Charleston, W.Va – The UC Men's Basketball team was eager to get into action following the UC Women's basketball game that would be decided in the final seconds just 20 minutes prior. The visiting West Liberty Hilltoppers were just as eager to repeat their early season win over the Golden Eagles. The Hilltoppers, who have dropped just two games on the year, came out a bit shaky against Dwaine Osbourne's Golden Eagles but steadied the ship to take a decisive 96-82 victory.
 
The Basics
Location: H. Bernard Wehrle Arena – Charleston, W. Va
Score: UC – 82 WLU - 96
Records: Charleston (16-5, 12-4 MEC) West Liberty (20-2, 14-2)
 
How It Happened
 
The Hilltoppers came into the contest sitting at number one in the mountain east and winners of their last five straight. Their only two losses came from a one-point defeat to Notre Dame a three-point loss to second place Fairmont State. West Liberty also scores just under 100 points per game at 98.9, which leads the conference as well.
 
The Golden Eagles came out strong scoring the first bucket on a put-back layup by Eddie Colbert. The two teams would exchange points for the next five minutes with UC never gaining a real advantage as the Hilltoppers answered every UC basket with one of their own. With 15:26 remaining in the first half and down by one point the Golden Eagles were able to make a 9 point run to take the score to 22-13 with 11:31 remaining. UC further extended their lead to 12 after a three by transfer Kobey Lam at the 9:57 mark. The powerhouse Hilltoppers were able to claw their way back into the game and slowly regained an advantage. The score would end at 47-44 in favor of visiting West Liberty.
 
The second half was almost exclusively dominated by the Hilltoppers. A layup and a three to begin the period put West Liberty up by eight just one minute in. UC would be able to bring the lead down to six with 14:38 to play but the Hilltoppers offense was too much for the Golden Eagles. Charleston would struggle to defend veteran point guard Pat Robinson who ended his night with 27 points. Charleston struggled shooting foul shots the entire game missing 10 of their 41 shots from the line on the night. The big difference in the game came from the second half shooting percentage put up by the Hilltoppers it seemed that West Liberty couldn't miss through the midway point in the second half. The ended the half with a 66% from the field. The top 5 Hilltoppers were deadly efficient from beyond the arc as well. Shooting a wild 11-16 (68.8%) clip from downtown on the night. UC made just seven threes on the game at a 33.3% success rate. The Hilltoppers eventually took the contest by a final score of 96-82.
 
 
UP NEXT
The guys will return home to the H. Bernard Wehrle Arena to take on non conference opponent Bluefield State at 7:30 p.m. on Monday February 7, 2022.