CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The University of Charleston Men's Basketball team will be playing on Championship Sunday against the Hilltoppers from West Liberty University with tip scheduled for 5:00 p.m. The Golden Eagles advance to the final round after an 84-77 defeat over the Falcons from Fairmont State in Saturday's MEC nightcap.
Media Coverage:
Live Stats and video feed will be available for Sunday's game through the links supplied below:
Charleston heads into Sunday after all five starters finished in double figures on Saturday. Despite being outscored 25-13 in points off turnovers, the Golden Eagles found a way to rebound the ball effectively in moments when it mattered most, using a 36-20 advantage on the glass to hold Fairmont State to their lowest total of the season.
On Saturday, Devon Robinson scored the opening bucket of the game before 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 then 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.
The Falcons came out of the locker room and opened up on a 10-3 run to take the lead back at six points. The game shifted back again 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 Charleston 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 once again 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.
Full recap and box score
here
Scouting the Opponent:
West Liberty comes into the Saturday holding a record of 26-4 (19-3 MEC) and most recently won their Semifinal matchup of the MEC Tournament over a pesky West Virginia State team by a score of 88-80. The Hilltoppers and Yellow Jackets combined to shoot 51 attempts from beyond the arc with 22 of them finding the bottom of the net; 12 in favor of West Liberty. The Ben Howlett led Hilltoppers find themselves ranked #2 in the most recent Atlantic Region Polls and #11 in the NABC National Poll. Unlike Charleston, who finds scoring from many different options, the Hilltoppers used the trio of Dalton Bolon (All-MEC First Team), Will Yoakum (All-MEC First Team), and Pat Robinson (All-MEC Second Team) to secure Saturday's win. The three average nearly 60% of the scoring for West Liberty this season but on Saturday, scored 73.9% of the Hilltopper points with Will Yoakum leading the way with 31. With the Hilltoppers displaying the top scoring offense in the country (104.0 points per game) and the Golden Eagles producing the top scoring defense in the MEC, the game has all the pieces to be one for the ages.
Things to Know for Sunday:
- Someone's winning ways will come to an end tonight, as both West Liberty (victors in nine straight and 20 of its last 21) and Charleston (8 in a row and 10 of its last 12) have been playing their best basketball as of late.
- Despite averaging 8.5 three-pointers per contest against West Liberty this season, the Golden Eagles have relied heavily on their post play against the opposition. Physical play will be expected as Charleston has scored 18.5 points per contest from the line against WLU in two games this season.
- Devon Robinson did not play in Charleston's 89-79 loss to West Liberty on February 8th, a game in which the Golden Eagles were outrebounded by 11.
Matchup History:
The Golden Eagles and the Hilltoppers have squared off 21 times since 2010 with West Liberty holding a 16-5 advantage. After losing 11-of-12 from 2013-18, the Golden Eagles have begun to flip the script, winning three of their last five dating back to the 2018 MEC Tournament.
