Charleston, W.Va. –Charleston closed out the regular season with a victory over cross-town rival West Virginia State. The victory secured a #3 seed for Charleston in the Mountain East Conference tournament.
 
The Basics:
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center
Score: UC 80, WVSU 66
Records: UC 18-9 (14-6 MEC) West Virginia State 15-12 (11-9 MEC)
 
How it Happened:
The final game of the regular season in the Wehrle Arena was nothing short of exciting for the home crowd. The Golden Eagles got things started with a layup from senior Keaton Turner and then five points from senior CJ Meredith to take the 7-2 lead early on. The Yellow Jackets tried to keep up, but the Golden Eagles extended their lead 13-points about halfway through the first half of play. A few Charleston turnovers late in the half allowed State to cut the deficit, trailing 37-31 to Charleston as the buzzer sounded for halftime.
 
Coming out of the half, Charleston tacked on two with a layup by Zach Loveday, but the Yellow Jackets scored the next eight-points to tie the game at 39-39. Charleston then responded with the next six-points to regain their lead. The teams then exchanged points back and forth but around the four-minute mark the Golden Eagles began to really pull away with the lead. Charleston extended their lead to 16 as time wound down, going on to win the contest by 14, 80-66 the final score.
 
Dwaine Jones led the Golden Eagles offense with 19-points and seven assists. CJ Meredith contributed 16-points in the victory along with 9 rebounds. Zach Loveday ended the contest with a season high 16 rebounds.
 
Up Next:
The Golden Eagles will head to Wheeling, West Virginia for the Mountain East Conference tournament where they have claimed the #3 seed. The Golden Eagles will face-off with the Glenville State Pioneers on March 7^th at 2:30PM in WesBanco Arena.