CHARLESTON, W. Va.  – The ABCA #25 ranked University of Charleston Golden Eagles Men's Basketball team (17-4, 11-4 MEC) fell at home on Wednesday to the Cardinals of Wheeling University by a score of 71-66 at the Wehrle Innovation Center. The Golden Eagles were led offensively by Drew Rackley, who scored 26 points, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds.

JUST THE BASICS
SCORE: Wheeling 71, Charleston 66
LOCATION: CHARLESTON, W. Va.
TEAM RECORDS: Golden Eagles (17-4, 11-4 MEC), Cardinals (11-8, 8-7 MEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wheeling found their stride early, scoring the five points of the game over the first three minutes of play as following a made three-pointer from Rackley, Wheeling held a 7-3 lead. The Golden Eagles would then use a 6-0 run of their own to take a 9-7 lead. Headed into the under-fifteen timeout, the game was all knotted at 9-9 with Rackley leading all scorers with five points. Over the next five minutes, Wheeling took back the advantage, leading 15-12 headed into the second media timeout. Despite shooting just 5-of-19 from the floor (26.3%), the Golden Eagles held the Cardinals to 6-of-14 (42.8%) to keep the game close.
 
Out of the timeout, the teams exchanged baskets before a converted three-point attempt from Rackley cut the Cardinal lead to 21-19 and forced Wheeling head coach Will Ryan to call a timeout with 5:56 remaining in the half. Out of the timeout, the Cardinals drilled a pair of three-pointers to take a 27-19 lead before a layup from Lamont McManus cut the lead to six. Headed into the final media timeout of the half, McManus and Rackley both reached double figure scoring, contributing to 20 of Charleston's 21 points as the Golden Eagles trailed 29-21.
 
The first half finished with Charleston trailing 34-27. Unlike their first matchup this season when seven Golden Eagles reached double figures in scoring, only three Charleston players scored. Combined, Rackley and McManus combined to shoot 10-of-18 while the rest of the team finished 0-of-11 from the floor. Jarett Haines led all Wheeling players with 12 points in the opening frame while as a team, Wheeling shot 46.4% from the floor (13-of-28) in the first half. The Golden Eagles outscored the opposition 14-6 in the pain but were outscored from deep, as Wheeling converted on three more attempts from deep than the home team.
 
Out of the break, Wheeling slowed the game down as they worked deep into the shot clock to maintain their seven-point lead, leading 41-34 headed into the first media timeout of the half. After trailing by 12 just moments out of the timeout, Charleston cut the Wheeling lead to six with 9:03 left in the half before a made jumper from Haines gave the Cardinals a 56-48 lead headed into the under-ten media timeout. Out of the timeout, Charleston began to turn defense into offense and used a 7-2 run over a two-minute period to cut their deficit to three points. The teams exchanged three-point shots before Charleston was able to send the game into the final media timeout with the game tied at 60-60 after Rackley converted a layup with the and-one opportunity to follow. The Golden Eagles took their first lead after the converted free throw from Rackley.
 
Trailing 66-63 with 1:17 remaining in the contest, Eddie Colbert III found Rackley as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 66-66 before John Korte drained a three-point shot with 54 seconds remaining to put the Cardinals ahead by three. Charleston was forced to foul and upon Jay Gentry missing the front end of the one-and-one, the Golden Eagles got the ball back with 16 seconds remaining. Out of the called timeout from Wheeling, Charleston turned the ball over and was forced to foul. Korte would convert both of his free throw attempts as the Cardinals handed Charleston their first home loss since February 21^st, 2019 by a score of 71-66.
 
For the game, Charleston finished 42.6% from the field (23-of-54) while Wheeling shot 56.0% from the floor, converting 28-of-50 shots. The Golden Eagles were outrebounded 31-27 while the Cardinals bench outscored Charleston 16-3.

Charleston Leaders (23-of-54, 42.6 percent from the field)
Drew Rackley – 26 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds
Lamont McManus – 20 points, 4 rebounds

Wheeling Leaders (28-of-50, 56.0 percent from the field)
Jarett Haines – 24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Jordan Reid – 15 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist
John Korte – 10 points, 3 rebounds


Up Next:
The Golden Eagles will hit the road on Sunday to take on West Liberty in the Division II Showcase with tip scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at the Academic Sports and Recreation Center on the campus of West Liberty.