CHARLESTON, W.Va – The University of Charleston Golden Eagles Men's Basketball team (17-3, 11-3 MEC) defeated the Falcons of Fairmont State on Saturday afternoon at the Wehrle Innovation Center by a score of 80-71.The Golden Eagles were led offensively by Drew Rackley, who recorded 18 points as four Charleston players reached double figure scoring marks.  

JUST THE BASICS
SCORE: Charleston 80, Fairmont State 71
LOCATION: Charleston, W. Va.
TEAM RECORDS: Golden Eagles (17-3,11-3 MEC), Falcons (14-5, 9-5 MEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game bounced back and forth through the first five minutes of play with the Fairmont State leading 11-7 before a layup from Junior Lamont McManus cut into the Falcons lead and gave McManus 1,000 points for his career. At the first media timeout, Charleston trailed to the opposition 13-9 behind six points from Falcon forward Dale Bonner. Over the next five minutes of play, the Golden Eagles put together a 11-2 run to regain the lead at 20-15 with 9:59 remaining in the opening half. Rackley led all scorers through the first 10 minutes of the game with eight points while pulling in a rebound, dishing an assist, and recording a steal.
 
Over the next four minutes, the Golden Eagles extended their lead to 27-21 with 6:43 remaining in the half on a pair of buckets from McManus and a converted three-point attempt from Eddie Colbert III
 
Over the last five minutes of the half, Fairmont State regained the lead before Charleston took it back with just seconds remaining in the half, leading 34-33 headed into the break. For the half, both teams shot under 46.0% from the field with just a combined seven three-point attempts made on 26 shots. The Golden Eagles outrebounded the opposition 23-13 in the half and recorded 24 of their 34 points in the paint. The Golden Eagles turned the ball over 11 times compared to the Falcons seven. The Golden Eagles were led offensively by Rackley, who recorded 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists while Isaiah Sanders led all Fairmont scorers with 17 points.
 
The teams exchanged buckets evenly through the first five minutes of the second half with the Golden Eagles holding a 43-42 lead at the 15:00 mark. The first media timeout of the second half came with 13:34 remaining in the game as an 8-2 run had Charleston leading 51-44. The Golden Eagles extended their lead to double digits on their first possession out of the media timeout as Seth O'Neal converted the and-one opportunity.
 
Charleston used a 10-4 run out of the timeout to take a commanding 61-48 lead with 9:26 remaining in the contest prior to the next media timeout. The teams continued to exchange buckets over the final ten minutes of the half as Charleston capped the game off with an 80-71 victory.

 
Charleston Leaders (30-60, 50.0 percent from the field)
Drew Rackley– 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Seth O'Neal – 18 points, 5 assists
Lamont McManus – 16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist
Devon Robinson – 13 points, 12 rebound, 4 assists

Fairmont State (30-65, 46.2 percent from the field)
Dale Bonner –24 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
Isaiah Sanders – 21 points, 3 rebounds

Up Next:
The Golden Eagles will return home on Wednesday to square off against the Cardinals of Wheeling University with tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m.