The University of Charleston men's basketball team got a taste of the unpredictability of the Mountain East Conference tournament Tuesday night.
The Golden Eagles, the tournament's fifth seed, got all it could handle from Urbana, which finished 12th in the 12-team conference's regular season. Yet UC, behind 19 points and 10 rebounds from junior Justin Coleman, was able to hold off the Blue Knights at the Charleston Catholic Athletic Complex for a 76-66 win and a berth in Friday's MEC quarterfinals.
Now Charleston (16-13) gets its chance to score a win as a lower seed. The Golden Eagles will play fourth-seeded Concord at 8:15 p.m. Friday. UC beat the Mountain Lions by 30 last week, which started the Golden Eagles' current three-game winning streak.
"I thought we played really hard," UC coach Dwaine Osborne said. "I don't think we necessarily played that well. I think the last 15 minutes of the game, we shot well for the most part and made the key ones when we needed them."
The Blue Knights got 31 points from Carlas Jackson, including a 7-for-11 night from the 3-point line, but it wasn't enough to score the upset. Urbana (2-26) shot just 35.3 percent (24 for 68) from the floor.
After Jackson's 3-pointer with 8:30 left cut Charleston's lead to 53-52, the Blue Knights made just 4 of 14 shots from the floor. UC, on the other hand, took just six shots from the floor in the game's final 8:50, but made four of them and made 17 of 20 free throws in that span.
The Golden Eagles weren't strangers to close games with Urbana this season. The Blue Knights had Charleston down by 18 on their home court before UC squeaked out a two-point win.
After leading, 31-26 at halftime, the Golden Eagles suffered a cold snap to start the second half that allowed the Blue Knights to take the lead for the first time since 6:30 into the first half. UC missed four of its first five shots of the second half, while Urbana made its first four and five of its first eight.
Jackson drilled a 3-pointer for Urbana with 17:47 left to tie the game at 36, then Dimitri Abner was fouled on a made jumper, then hit the free throw with 15:59 left to give the Blue Knights a 36-33 lead.
"I think it was our team's resilience," Urbana coach Rob Summers said. "They sat down during time outs and I said, guys, we've been in this situation before. We've been close. We were up on Charleston at home before. We're right here. And they really believed in it."
Urbana's flurry was something the Golden Eagles weren't surprised to see.
"Coach told us at halftime they were going to make a run," Coleman said. "Basketball is a game of runs, and when they make that run, we have to come together and be brothers. Be your brother's keeper."
The Blue Knights last led the game at 40-38 with 14:54 left. Then Charleston picked up the pace in spots to get into its transition offense. It was an area where Osborne felt his team had some advantages over Urbana. UC scored a pair of buckets over the next 38 seconds to take a 42-40 lead, and never trailed again.
Abner finished the game with 17 points for Urbana, while Jahmere Howze added 11 points. The other six Blue Knights who saw the floor Tuesday contributed just seven points total to Urbana's final score. Tino DiTrapano scored 16 points, making 8 of 11 from the free throw line, and enters Friday's game with 998 career points. Aleksander Kesic and Jaylen Hinton each scored 11.
Now the Golden Eagles get their shot at another MEC tournament crown. UC won the inaugural Mountain East tournament, upsetting West Liberty in the 2014 title game.
"There's a lot of confidence, but we still have to take it one game at a time," Coleman said. "Concord is a great team. They'll know everything about us. Who's the tougher team, that's what it'll come down to."
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W.Va. Wesleyan 70, W.Va. State 54: The Yellow Jackets scored just 16 first half points and could not recover in losing a first-round Mountain East Conference Tournament road game. State's season ended at 6-22, while Wesleyan (17-12) advances to Friday's quarterfinal round where it will face No. 2 seeded Wheeling Jesuit (27-2) at noon in the Civic Center.
Tanner McGrew paced the Bobcats with 31 points and 13 rebounds, while Soren Dossing adding 12 points and Garrett Grantham 11. Mo Berchie contributed a game-high 15 rebounds.
For State, Tyrie Elliott led the way with 14 points, followed by Brent Bauer with 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Terrance Jenkins also had 12 points for State, with Markee Mazyck adding 11 points.