Charleston Leader

Golden Eagles Fall in Final Game of Regular Season

 The Golden Eagles fall to the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State University in the final game of the regular season 92-81.  
 
The Basics:
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center
Score: UC 81, WVSU 92
Records: UC 19-8 (16-5 MEC), GSU 15-13, (11-10 MEC)
 
How it Happened:
The Golden Eagles were set to play their final home game after celebrating their two graduates, Keith Williams and Deng Nhial. Charleston and the Yellow jackets of rival West Virginia State University were joined by a packed house for the final game of the regular season.
 
Charleston opened the scoring with a layup by CJ Meredith after winning the tip-off, but the Yellow Jackets responded with a three. Charleston then went on seven-point run to take the lead 9-3, but the Yellow Jackets continued to respond, taking the game back to a one -point difference at the under fifteen media timeout. Following the timeout, Charleston responded with ten-point run to take the 21-10 lead with 11:33 left to play in the half. Charleston maintained their lead and even extended it to fourteen over the next few minutes of play, running the clock down to 9:11. The Yellow Jackets slowly began to cut the deficit, eventually brining the game back within one, Charleston leading 33-32 with just five minutes left to play in the half. The last five minutes of the half were back and forth basketball, both teams trading buckets, Charleston leading by two, 46-44, as the teams entered the locker rooms.
 
The Yellow Jackets shot 50% in the first half and Charleston shot nearly 70% (69.23%). Keith Williams led the offense with fourteen points in the half.
 
Charleston entered the second half with a jumper by Keaton Turner to push their lead to four. West Virginia State responded with a jumper of their own and from there the scoring continued to go back and forth for several minutes. Charleston went on an 8-2 run around the 17-minute mark to take a ten-point lead, but the Yellow Jackets responded with an eight-point run of their own to bring the score back within two, UC leading 61-59 with fourteen left on the clock. The next four minutes were back and forth, West Virginia State eventually tying the game at 68-68 with 10:10 on the clock. This was the turning point of the contest for the Golden Eagles. The Yellow Jackets hit a three, and the Charleston squad who led the entire game now trailed the Yellow Jackets. West Virginia State increased their advantage to six, but the Golden Eagles showed some fight as they brought the score back to even with just under six left to play. After being fouled, State hit two free throws, once again taking the lead over Charleston. Charleston responded with a layup by Keaton Turner to bring the score back to even, but State answered right back as they hit a jumper on the other end of the court. UC's Eddie Colbert III got fouled from beyond the arc so headed to the line with three chances at the basket. After missing the first free throw, Head Coach Dwaine Osborne was forced to take a timeout due to blood on a UC players uniform. Colbert went on to make 1-3 Free throws, UC trailing 82-81. After getting the rebound, State capitalized with a layup. The Yellow Jackets then got a steal down the court and layed up another basket to take the five-point lead with just 56 seconds left on the clock. The Golden Eagles inbounded the ball and went down the court to take a three, but after missing they were forced to foul. State drained both free throws and now led by seven. With just 34 seconds to play Charleston rushed down the court, but after turning the ball over they were forced to foul once again. The Yellow Jackets once again capitalized and now had a nine-point advantage. Once again Charleston hurried down the court, but with another missed shot and no timeouts left after the unfortunate blood on the uniform incident, the Golden Eagles were forced to foul once more. The Yellow Jackets made both shots and with the clock dwindling down, the Golden Eagles were out of time and fell to State 92-81.
 
Up Next:
Charleston has received the #3 seed in the Mountain East Conference Tournament and will face-off with #6 seed Davis & Elkins College on Friday, March 3rd at 2:30PM in WesBanco Arena. 

Original source can be found here