CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The University of Charleston Basketball will return home on Saturday afternoon for the second to last time as they take on the Blue Knights of Urbana University at 2:00 p.m. (Women's) and 4:00 p.m. (Men's). Both games will have Hawaiian theme trivia and games throughout the duration of the contest.
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 (20-5, 14-5 MEC) defeated the Falcons of Notre Dame College 88-70 on Wednesday evening. The Golden Eagles had five players in double-figures including Seth O'Neal, who recorded the first double-double of his career with a 15-point/14-rebound performance.
After Notre Dame scored the opening bucket to begin the game on Wednesday, the Golden Eagles used a 7-0 run over the next four minutes of play to take a 7-2 lead. Over the next three minutes of play, the teams exchanged buckets until the first media timeout had Charleston leading 17-11 as Drew Rackley led all scorers with six points. Coming out of the timeout, Rackley drilled a three-point shot to increase the UC lead to nine points.
The Golden Eagle lead was cut back down to two points with 9:28 remaining in the opening half despite the Golden Eagles shooting over 65.0% with five assists on eight field goals. The Falcons took the lead back for the first time since the opening bucket with a 27-25 lead on five straight points from DeAnthony Owens. The Golden Eagles closed out the final seven minutes of the half on a 17-7 run to carry a 42-36 lead into the break.
At the break, each team converted on 14-of-26 shots from the floor (53.8%) while Charleston outshot the Falcons from beyond the arc, converting on 7-of-14 attempts. Each team scored 14 points in the paint while the Golden Eagles held the slight advantage in rebounds, 13-12. Rackley led all scorers with 15 points while going 4-of-6 from three-point range while Jordan Burton led the Falcons with 14 points.
Out of the break, a 10-5 run from the Falcons cut the UC lead down to just one before a 13-0 run from the Golden Eagles over a 90-second frame increased their lead to fourteen. With eight minutes remaining, following multiple assessed technical fouls following dunks and blocks, the Golden Eagles increased their lead to 19 points. In a contest that was tied at 44-44 early into the second half, the Golden Eagles used a 30-11 run to increase their lead to 74-55 with 6:38 remaining.
The teams would exchange buckets over the final minutes with the Golden Eagles grabbing an 88-70 win over the Falcons. As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 60.0% from the field while converting on 13-of-23 from three-point range and holding the opposition to 5-of-15. Despite being outscored 10-6 on second-chance points, Charleston used a 21-12 advantage on points off turnovers and 15-2 in bench points to take care of Notre Dame.
In the win, Seth O'Neal tied for the fifth most assists (14) in a game in program history as the Junior notched his 300th career assist, putting him in the Top-10 in program history with his first career double-double on Wednesday. In addition, Rackley moved into the Top-10 in program history in made three-point attempts while Devon Robinson recorded his 20
th career double-double.
Full recap and box score
here
The Golden Eagles have found their stride since a pair of losses in the first week of February against Wheeling and West Liberty. Since then, Charleston has put together three consecutive wins including their best shooting performance as a team on Wednesday (60.0%) since January 8
th against West Virginia Wesleyan. The Golden Eagles come into Wednesday holding the 7
th highest field goal percentage (52.1%) in Division II while holding other ranks which include 11
th in rebound margin (7.6), 14
th in three-point field goal percentage (40.6%) and 27
th in scoring margin (11.1). Charleston is led offensively by Rackley, who averages 18.4 points per game while Seth O'Neal averages 13.4 points and 5.3 assists per contest.
Scouting the Opponent:
Urbana comes into the contest holding a record of 6-19 (5-14 MEC) and picked up their biggest win of the season on Wednesday with a 90-87 overtime victory over the MEC 4
th ranked Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State. The game saw Shaunn Monroe score 21 points in 41 minutes of action which included a game-tying layup in the final seconds to send the game to overtime along with six points in OT. The Blue Knights, who rank 11
th in the MEC standings, are led by Tehree Horn, who averages 11.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest. In addition, two other Blue Knights average double figure scoring in Monroe (11.7) and Mario Lacy Jr. (10.4).
Things to Know for Saturday:
- The Golden Eagles forced a season-low seven turnovers (4 times) in their last matchup against the Blue Knights on January 15th in Urbana.
- Seth O'Neal, who comes into Saturday fresh off a 15-point/14-assist game, recorded a career-high 27 points against Urbana on January 15th which included six assists and five rebounds.
- Expect Urbana to look deep into their bench against the Golden Eagle as in their last matchup, the Blue Knights outscored the Golden Eagles 37-7 from the bench.
Matchup History:
The Golden Eagles and the Blue Knights have squared off 17 times in their history with Urbana still searching for their first win. Charleston, who squared off against Urbana for the first time in 2011, averages 82.65 points per contest against the opposition, has only won by less than ten points in three of their matchups.
Women's Basketball Outlook:
The University of Charleston Golden Eagles Women's Basketball team (20-5, 15-4 MEC), had their eight-game win streak ended on Wednesday evening as the Falcons of Notre Dame College handed the Golden Eagles a 74-67 loss on the road. The Golden Eagles were led offensively by Brooklyn Pannell, who notched 23 points while adding
three assists and two rebounds.
The home team started the first quarter off gaining a 22-8 lead as the Golden Eagles sat with the score tied 8-8 with just over four minutes to play in the first quarter, but the Falcons went on a 14-0 run to close the first frame with the 22-8 lead.
The Golden Eagles spend the second quarter clawing their way back into close range of the Falcons, finishing the half only down nine points with a score of 36-27.
The Golden Eagles remained in the chase bringing themselves within one point of the hosts on a three-pointer from Pannell with 1:03 to play in the third bringing the score to 47-46.
Heading into the fourth, the Golden Eagles were once again only down 51-52 again on a three-ball from the junior guard, Pannell. Charleston took their first lead off the hands of Pannell with a layup at the 5:07 mark. The fourth quarter effort was not enough to over-come the Falcons as Notre Dame pulled away in the final four minutes to take the 74-67 win.
Full recap and box score
here
Wednesday's loss set the Golden Eagles into sole possession of 3
rd place in the MEC with Notre Dame a game ahead and Glenville State two games ahead. The Golden Eagles are 3-1 this season following a loss and have played to an 11-1 record at home this season. Charleston is led offensively by Anna Hayton, who averages 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. The Golden Eagles hold the 7
th best three-point field goal percentage (38.6%) in Division II along with the 9
th best field goal percentage (47.3%). In addition, Charleston ranks 16
th in scoring offense (78.4 ppg) and holds the opposition to just 27.9% from three point range, good for 32
nd in Division II.
Scouting the Opponent:
Urbana comes into the contest holding a record of 16-9 (12-7 MEC). The Blue Knights come into Saturday having won four of their last five games and scored their highest amount of points on Wednesday in a 123-98 victory over West Virginia State. The Blue Knights are led by Tyra James, who averages 24.7 points and 11.1 rebounds per contest. Sylvia Hudson (19.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg) and Bailey Draughn (10.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg) round out the offense for the Blue Knights. Urbana's high power offense ranks them 8
th in Division II (82.9 ppg) while as a team, the Blue Knights shoot 45.1% from the field and average 16.3 assists per contest.
Things to Know for Saturday:
- Brooklyn Pannell led all UC scorers with 15 points against Urbana this season. Pannell recorded a career-high 33 points against Urbana last season in Charleston's 92-63 victory.
- Charleston recorded a season-low eight assists against the Blue Knights in their loss on January 15th while turning the ball over 21 times, a season-high in MEC play this season.
- Charleston allowed as season-high 32 field goals despite holding the Blue Knights to 5-of-25 from three-point range on January 15th. In addition, Charleston allowed 46 rebounds (18 offensive) which are both season-highs including 14 from Sylvia Hudson.
Matchup History:
The Golden Eagles and Blue Knights have squared off 15 times in their history with Charleston holding a 10-5 advantage. The Blue Knights snapped their four-game losing streak against Charleston when the teams squared off in January as Urbana came away with a 83-78 victory.
