Charleston, W.Va. – The No. 2 West Liberty University men's basketball team faced an uphill battle all night as they never led in Wednesday night's 92-83 loss to (RV) Charleston. The game was tied on two occasions in the early minutes and the Black & Gold battled back from a 14 point deficit late in the second half as they cut the UC lead to four points with 5:49 remaining but was unable to get any closer as Charleston withstood the charge.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 2 West Liberty 83, (RV) Charleston 92
Team Records: No. 2 West Liberty 7-1 (3-1 MEC), (RV) Charleston 6-1 (5-0 MEC)
Attendance: 230
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• West Liberty tied the game at 3-3 with a 3-pointer from Christian Montague and at 5-5 with a layup by Kyler Daugustino, but Charleston took the lead for good in the game with a 3-pointer from Keaton Turner with 17:39 left in the first half.
• The deficit remained single digits a majority of the first half as the teams went back-and-forth trading baskets, but the Golden Eagles were able to push the lead out to double digits at 34-22 with 1:49 left in the first off another 3-pointer. The lead grew as large as 14 points after a pair of free throws. Darren Fergus's 3-pointer with six seconds remaining in the half cut the lead back to 11 at 38-27 entering halftime.
• The Black & Gold began to rally early in the second half as they cut the deficit to five points at 44-39 following an 8-0 scoring run capped by a pair of layups by Montague.
• UC pushed the lead back to double digits minutes later and grew as large as 13 points following a layup with 13:29 left in the game.
• A 3-pointer by Zach Rasile cut the game back to single digits at 68-59 with 7:29 left in the game. The ensuing possession Dante Spadafora connected on a second straight 3-pointer and the lead was down six points. Both baskets were assisted by Chaz Hinds. The Golden Eagles responded with a 3-pointer of their own before Hinds connected from downtown for the third connective made shot from beyond the arc for the Hilltoppers. Fergus capped the 11-3 scoring run for WLU with a layup to make it a four point game (71-67) with only 5:49 left in the game.
• Charleston withstood the Hilltopper scoring run and answered with a 9-3 run of their own to push the lead back to double digits at 80-70 with 3:02 left on the clock. West Liberty momentarily closed within six points again following free throws from Rasile and Alek West, but the Golden Eagles iced the game away by going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final 50 seconds of the game.
• West Liberty shot 31-of-70 (44.3%) from the field, 12-of-33 (36.4%) from 3-point range, and 9-of-15 (60.0%) from the free throw line compared to 32-of-55 (58.2%) from the field, 9-of-16 (56.3%) from 3-point range, and 19-of-22 (86.4%) from the free throw line for Charleston.
• The Hilltoppers only scored ten points off 21 Golden Eagle turnovers. UC also held the advantage in rebounds 43-23 and scored 21 second chance points off 11 offensive boards.
• Montague led six players in double figures scoring with 23 points, while Hinds added 15 points and Rasile scored 11 points. Spadafora, Fergus, and West each had ten points in the game.
• WLU had six players knock down a shot from beyond the arc, led by Hinds with three.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Christian Montague: 23 points, 10-of-15 field goals, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Chaz Hinds: 15 points, 3-of-5 3-pointers, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal
Zach Rasile: 11 points, 2-of-4 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will return to the hilltop after two consecutive games on the road when they host West Virginia State on Saturday evening. The Hilltoppers and Yellow Jackets are set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off inside the ASRC.