Storylines – vs. University of Charleston
The University of Charleston Golden Eagles open their home conference slate Saturday afternoon as the program looks for its first conference win of the season. In his sixth season with the squad, Dwaine Osborne's team sits at 4-3 on the season with a 0-3 mark in Mountain East Conference play. The Golden Eagles have lost close ones in all three conference matchups, losing by three in double overtime to Fairmont State, 99-96, falling to Shepherd 101-93, and dropping one in overtime to Concord Wednesday night, 106-100. Despite being winless in conference play, the Golden Eagles have been efficient offensively posting a +9.9 scoring margin while averaging 93.6 points per game and shooting 56.3 percent (232-for-412) from the field. Charleston currently ranks third in offense and second in scoring margin as they sit atop the field goal percentage ranking in the league. Osborne's team has six players averaging double-digit points, led by junior Drew Rackley who has posted 24.9 ppg and is shooting 54.1 percent (59-for-109) to start the season. Rackley's scoring average places him second in the league. Junior forward Devon Robinson is the team's top rebounder posting five per game while sophomore guard Seth O'Neal leads Charleston in assists registering 4.1 per contest for the Golden Eagles. Charleston was tabbed third in this year's preseason poll following an 18-13 overall record, 12-10 in the MEC, during last year's campaign before ending the season in the conference championship with a loss to Wheeling Jesuit.
About UVa-Wise
Blake Mellinger's Cavalier men wrapped up their five-game homestand to start the season with an emphatic 105-92 win over West Virginia State Wednesday night. Six players scored in double figures for UVa-Wise led by freshman
Cameron Whiteside who had 19 points and connected on a season-high four three-point field goals. Juniors
Michal Seals and
Tajh Eason each registered double-doubles in the win with Seals netting 14 points with 12 assists while Eason had 17 points and 10 boards. Freshman
Briggs Parris recorded his third-straight 16-point performance while junior
Chance Sheffey had a season-high 15 points off the bench and junior
Eric Okenchi added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. As a team, UVa-Wise is currently holding a +3.3 scoring margin over opponents while averaging 86.3 point per game, ranking the Cavs fifth in the league in offensive scoring. UVa-Wise will look to continue improving field goal and free throw percentages while sustaining strong numbers defensively. From the floor, the Cavs are shooting 43 percent (216-for-497) and are 98-for-143 (68 percent) from the charity stripe, placing them in the 11th and 10th spot in the league, respectively. UVa-Wise has outrebounded opponents by a +1.4 margin averaging 42.4 boards per contest and holding a second place rank in both the league's offensive rebounds (13.29 per game) and defensive rebounds (29.14 per game) categories. The team also sits atop the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 28.6 percent (44-for-154) shooting from beyond the arc. UVa-Wise will attempt to get their first win over Charleston since the 2016-17 campaign after dropping two close games to the Golden Eagles last season.
