Charleston, W.Va. – The GSC Pioneer men's basketball squad (4-1), (1-1) would come up just short on Tuesday evening as they fell to the University of Charleston Golden Eagles (5-1), (1-1) by two points, 85-83.
 
The loss would be the first of the season for the Pioneers.
 
Phil Bledsoe lead the Pioneers with 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
 
Steven Verplancken and Tyvon Taylor stared the Pioneer momentum early gaining a 7-2 lead. The Blue and White continued by going on a short 8-2 run to extend their lead 13-4 with buckets by Ty Robinson and Phil Bledsoe with 14:52 left in the half.
 
UC cut their deficit to two by going on a 13-8 run but responded by making a ten-point separation with back to back three's by Bledsoe, 30-19 with 8:10 left in the first half.
 
UC continued to claw back in the half as both teams would trade ten baskets each before GSC made separation leafing 44-31 with seven points by Verplancken with 1:33 left in the half.
 
The Golden Eagles went on a short 8-5 run to head into halftime with a Pioneer lead of 47-39.
 
The Blue and White shot 53% from the floor going 8-for-12 from deep going 5-for-6 form the line. UC shot less than 50% going 16-for-34 from the field with only to buckets from deep.
 
Noah Frampton started the half connecting with Verplancken on a bucket from deep and continued the half trading baskets back and forth.
 
UC forced GSC into a timeout as they cut their deficit back to two as GSC lead 54-52 with 14:45 left in the game.
 
Both UC and GSC had two lead changes within seconds of each other. UC's Drew Rackley hit a shot from deep to lead 57-58 but answered back by Hegel Augustin with a jump shot to regain their lead 59-58.
 
The game would be knotted up at 61 all as both teams continued to run up and down the floor trading baskets. Jump to the 7:30 mark, UC held a one-point lead 71-70.
 
The Golden Eagles then went on an 8-2 run as they went up 79-72 with under five to play.
 
Phil Bledsoe went on a 5-0 run after hitting a shot from deep after the media timeout to cut UC lead to four and going 2-for-2 from the line, trailing the Pioneers 81-77.
 
Augustin would add two free throws for the Pioneers to pull GSC within two with 3:16 left. Hegel then knotted the game up at 81 all off of an offensive rebound and put back. Hegel would pull the Pioneers in front with a dunk as the Pioneers held an 83-81 lead with over a minute to go.
 
UC then tied the game at 83 all with under a minute to play. After a shot attempt by the Golden Eagles, GSC's Bledsoe would pull down the rebound and the Pioneers would call a timeout with 22 seconds left.
 
The Pioneers would turn it over and UC would regain the lead 85-83 with two seconds remaining. The Blue and White would have one last shot but it would fall short at the buzzer.
 
Glenville State shot 48% form the floor and 40% from deep hitting 11 three pointers. The Pioneers got a lift from their bench, as they outscored UC's bench; 30-9 in the contest.
 
UC shot 56% from the field and went 8-for-20 from deep for 40%. The Golden Eagles held the advantage in the paint outscoring 50-36.
 
Steven Verplancken totaled 17 points and dished out a team high six assist. Hegel Augustin also chipped in with 17 points while grabbing three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
The Blue and White will be back in action hosting California University of Pennsylvania, Sunday December 1^st at 4pm in the Waco Center.