Charleston, W.Va- Charleston looked to capitalize on their Senior night against the Pioneers of Glenville State. GSU, a solid opponent, looked to test the Golden Eagles on their own home court and possibly steal a win headed into post-season play.
The Basics
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center
Score: UC- 81 GSU- 74
Records: Charleston (22-5, 17-4 MEC) Glenville State (11-14, 8-13 MEC)
How it Happened
The Wehrle Innovation Center was packed for Senior night as the Golden Eagles played their final home game of the season against the Pioneers. Eddie Colbert III started off the night with a three pointer to spark the scoring for UC. Lamont McManus became the tenth leading scorer in school history after a layup under the basket with a nice dish from Riley Heatherington. Jeremiah Keene sparked his night up with a pair of three pointers. Not a lot of scoring from either side until Kobey Lam found a lane inside from the baseline and put jelly on bread with a nice layup putting the Golden Eagles up 17-10 with 10:08 remaining in the half. Play went on through many tough calls and no whistles came from any officials, which led to a busted mouth for Tyler Eberhart causing him to go the bench. Shaunn Monroe connected from long-range putting UC up 33-30 with 2:35 until the horn. At the end of the half, the Golden Eagles had the narrow lead 35-34. Colbert led UC in the first half scoring with 10.
McManus added to his legacy with more points as he put in a nice shot off the glass to open the second half. A lot of back-and-forth action entertained the crowd at the beginning of the half which allowed for GSU to take the lead with a three-pointer going up 46-43. Keith Williams brought it back to even square with a three pointer from the corner with 13:41 remaining. Zane Desouza of the Pioneers went down with a non-contact injury that was hard to watch, being an injury to his leg already occupied with a knee brace. Glenville then took the lead on a run led by Luke Lerose, the Summersville, WV native. Charleston went down 55-62 after some sloppy play forced by the Pioneers high press defense and was forced to call a timeout with 8:33 remaining. Out of the break, UC managed to tie the ballgame after a three pointer from Williams to make it 62-62. Heat check time immediately after and Williams delivered to bring the crowd up with another long-range three followed by an awesome fist pump. McManus kept the ball rolling with a tough layup in the paint to put the Golden Eagles up 67-62, a huge change in momentum for the home team. Jeremiah Keene put in a quick two layups with 4:07 remaining with UC up 71-66. With one minute remaining, the margin was at one with UC on top. Keith Williams delivered on a clutch floater, followed by a big-time slam from Colbert to bring the lead to five. A technical foul was called on Coach Justin Caldwell for a red-faced chewing not two inches away from the official and Keith Williams put the nail in the coffin with two free throws making the final score 81-74.
Up Next:
On Saturday, Charleston will have a short trip down the road to West Virginia State to finish out the regular season Saturday February 26 at 4:00 p.m.
