Box Score WHEELING, W. Va.  – The University of Charleston Golden Eagles Men's Basketball fell in the MEC Championship on Sunday to the Hilltoppers from West Liberty by a score of 73-60. The Golden Eagles were led offensively by Seth O'Neal, who scored 22 points in the loss.
 
JUST THE BASICS
SCORE:  West Liberty 73, Charleston 60
LOCATION: Wheeling, W. Va. – WesBanco Arena
TEAM RECORDS: Golden Eagles (25-6, 17-5 MEC), Hilltoppers (27-4, 19-3 MEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED


The game began with a pair of sloppy turnovers by the Golden Eagles, much like the beginning of yesterday's game against Fairmont State. West Liberty, which applied their anticipated full-court press from the tip, started efficient before senior Drew Rackley broke the press and drained a pair of three-balls to give UC an early 6-0 lead. As time progressed, the Charleston lead remained six as Lamont McManus picked up his second personal foul at the 15:22 mark, forcing the big man to the bench with seven early points. Without McManus on the floor, the Golden Eagle lead dwindled to just two points headed into the first media break.
 
The full-court press for West Liberty continued and despite having seven turnovers compared to zero for the Hilltoppers, Charleston found themselves on top 19-15 at the halfway point in the first half.
 
Charleston did a phenomenal job with the absence of McManus, who returned to the game after spending nine minutes on the bench as UC held a 21-19 lead with 6:41 remaining in the half. West Liberty held the Golden Eagles scoreless for nearly two minutes and used a 5-0 run to hold a 24-21 lead at the final media timeout of the half. Down 26-21, the Golden Eagles turned the ball over and as Marlon Moore went up for a dunk, a hard foul by Rackley that was classified as flagrant had the Golden Eagles down by seven after a pair of free throws. The scoreless drought for Charleston lasted nearly seven minutes before Robinson ended it with a layup and his team down seven.
 
Physical play on both ends saw the remainder of the half go in favor of the 'Toppers, as the Golden Eagles found themselves down 35-25 headed into the locker room. Despite holding MEC Player of the Year, Dalton Bolon, scoreless, West Liberty used a next-man-up mentality as Marlon Moore led the Hilltoppers with 15 points. For the half, Charleston out-shot and out-rebounded the opposition, but 13 turnovers compared to three led to a 12-4 advantage in points off turnovers for West Liberty.
 
To begin the second half, Charleston quickly found themselves down 14 points at the first media break. For the remainder of the first ten minutes in the second half, Charleston could not seem to break the full-court press, as even when they did, they could not find success from beyond the arc with numbers in their favor. O'Neal began to chance the pace for the #2 seeded Golden Eagles, as a trio of three-balls brought the Charleston deficit to just nine points with eight minutes remaining. O'Neal single-handedly kept the Golden Eagle offense alive, scoring all of Charleston's 12 points over a five-minute span, now trailing by 11 with 4:53 remaining.
 
Desperation time saw the Golden Eagles cut the deficit to as low as nine points but the Hilltoppers were too much to handle, as West Liberty went on to capture the 73-60 victory.

Charleston Leaders (21-58, 36.2 percent from the field)
Seth O'Neal – 22 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Drew Rackley – 14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist
Devon Robinson – 6 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist


West Liberty Leaders (27-of-65, 41.5 percent from the field)
Marlon Moore – 24 points, 5 rebounds
Pat Robinson – 21 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist

Up Next:
The Golden Eagles will await the results from the Division II Selection Show which will begin at approximately 10:30 p.m. tonight to determine their fate in the Atlantic Region.