WHEELING, W.Va.— No. 12 University of Charleston earns the Mountain East Conference Tournament Championship title after defeating West Liberty University 78-65 on Championship Sunday. With this victory, the Golden Eagles punch their ticket to the Atlantic-Region tournament.
Dwaine Jones, the Mountain East Conference Tournament MVP tallied 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists on the night. The junior also shot .500 (9-18) from the floor in the victory.
The Basics:
Location: WesBanco Arena
Score: 78-65
Records: UC: 27-4 (17-3 MEC); WLU: 25-6 (17-3 MEC)
How it Happened:
Charleston won the tip-off, but West Liberty got on the board first following a missed three by the Golden Eagles. UC got on a roll though, scoring six straight on two shots off the glass by Dwaine Jones and two shots from the charity stripe by Tyler Eberhart. Hilltoppers Ben Sarson and John Korte put West Liberty back into the game though, knotting it up at six on a three and a free throw. A tug-of-war ensued from that point on, as the lead changed hands multiple times before UC pulled ahead 14-8 on two more layups by Jones and another by Eberhart. Once again, West Liberty clawed their way back with Hilltopper Alek West laying it in to even the score at 18. The back-and-forth action continued, but two straight triples gave them the 26-22 advantage with four minutes and 18 seconds left to go in the half. DeAirius Barker went on to drain a three to trim the deficit down to one, but Korte did the same to notch the score to 29-25, still in favor of West Liberty. UC bounced back though, stringing points together on baskets by Jones and Shunta Wilson to give them the 31-29 lead going into the half.
Even though the Golden Eagles were on top, the Hilltoppers shot better, going 11-25 (.440) from the floor, 4-10 (.400) from three and 3-4 (.750) from the line. UC was held to a field goal percentage of just .344 (11-32) and went 1-10 from the arc in the first half. They were better from the free throw line though, going 8-10 (.800).
UC kept their momentum going in the second half, as Wilson laid one in to get it started. A basket and a free throw by Barker continued to break it open . The Golden Eagles led the rest of the way but broke the game open after scoring 9 straight baskets to make the score 60-45 at the five minute 45 second mark. Charleston sealed the deal and secured the 78-68 victory on a free throw by Barker.
The starting five players were the driving force for the Golden Eagles, as 74 of the 78 points were scored by them. Capitalizing on second chance points and clutch free throw shooting is what won UC the game. The Golden Eagles shot just .393 (22-56) from the floor compared to the Hilltoppers' .442 (23-52). They outscored West Liberty 16-0 on second chance points, 17-11 on points off turnovers, 34-32 on points in the paint and 21-6 on fast break points. UC also shot a tremendous .821 (32-29) from the line in the win.
Up Next:
Charleston will see where they stand at regionals in the selection show tonight at 10pm.
