Charleston, W.Va. – The Golden Eagles men's basketball team defeated a physical Concord University at home on Wednesday evening 93-82.
The Basics:
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center
Score: UC 93, CU 82
Records: UC 12-5 (9-2 MEC), CU 10-6 (7-4 MEC)
How it Happened:
Tyler Eberhart opened the scoring with a layup on UC's first possession of the night. Despite a physical affair in Wehrle Arena on Wednesday, UC would take control of the game after a three by Keith Williams at the 16:45 mark, bringing the score to 10-7. They would not relinquish this lead for the remainder of the contest.
Eberhart would strike again with 14:50 remaining in the first, slamming one home and firing up the home fans. Jeremiah Keene and Eberhart combined for 24 of UC's 49 points in the first half. Keene went 5-8 from the field with one three and Eberhart was 4-7 from the field and making all four of his attempted free throws. Keith Williams led all players shooting 75% from the field with two threes, ending the first half with 10 points. UC would outpace Concord in the first half, shooting 54.8% from the field to the Mountain Lions' 45.16%. Charleston held a 13 point advantage at 49-36 at the end of the first.
UC began the second half with a big lead. The night's leading scorer, Tyler Eberhart, was consistent in the paint on both offense and defense, by making 2 for 3 of his shots in the paint. CJ Meredith was finding the net too. After an intense couple of minutes on the court, the junior drained a three to keep the score in the double digits with 8:44 to go.
UC would stretch their lead to as many as 15 in the second half. However, Concord would not go down quietly as they cut the deficit to six with 10:18 remaining. A strong defensive effort by the Mountain Lions saw them hold UC to 48% shooting in the second half. But the big difference came from the free throw line. UC would go 12-16 from the charity stripe in the second half while Concord would only make two of their three opportunities down the stretch.
Tempers flared midway through the second half after a scuffle under the rim. UC's Williams and Concord's Da'Vion Moore would both receive flagrant fouls for their involvement, and would subsequently be disqualified for the remainder of the contest.
Charleston sealed the game with accurate free throw shooting and some fire from behind the arc. CJ Meredith would hit two threes at critical points during the second half to neutralize the Concord surge.
Tyler Eberhart had an outstanding game by leading the Charleston offense with eighteen points, CJ Meredith and Jeremiah Keene both ended their night with sixteen, and Keith Williams tallied fifteen.
