CHARLESTON, W. VA. – The University of Charleston Golden Eagles (22-5, 16-5 MEC) defeated the Pioneers of Glenville State on Wednesday evening by a score of 71-70 in a nail-biting contest that came down to the final possession for Glenville. Lamont McManus scored the final six points for the Golden Eagles before an attempt at the horn for Noah Frampton came up short to secure the win for Charleston.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Charleston 71, Glenville State 70
LOCATION: Glenville, W. Va.
TEAM RECORDS: Golden Eagles (22-5, 16-5 MEC), Pioneers (13-14, 10-11 MEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Charleston got off to a quick start from the opening tip, scoring the first three buckets of the game including a pair of three-pointers from Drew Rackley and Keith Williams to put the Golden Eagles ahead 9-0 under three minutes into the ball game. Immediately, Glenville State used a 10-0 run of their own over the next 2:30 to take a 10-9 lead on eight points from Phillip Bledsoe. After each team exchanged a bucket, the Pioneers found themselves up by a point before a foul by Eddie Colbert III on a Bledsoe three-point attempt allowed Glenville to take a four-point lead. After trailing by as many as six with just over 10 minutes remaining in the opening half, the Golden Eagles put together their second 9-0 run of the half to jump on top of the Pioneers 20-17 with six minutes left in the half.
 
With two minutes remaining and the Golden Eagles leading by six, the Pioneers would close out the half on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to one headed into the break. At the break, Bledsoe led all scorers with 13 points while Devon Robinson led the Golden Eagles with eight points and seven rebounds. In the opening half, each team shot the ball 37.0% from the field with both the Golden Eagles and Pioneers converting four shots from beyond the arc.
 
Headed into the second half, the teams exchanged leads three times with neither team leading by more than three points through the first nine minutes of play. After a turnover from McManus brought the teams to the under-ten media break, Glenville extended their lead to five points on a made bucket from Steven Verplancken with 9:23 remaining in the game. Charleston then used an 8-0 over the next two minutes to regain the lead at 57-54 with 7:22 remaining. After a made free throw attempt from Verplancken with 6:20 left in the ballgame that gave the Pioneers a 58-57 lead, the Golden Eagles would not see the score in their favor again until seven second left when McManus, who scored the final six points of the game, sank the game-winning free throw for the Golden Eagles.
 
Both teams played a clean contest with turnovers favoring Glenville State 7-11 while the Golden Eagles edged out the opposition from beyond the arc 7-6. McManus led all Golden Eagles with 21 points and five rebounds while Bledsoe led the Pioneers with 27 points and eight rebounds. With the win, Charleston will head into Senior Day against WVSU on Saturday afternoon looking to secure 2^nd place in the MEC regular season standings.

Charleston Leaders (25-of-63, 39.7 percent from the field)
Lamont McManus – 21 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist
Devon Robinson –  16 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists
Seth O'Neal– 13 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds
Drew Rackley – 13 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds

Glenville State Leaders (24-of-55, 43.6 percent from the field)
Phil Bledsoe – 27 points, 8 rebounds
Steven Verplancken– 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

Up Next:
The Golden Eagles play their last regular season contest of the season on Saturday afternoon against the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State with tip scheduled for 4:00 p.m. The Golden Eagles will honor Seniors Drew Rackley and Devon Robinson for Senior Day.