Box Score WHEELING, W. Va.  – The University of Charleston Golden Eagles Men's Basketball advanced the Championship Sunday against West Liberty with an 84-77 win over the Falcons from Fairmont State on Saturday evening. The Golden Eagles were led offensively by Devon Robinson, who finished the game with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.
 
JUST THE BASICS
SCORE:  Charleston 84, Fairmont State 77
LOCATION: Wheeling, W. Va. – WesBanco Arena
TEAM RECORDS: Golden Eagles (25-5, 17-5 MEC), Falcons (23-7, 16-6 MEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

After Robinson scored the opening bucket of the game, Fairmont State gained quick momentum as an 8-0 run pursued to put the Golden Eagles in an early hole. Trailing 13-8 at the 15:37 mark, amazing play on both ends of the ball from Robinson which included a slam dunk and a taken charge brought the game to its' first media break with the Golden Eagles trailing 13-10.
 
Out of the timeout, six straight points in favor of the Golden Eagles served as part of an 8-0 run that had Charleston leading 16-13 with 12:50 left in the half. In a first half that had been decided by largely by one-sided basketball that teetered back and forth, an 8-0 run from Fairmont State had the #3 seed leading 21-16 with 11:03 remaining.
 
The Golden Eagles, who average 13.1 turnovers per contest, had eight of their own through the first 14 minutes of the half that played a large part in their 25-22 deficit with 5:15 remaining. To close out the half, Charleston used a 13-9 run which included the last five from Drew Rackley to send Charleston into the locker room holding a 35-34 lead.
 
For the half, the Golden Eagles converted on 54.2% of their shots from the floor (13-of-24) while holding Fairmont State to 46.2%. The Golden Eagles turned the ball over 11 times compared to five from the Falcons. The Golden Eagles got the best of Fairmont in the rebounding department, using a 17-9 advantage to help take the lead into the break.
 
The Falcons came out of the locker room and opened up on a 10-3 run to increase their lead to six points. The game shifted into the hands of Charleston, who tied the game at 44 all with 13:27 remaining. With Fairmont threat Dale Bonner on the bench with four fouls, neither team could seem to find a rhythm offensively until Coach Osborne called a timeout with 11:40 remaining. Out of the timeout, the Golden Eagles stepped it up on both ends which forced Falcon Head Coach Tim Koenig to put Bonner back in the game with his team down five. The Golden Eagle lead was increased to nine with 6:24 remaining before it was cut to four just two minutes later. Charleston was then able to give themselves some wiggle room as the lead was increased to nine with 1:24 remaining. The Falcons last minute effort eventually came up short as Charleston went on to win the ballgame by a score of 84-77.
 

Charleston Leaders (27-49, 55.1 percent from the field)
Devon Robinson – 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists
Drew Rackley – 15 points, four assists, three rebounds
Keith Williams– 14 points, two rebounds, two assists


Fairmont Leaders (27-of-57, 47.4 percent from the field)
Isaiah Sanders – 22 points, three rebounds, one assist
Dale Bonner – 19 points, three assists, one rebound

Up Next:
The Golden Eagles will play for the title tomorrow as they take on the #1 seeded Hilltoppers from West Liberty University with tip scheduled for 5:00 p.m.