Charleston Falls to Davis & Elkins 77-72 in the Quarterfinals of the MEC Tournament

Charleston Falls to Davis & Elkins 77-72 in the Quarterfinals of the MEC Tournament | https://ucgoldeneagles.com/

By Press release submission

Mar 10, 2023

Charleston Falls to Davis & Elkins 77-72 in the Quarterfinals of the MEC Tournament

The Basics:
Location: WesBanco Arena
Score: UC 72, D&E 77
Records: UC 19-10(16-7 MEC), D&E 19-10, (13-10 MEC)

How it Happened:
The number three seeded Golden Eagles were facing off with the number six seeded Davis & Elkins Senators in the Mountain East Conference Tournament quarter finals. After winning the tip-off, Deng Nhial got fouled and put the Golden Eagles on the board first after making both of his free throws.

In the next few moments of the game, both sides were struggling to keep the ball in their half, turning the ball over and missing key rebounds. Around the 16-minute mark the Golden Eagles made two subs, bringing in Eddie Colbert IIIand Shunta Wilson. Charleston who trailed 11-7 quickly got a defensive board and finished the play with a layup to bring the deficit within two. The Senators responded with a 10-5 run, taking the nine-point lead over the Golden Eagles at the under ten media timeout.

The Golden Eagles offense continued to struggle, shooting 18% from the field with just five minutes left in the half, while the Senators were rolling on the other end shooting 62% from inside the arc.

After ten plus minutes without making a field goal, Shunta Wilson ended the drought for Charleston with a layup, but the Golden Eagle offense still had a lot of ground to make up, trailing 38-18 with 2:49 left in the half.

Coach Osborne's squad headed to the locker room trailing 45-22.

CJ Meredith, MEC Freshman of the Year, began heating up for Charleston with seven points in the first seven minutes of the half as the Golden Eagles slowly began to cut the deficit, going on a 17-6 run and cutting the Senator lead to twelve with 13:07 left in the contest. Moments later, Keith Williams drained a three, taking Charleston within eleven of Davis & Elkins.

At the under ten media timeout the Golden Eagles had changed the narrative, outscoring the Senators 27-9, only trailing by seven-points with ten minutes left to play. The teams traded buckets back and forth for the next few minutes, Davis & Elkins still leading by seven with three minutes left in the contest.

The Charleston offense rallied back with just a minute left on the clock, cutting the Senator lead to 73-69. Keith Williams hit a three followed by a steal from Eddie Colbert III to get the ball to CJ Meredith for a layup, the Golden Eagles trailed by four with about fifty seconds left to play. Unfortunately, Charleston ran out of time in the contest and fell to the Senators 77-72. The Golden Eagles finished the season 19-10 and 16-7 in Mountain East Conference play.