game,
Anna Hayton dropped 19 points to lead the Golden Eagles while outscoring the opposition 24-13 in the final frame.
