Both the University of Charleston and West Virginia State men's basketball teams will try to stop losing streaks, some longer than others, when they take their respective home courts starting today.
Both the Golden Eagles and Yellow Jackets will host Notre Dame College and Urbana this weekend. UC tangles with Notre Dame at 7:30 today and Urbana at 4 p.m. Saturday, both at the Charleston Civic Center. WVSU gets Urbana at 7:30 today and Notre Dame at 4 p.m. Saturday, both at the Walker Convocation Center.
The Golden Eagles (11-9, 8-6 Mountain East) are trying to rebound after dropping a pair of games to top-eight opponents. Charleston fell on the road both to then-No. 5 Wheeling Jesuit and then-No. 8 West Liberty, the second time this season they had been tripped up by both the Cardinals and Hilltoppers. UC had won five straight prior to those games.
The Yellow Jackets (5-14, 3-11 Mountain East Conference) also fell to Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty, two losses among the team's current five-game losing streak. State has lost 10 of its last 11.
In Notre Dame and Urbana, the Golden Eagles and Yellow Jackets find opponents headed in opposite directions. Notre Dame (14-6, 8-6) has won four of its last five games, the only loss coming against West Liberty. The Falcons have one of the MEC's better offenses, fourth in the league at 88.1 points per game.
Notre Dame sports two of the conference's top four scorers, Tyree Gaiter and Will Voorhees. Gaiter, second in the MEC, averages 23.1 points, while Voorhees, ranked fourth, averages 21.4. Gaiter also leads the MEC with 7.0 assists per game. Voorhees and teammate Ja'Sean Lewis are fifth and sixth, respectively, in the conference in rebounding, Voorhees getting 9.7 per game and Lewis averaging 9.6.
Urbana (1-18, 0-14 MEC) on the other hand, has not won a game since beating Salem International on Nov. 18. The Blue Knights defense sits last in the MEC in points allowed (92.4 per game) and field goal percentage allowed (52.6 percent). Urbana's scoring defense also ranks last in Division II and its field goal percentage defense ranks next to last. Jahmere Howze leads Urbana in scoring with 16.3 points per game.