Story and Photos by Dominic Baima

Baker Gym was packed Friday for senior night as Charleston hosted Marshall in what would be Charleston’s highest-scoring win of the season.

The Trojans defeated Marshall, 83-61, in an exciting matchup. Marshall would try to claw back in the second half before a surge in the fourth quarter would seal the win for Charleston.

Marshall senior Landon Boatman would connect on a three to put Marshall up 3-0 early in the first quarter for Marshall’s only lead of the game. Charleston junior Langdon King would respond with a jumper in the paint and then back-to-back threes by senior Caleb Oakley and a 3-pointer by senior Josh Sipes would put the Trojans up 11-3.

Charleston senior Caleb Oakley reacts to scoring a three-pointer Friday at Baker Gym during the Trojans 83-61 win over Marshall. Caleb scored 21 points during the win.

Freshman Tyler Oakley would score his own set of three and an offensive rebound put in the basket at the buzzer by Oakley would give the Trojans a 21-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Charleston would start off the second quarter with Caleb Oakley’s third three-pointer of the night. The Trojans would score on a couple of steal and breakaway plays. Sophomore Luke Bonnstetter would drain a three to end the half. The Trojans would hold the Lions to 10 points in the second quarter giving Charleston the 43-22 lead going into halftime.

A surge by Marshall in the third quarter was accelerated by Marshal senior Brandon Healey scoring a three and then the Lions immediately got a steal on the inbound to score again. The Lions would pull within thirteen by the end of the third quarter.

Charleston’s Tyler Oakley would score three 3-pointers and Sipes would add a two to shift the momentum definitively in Charleston’s favor in the fourth. The Charleston bench would enter the game with just over a minute left and add a few more points which were met with excitement from the starters on the bench.

Caleb and Tyler Oakley led the Trojans in scoring with 21 points a piece. They were followed by Seniors Sipes Cam Dunklin who both scored 9.

Charleston Head Coach A.J. Alexander was excited and happy to see how his team pulled together to pull off the high-scoring win. “Another great complete team effort from all of our guys, seniors Josh Sipes and Cam Dunklin stepped up in the Effingham game and tonight for the senior night game,” said Alexander. He felt the game was, “a good one to go out on, scoring 83 points for our seniors as we send them off is pretty awesome.”

Charleston freshman Tyler Oakley takes a shot Friday at Baker Gym during the Trojans 83-61 win over Marshall. Tyler scored 21 points during the win.
Charleston senior Caleb Oakley scores a three-pointer Friday at Baker Gym during the Trojans 83-61 win over Marshall. Caleb scored 21 points during the win.
Charleston senior Josh Sipes takes a shot Friday at Baker Gym during the Trojans 83-61 win over Marshall. Sipes scored nine points during the win.
Charleston sophomore Luke Bonnstetter takes a shot in the paint Friday at Baker Gym during the Trojans 83-61 win over Marshall. Bonnstetter scored seven points during the win.
Charleston Coach A.J. Alexander runs through a tunnel of fans Friday at Baker Gym following Charleston’s 83-61 win over Marshall. (Photo/Dominic Baima)
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Charleston21221030 –83
Marshall12101821 –61

Charleston: Dunklin 4 2-1 9, Al Kuykendall 2 0-0 4, Spour 0 8-4 4, Bonstetter 1 2-2 7, Sipes 1 4-4 9, Ad. Kuykendall 0 0-0 0, King 3 0-0 6, T. Oakley 1 6-4 21, Amartey 1 0-0 2, C. Oakley 2 9-8 21. 3-pointers: Bonstetter 1, Sipes 1, T. Oakley 5, C. Oakley 3. Total 10.

Marshall: Scott 0 0-0 0, Murphy 3 5-3 9, Healey 0 1-0 3, Wallace 2 0-0 7, Daugherty 1 1-0 2, Boatman 0 0-0 9, McGuire 5 2-2 21, Mattas 4 0-0 8. 3-pointers: Healey 1, Wallace 1, Boatman 3, McGuire 3. Total 8.