Wheeling Jesuit 79, No. 17 Charleston 76
QUARTERFINALS
GAME ONE
Wheeling Jesuit 79, No. 17 Charleston 76
The No. 6-seeded Cardinals (22-9) survived a late flurry by the No. 3-seeded Golden Eagles (26-7) to earn the first NCAA Tournament win in school history.
After trailing for most of the game, Charleston hit four consecutive 3-pointers during a 12-3 run to forge a 76-76 tie with 1:07 remaining.
Joe Prati made 1-of-2 free throws with 32 seconds left for a 77-76 Wheeling Jesuit lead and Charleston called timeout to set up for a potential game-winner.
The Golden Eagles tried to hit WVIAC Player of the Year PJ Reyes with a lob at the rim but the Cardinals’ Steve Catich read the play and knocked the ball away. Obi Ukwuoma was fouled after grabbing the deflection and Ukwuoma – a 46-percent free throw shooter – knocked down both foul tosses for a 79-76 lead with 11 ticks remaining.
Charleston had one last chance to force overtime but Xavier Humphrey’s 3-point try clanged off the iron and out of bounds at time expired.
Catich paced the winners with 24 points and 8 rebounds while Prati added a dozen points off the bench.
Humphrey poured in a career-high 32 points for UC – including a 7-of-14 showing from the 3-point line – while Evan Faulkner chipped in with 14 points. Reyes was shut out in the second half and finished with 7 points on the afternoon.
