CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The University of Charleston Basketball teams are set to take a short 15-minute trip down I-64 West on Sunday afternoon to take on the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State University in the Kanawha River Rivalry. Tipoff for Sunday's contests are scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (Women's) and 4:00 p.m. (Men's). Both games will be played at the
Walker Convocation Center located on the WVSU campus.
Media Coverage:
Live Stats and video feed will be available for Sunday's games through the links supplied below:
Sunday's men's matchup can also be viewed on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, which reaches approximately 3 million homes over five states.
Men's Basketball Outlook:
Ranked in the NACB Poll for the first time since the 2012-13 season, the University of Charleston Golden Eagles Men's Basketball team (15-2, 9-2 MEC) defeated the Mountain Lions of Concord University by a score of 91-67 on Wednesday afternoon to increase their win streak to 10 games. With the win, the Golden Eagles remain atop the Mountain East Conference standings heading into Sunday. Against Concord, the Golden Eagles were led offensively by
Drew Rackley, who finished the game with 25 points on 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, six rebounds, and two assists.
The first half of the ball game belonged to Charleston, who led the opposition at the half by a score of 47-24. Trailing 4-3 early, the Golden Eagles propelled on a 17-4 run to take the lead back, leading 20-8 at the 11:52 mark in the opening frame. Over the course of the next five minutes, Charleston increased their lead to 19 due to great execution from beyond the 3PT arc. With six minutes remaining, Charleston would close out the half on a 13-9 run to carry a 47-24 lead into the break.
In the first half, the Golden Eagles held the opposition to just 9-of-29 from the field (31.0%), while holding the Mountain Lions to just 2-of-11 from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles were able to execute on 16-of-29 attempts from the floor (55.2%) while converting on 8-of-14 from 3PT range. The Golden Eagles, who outrebounded the opposition 23-10 in the first half, were led by
Devon Robinson who finished the game with 12.
In the second half, the Mountain Lions began to tap into the Charleston lead as they began the first nine minutes of the half on a 29-15, cutting the Golden Eagle lead to 62-53. With five minutes remaining in the contest, Charleston was able to regain a 20-point lead before Head Coach Dwaine Osborne removed his starters from the lineup.
Over the remaining five minutes of the contest, Charleston outscored the opposition by four points and soured to a 91-67 victory over the Mountain Lions.
The Golden Eagles finished the game holding the Mountain Lions to 25-of-59 from the field (42.4%) while forcing eight Concord turnovers. Charleston converted on 57.4% of their attempts from the floor (31-of-54). Charleston, who has shot the ball extremely well from beyond the 3PT arc this season, finished the game converting on 14-of-23 attempts, good for 60.9%
Full recap and box score
here
After shooting over 57.0% against the Mountain Lions, the Golden Eagles have increased their field goal percentage from 52.9% to 53.1%, good for 2
nd in NCAA Division II. The tandem of
Lamont McManus and Robinson, ranked 7
th and 8
th respectively in FG% in Division II, have led the way in the paint for Charleston this season. Beyond the 3PT arc, Charleston ranks 7
th in Division II in percentage, converting on 41.8% of shots from three-point range.
Ranked 16
th in the country in double-doubles with eight, Robinson has led the way for Charleston in the rebounding category, averaging 10.4 per contest. As a team, the Golden Eagles rank 3
rd in the country in rebounding margin (10.3).
West Virginia State comes into the contest holding a record of 12-4 (7-4 MEC) and had their six-game win streak snapped on Wednesday after a 107-97 loss to Glenville State. The Yellow Jackets, who rank 3
rd in Division II in scoring offense, averaging 97.9 points per contest, are led offensively by Glen Abram and Anthony Pittman, who average 17.7 and 16.1 points per game respectively. As a team, the Yellow Jackets have four players averaging double-digit scoring efforts this season.
In their history, the Golden Eagles and Falcons have squared off 20 times with Charleston holding a 13-7 advantage. In recent history, the Golden Eagles have won three consecutive games against the Yellow Jackets in which they have shot the ball 42.3% (22-of-52) from beyond the arc.
Women's Basketball Outlook:
The University of Charleston Golden Eagles Women's Basketball team (13-4, 8-3 MEC), got back to their winning ways on Wednesday with a convincing 63-42 victory over the Mountain Lions of Concord University. The Golden Eagles were led by junior guard
Brooklyn Pannell who notched 17 points and two assists in the win.
The first quarter against Concord was a neck-and-neck battle from both sides, as the game saw five lead changes, and a scoreless four minutes as the Mountain Lions escaped the frame with a three-point lead over the hosts.
The scoreless period broke on a layup by senior forward
Anna Hayton to bring UC within one of the Mountain Lions. Reeves forced a turnover at the top of the key that led to a free throw opportunity for the Golden Eagles.
Anastasiia Zakharova went 1-of-2 from the stripe to tie the game at 18-18 three minutes into the second quarter.
The Golden Eagles went on an 8-3 run midway through the period that ended on a deep three from Reeves to give UC the 26-21 advantage with 4:50 to play in the half. The Golden Eagles continued to control the game offensively through the remainder of the half, going on a 13-5 run for the final four minutes to head into the locker room with a 36-26 lead over Concord.
In the first half, the Golden Eagles went 11-for-25 for 44.0 percent led by Dakota Reeves with 12 points, all from behind the arc.
The Golden Eagles maintained their lead through the third quarter shooting 31.3 percent from the field led by
Dakota Reeves who went 5-for-8 from behind the arc through the third.
The final quarter started slowly for the two teams with only five points scored in total for the first four minutes, but the Golden Eagles held strong with a 53-41 lead with 6:30 to play. After going on a 12-1 run with 3:08 left to play, Brooklyn Pannell picks up a mishandled Concord ball and takes it to the basket to give Charleston the 61-41 lead.
Full recap and box score
here
Following Wednesday's win, the Golden Eagles moved into 3
rd in the Mountain East Conference standings behind Notre Dame and Glenville State. In addition, the Golden Eagles come into Sunday ranked 25
th in Division II in both scoring offense, 23
rd in field goal percentage (46.0%), and 15
th in and three-point field goal defense (26.1%). while ranking 18
th in field goal percentage (46.5%).
West Virginia comes into the contest holding a record of 7-10 (5-6 MEC). The Yellow Jackets are victors in three of their last five games but dropped their last matchup to the Pioneers of Glenville State by a score of 125-91. Despite a losing record, the Yellow Jackets rank 2
nd in Division II in scoring offense, averaging 91.7 points per contest while ranking 5
th in made 3PT attempts per game with 10.3. WVSU has crashed the glass efficiently this season on the offensive end, averaging 16.3 offensive rebounds per contest, good for 18
th in the country.
In their matchup history, the Golden Eagles and Falcons have squared off 18 times with the Golden Eagles holding a 13-5 advantage. The Golden Eagles were victorious in both matchups last season, with their largest margin of victory in matchup history coming at the Wehrle Innovation Center one year ago when Charleston won 92-64. In the game, Hayton finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
