BECKLEY, W.Va.— The Asbury University men's basketball team fell 94-76 at No. 4 West Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon in the River States Conference (RSC) semifinal round.
AU closes the season with a 21-10 record, winning 13 of their last 16 games.
Asbury fell behind 9-3 but established a one-point advantage after Deion Cochran sank three straight free throws at 11-10.
WVU Tech extended their lead out to 24-14 and had Asbury in a double-digit hole.
West Virginia Tech shot nearly 50 percent from three in the opening half and dominated the glass with a 23-13 edge on AU.
Trenton Thompson knotted 13 points in the first half and played a key role in making it a one-possession game at the half.
After trailing 34-23 with 7:29 to play, the Eagles ended the half with a big push to cut the lead down to 3 with an 18-10 run to make it 44-41 heading into halftime.
Cochran's three-point basket tied the game up at 44 in the first minute of the second half, as both teams locked in for another physical half of basketball.
Asbury struggled to slow down the fast paced West Virginia Tech offense, as the Golden Bears found themselves still in control and back up by 10 at 62-52 after hitting their 10th three-point field goal of the game later on in the second half of action.
Another three-pointer from WVU Tech gave them a 70-57 advantage with nine minutes to play.
Down 13, the Eagles needed a rally to get back into the contest.
Eric Powell served as a spark off the bench to keep AU in the game. Powell scored 10 points and his three from the corner cut the lead back down into single digits at 70-61.
Asbury remained within nine points at 74-65 with under six minutes left, but the Eagles were unable to close in on the lead.
West Virginia Tech finished with 15 made three-pointers and scored 36 points inside the paint. The Golden Bears out-rebounded AU 40-28. Elisha Boone of WVU Tech collected a triple-double on the afternoon.
Asbury, who had made 37 threes in their last three games, were held to 7-22 from long range on the day.
Trenton Thompson led AU with 28 points and nine rebounds on 8-16 shooting. Thompson also dished out three assists and shot 11-13 from the foul line.
Deion Cochran scored 12 points and knocked down a team-high three three-pointers. Clif Conley recorded nine points and five rebounds, while Clarien Washington tallied seven points.
