Charleston, W. Va – On Senior Day Saturday, the Golden Eagles hosted the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets for an always entertaining 40 minutes of basketball in the Kanawha Classic. The last time these two teams met, the Yellow Jackets got the better of Charleston in an 88-65 victory in the Walker Convocation Center just 15 minutes down the road. This matchup would be anything but one-sided. 
 
The Basics
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center
Score: UC 82, WVSU 85
Records: UC (21-7, 16-6 MEC), WVSU (22-5, 17-5 MEC) 
 
How it Happened
With the top seedings up for grabs in the Mountain East Conference Tournament, both sides surely were not going to lose this battle without a fight. It would be the Yellow Jackets routing the opening period after jumping to a quick 11-4 run. Throughout the quarter, the two teams were separated by just over 1% shooting from the field, but West Virginia State's 46% field goal percentage would be enough to hold their lead. In the first quarter alone, Charleston would get into early foul trouble and send the Yellow Jackets to the charity stripe and go a perfect 8-8, while the Golden Eagles went 1-1. State would hold a 23-19 lead over Charleston at the end of the first. 
 
Charleston would find their first lead of the game after Sierra Davis' tough basket from underneath, accompanied by Markyia McCormick's triple to open up the scoring in the second. In this quarter, it would be Charleston heading to the multiple times to shoot free throws, as they knocked home 7-10 compared to State's 6-8. The lead pinballed between the two teams, but the margin would only grow to as much as three points. With less than a minute to go, both teams would trade a layup each just before the half, and the Golden Eagles would hold a 44-43 lead going into the halftime break. 
 
The third quarter would be the least amount of scoring in 10 minutes of any quarter all day long. Charleston would shoot 27% from the field and wouldn't find a three pointer for the duration of the period. Despite a better shooting percentage from the Yellow Jackets, they would find only two more points than the Golden Eagles in the quarter. This was due to the fact that Charleston would go a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. The free throws, however, were not enough to maintain the lead and the Yellow Jackets found themselves with a 61-60 lead heading into the final period. 
 
With a roaring black and gold crowd, West Virginia State would find the momentum they needed to stretch the margin to a multiple-possession game. With 40 seconds remaining, the Yellow Jackets held a 78-71 lead over Charleston after a Hannah Shriver triple. After a trip to the line for State, Charleston needed a miracle to score enough points to force overtime. The dream was put into motion with two consecutive three pointers from Trinity Palacio and Sierra Davis. Palacio would sink another corner three-pointer with six seconds remaining in the game, but the Yellow Jackets would make it a three-point game with three seconds to go. Dribbling up the court, Palacio threw a desperation heave at the basket in an attempt to tie the game at the buzzer, but the shot would find the backboard and head straight to the court. The Yellow Jackets escaped with the 85-82 victory. 
 
 
Up Next
The Golden Eagles will head to Wheeling, WV to compete in the MEC Tournament on Thursday as the #3 seed in the bracket. They will take on the Wheeling Cardinals in the WesBanco Arena on March 2^nd at 2:30 PM.