Glenville, W.Va. – The Pioneers fought close with the University of Charleston but fell short in the final seconds of the contest 71-70. Earlier in the season, the Pioneers fell at UC at the buzzer.
 
Phil Bledsoe lead the Blue and White with 27 points shooting 50% from the floor and 6-for-8 from behind the arc.
 
How It Happened
 
First Half:
 
Out of the gate, the Golden Eagles reached an early 9-0 lead over the Pioneers until Phil Bledsoe hit two three balls back to back trialing just 9-6.
 
Bledsoe and Najee Scott both added a layup to take a 10-9 lead. From there, the Pioneers would extend their lead to 17- 11 with a layup from Noah Frampton and freebies by Bledsoe.
 
UC responded on a short 6-0 run to tie the contest at 17 all then surpassing the Pioneers with a layup at 19-17.
 
Extending their lead up to 20-17, Steven Verplancken added a three ball and layup to knot up the contest at 20 all and 22 all.
 
UC then entered a 9-3 to take a 31-25 lead until both Bledsoe and Frampton added a layup each with a freebie from the stripe to trail 31-30 at the half.
 
Both teams shot 37% from the field as GSC shot just 25% from behind the arc where UC shot 30% from deep.
 
Third Quarter:
 
The lead continued to trade hands in the second half as the game would be knotted at 35 all before Bledsoe sunk a bucket from deep to push them ahead 38-37.
 
At the 13:13 minute-mark, UC caused a technical added three freebies to the Blue and White score at 44-41.
 
Hegel Augustin enhanced the score with a layup with another from Steven Verplancken. The Golden Eagles continue to rally with the Pioneers as the score was 54-52 in favor of GSC.
 
UC knotted the contest again at 54 as the Eagles contributed with a three-point conversation. Najee Scott added a layup along as Verplancken shot 2-for-2 at the stripe to regain the lead.
 
Maintaining the same momentum throughout the contest, Bledsoe found Verplancken on the court sinking a jumper to regain the lead, along with a layup form Verplancken, but UC added a pair of freebies to pull back within one.
 
At the one-minute mark, GSC led 66-65 as Augustin added a jumper to sit three points ahead of UC. The Golden Eagles added a shot from the stripe to sit 68-66 behind the Pioneers with 43 seconds remaining.
 
At the 26 second mark, Bledsoe added a pair from the stripe to maintain a four-point lead. UC retaliated with a three-point conversion to trail by one behind the Pioneers.
 
From there, UC added another pair from the stripe to take the game 71-70.  
 
Inside The Box Score
 
The Pioneers shot just 39% from the floor and 7-for-23 from behind the arc tallying six blocks and 18 points off turnovers.
 
Steven Verplancken net 18 points with two assists and five rebounds.
 
Hegel Augustin totaled five blocks and ten points in the contest.
 
The Golden Eagles shot 43% from the floor and 6-for-21 from behind the arc, scoring 35 points in the paint and tallying 43 rebounds.
 
UC was lead by Lamont McManus, scoring 21 points and five rebounds.
 
Coming Up
 
The Pioneers will head to Concord to end their regular season before heading the MEC Championship Tournament.