MBB: Charleston, West Virginia State Move On to Semifinals
#1 Charleston def. #8 Notre Dame, 75-58
WHEELING – The University of Charleston scored 54 points in the paint as they defeated Notre Dame College, 75-58, in Friday’s third men’s quarterfinal of the 2024 MEC Basketball Tournament, presented by The Health Plan.
With the victory, the first-seeded Golden Eagles will face the fifth-seeded Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State in Saturday’s first semifinal at 6 pm at the WesBanco Arena.
The Golden Eagles got off to a fast start as they jumped out to an early 16-4 lead behind Tyler Eberhart’s eight points.
Notre Dame, which struggled early, finally found the bottom of the net at the 16:18 minute mark nearly four minutes into the contest.
The Golden Eagles continued to push the pace and eventually built a 15-point lead at 30-15. The Falcons scoring woes continued as they had a 7:20 scoring drought.
Notre Dame was able to make a push right before half, as UC was plagued by their own scoring drought, as the Falcons cut the deficit to 12-points at intermission, 32-20. The two teams combined for just 21-of-60 from the field in the first half.
UC started the second half on a 7-1 run and took a 39-23 lead over NDC. The Falcons then answered with quick four points of their own. However Charleston countered, scoring the next five points as they led 44-27.
Notre Dame put together several scoring possessions and pulled within 12-points, 52-40, with 11:23 to play. But Charleston had an answer down the stretch and punched their ticket to semifinals with a 75-58 victory.
Charleston finished the contest shooting 58 percent from the field while Notre Dame shot 34 percent from the field.
Charleston dominated on the inside as they outscored Notre Dame 54-24 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 44-26.
UC’s Shunta Wilson scored a game tying high 21 points going 10-for-13 from the floor while pulling down seven rebounds. Dwaine Jones chipped in with 15 points while Tyler Eberhart scored 12 points and four assists.
Charleston also had five players with five or more rebounds in the game.
The Falcons defensively forced the Golden Eagles into 17 turnovers and converted them into 16 points.
NDC’s Devin Haid also scored 21 points in the contest while Andre Harris finished with 10 points.
#4 West Virginia St. def. #5 Fairmont State, 85-80
WHEELING – Fourth-seeded West Virginia State rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat fifth-seeded Fairmont State, 85-80, on Friday night in the fourth quarterfinal of the 2024 Mountain East Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament, presented by The Health Plan.
In a classic game of runs, the teams battled through 11 ties and nine lead changes.
Fairmont State opened up a 38-27 halftime lead following a late 19-8 scoring run, which was keyed by 10 points from Zyon Dobbs.
In fact, Dobbs hit two 3-pointers shortly before the scoring run and scored 16 of his 18 first-half points over the final 11:30 of the period.
With Fairmont State leading 44-29 just two minutes into the second half, West Virginia State went on a game-turning 25-8 run and took the lead at the 9:29 mark following a fast-break dunk by Kalil Camera.
The lead was State’s first since the 8:37 mark of the first quarter.
During the 25-8 scoring run that spanned nearly 10 minutes of play, Camara scored 11 points and Miguel Camara added nine.
Fairmont State regained the lead at the 6:30 mark and held a four-point advantage (72-68) with 4:54 to play. However, the Yellow Jackets responded with a 12-1 spurt that was capped by a Antonio Carter three-pointer. Nate Mims also scored five points during the stretch.
The run gave WVSU an 80-73 lead with 1:23 remaining.
Fairmont State would get back to within two in the final minute, but West Virginia State held the Falcons off with free throw shooting.
Anthony Pittman finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds in the win. Camara chipped in 16 points and five rebounds. Carter (13), Martinez (13) and Mims (12) also reached double-figures for the Yellow Jackets.
After struggling from the field in the opening half (34.4%), West Virginia State shot 55 percent in the second half and finished the game at 44 percent.
Fairmont State shot 42 percent from the floor.
Dobbs finished with a game-high 28 points for Fairmont State. Cameron Whiteside added 21 points, while Tyheil Peterson chipped in 10.
West Virginia State will meet top-seeded Charleston in Saturday’s first men’s semifinal. The game is set for a 6 p.m. tip at WesBanco Arena. The Yellow Jackets own two regular season victories over the Golden Eagles this season.