CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The University of Charleston Basketball teams will play host to Concord University on Wednesday evening at the Wehrle Innovation Center with tip scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (Women's) and 7:30 p.m. (Men's). Following the games, the Golden Eagles prepare to take on crosstown rival West Virginia State University on Sunday at the Walker Convocation Center with tip scheduled for 2:00 and 4:00 p.m.
Media Coverage:
Live Stats and video feed will be available for Wednesday's games through the links supplied below:
Men's Basketball Outlook:
The University of Charleston Golden Eagles Men's Basketball team (14-2, 8-2 MEC) defeated the Falcons of Notre Dame College by a score of 95-70 on Saturday afternoon at the Wehrle Innovation Center. With the win, the Golden Eagles positioned themselves for their first NABC ranking (21
st) for the first time since 2013. Against Notre Dame, the Golden Eagles were led offensively by
Drew Rackley, who finished the game with 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
The game bounced back and forth through the first seven minutes of the contest with the Falcons holding a 16-15 lead at the 13:36 mark in the first half. The Golden Eagles then exploded for an 11-2 run to regain the lead at 26-18 with 8:42 remaining in the opening frame. A 6-0 run that began with 2:46 remaining in the half over the course of 45 seconds extended the Golden Eagle lead to 16 before the Charleston would take a 15-point lead into the break with a score of 50-35.
At the half,
Seth O'Neal and Rackley had led the way for Charleston with 13-points each, while
Devon Robinson tallied four points and nine rebounds. For the half, the Golden Eagles shot 18-of-30 from the field (60.0%) while draining 10-of-16 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Golden Eagles forced four first-half turnovers while collecting eight assists.
After a quick layup from Rackley to begin the half, the Golden Eagle lead of 17 would remain until the 14:35 mark of the second half. With the score 61-46 in favor of the Golden Eagles, an 11-2 run in favor of Charleston propelled the lead to 23 points which began with a made three-pointer from Rackley. Charleston increased their lead to as many as 28 in the half before
Kaleb Martin put the finishing touch on the game with a three of his own in the final seconds to give the Golden Eagles a 95-70 victory.
The Golden Eagles finished the game shooting 34-of-58 from the field (58.6%) while converting on 17-of-33 attempts from 3PT range and finishing the game 10-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Five Golden Eagles finished the game in double-digit scoring, as Martin (10),
Lamont McManus (13),
Eddie Colbert III (17), O'Neal (20), and Rackley (21), led the way on the offensive side. Robinson finished the game collecting 15 rebounds along with nine points for Charleston.
The Golden Eagles held the opposition to 27-of-52 shooting (51.9%) while outrebounding the Falcons by 14.
Full recap and box score
here
This season, the Golden Eagles rank 2
nd in Division II in field goal percentage (52.9%), behind #8 ranked Nova Southeastern (Fla.). McManus has led Charleston in FG% at 67.8%, good for 3
rd in the country while Robinson holds the 13
th best FG% in the country at 63.6%. In addition, the Golden Eagles hold Top-25 ranks in scoring margin (12.7), rebound margin (10.1), three-point field goal percentage (15), and win-loss percentage (87.5%).
Concord comes into the contest holding a record of 5-10 (3-7 MEC) and snapped a six-game losing streak after winning their most recent matchup over Davis & Elkins on Saturday by a score of 80-63. The Mountain Lions are led offensively by Malik Johnson who averages 15.0 points per contest while pulling 4.27rebounds per contest. Just behind Johnson is Trey Bisco, who averages 12.8 ppg, 4.4 rebounds, and leads the team in assists this season with 43.
In their history, the Golden Eagles and Falcons have squared off 22 times with Charleston holding a 12-10 advantage. In recent history, the Golden Eagles have struggled against the Mountain Lions, losing six of their last seven games including a 86-78 loss on the road on November 23
rd of this season.
Women's Basketball Outlook:
The University of Charleston Golden Eagles Women's Basketball team (12-4, 7-3 MEC), fell to MEC leading Notre Dame on Saturday by a score of 79-76 in a nail biter that came down to the final possession of the contest. The Golden Eagles were led offensively by
Brooklyn Pannell who finished the game with 22 points, three rebounds, and two assists while Siena Adachi of Notre Dame, who scored 22 first quarter points, finished the game with 39 points.
The game against Notre Dame went back and forth with three ties through the first quarter until just ahead of the five-minute mark, when the Falcons began to run away with the quarter. The visitors put together a 20-8 run to close the opening frame with a 31-16 lead over the Golden Eagles.
The Golden Eagles clawed their way back into the game through the second quarter, outscoring their opponents 19-8 to head into the break down just four points with a score of 39-35.
The Golden Eagles finally took the lead with just over two minutes to play in the third, on a three-pointer from freshman guard,
Dakota Reeves. The teams saw two more lead changes as the third quarter expired, with the Golden Eagles closing the period with a 61-60 lead.
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.
Charleston lost the lead at the 7:02 mark on a jumper from Jennifer Oduho, which opened up the run by the Falcons who built at 70-66 lead with 4:34 to play. The Golden Eagles brought the game within one point after Anna Hayton went 1-1 from the charity stripe with just two seconds left in regulation, but it would not be enough to steal the game as Adachi also knocked down both opportunities from the line boosting Notre Dame over Charleston 79-76.
Full recap and box score
here
The Golden Eagles come into the contest ranked 4
th in the MEC after dropping their two most recent contests. In addition, the Golden Eagles come into Wednesday ranked 19
th in Division II in both scoring offense and three-point field goal defense while ranking 18
th in field goal percentage (46.5%).
Concord comes into the contest holding a record of 11-4 (8-2 MEC), good for a 2
nd place tie in the MEC after winning their most recent contest on Saturday against Davis & Elkins by a score of 82-47. The Mountain Lions have won three of their last four contests and are led offensively Madison May, who averages 22.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and leads all Mountain lions with 70 assists on the year.
In their matchup history, the Golden Eagles and Falcons have squared off 21 times with the Golden Eagles holding a 14-7 advantage. Each team has won three games in their last six matchups with the Mountain Lions winning their most recent matchup against the Golden Eagles by a score of 81-72 on November 23
rd this season.
