KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Riding a nine-game winning streak the University of Charleston men's basketball team has caught national attention by vaulting into the 25th spot of the latest NCAA Division II coaches poll.

Charleston (21-5) enters the final week of the regular season in second place in the West Virginia Conference rankings just behind national leader West Liberty. The Golden Eagles have found success with a deep offensive attack as nine players average more than five points per game.

Paul "PJ" Reyes (Taylor, Mich.) leads the was offensively with 20.7 points per game, which ranks him as the 17th best scorer in NCAA Division II. Evan Faulkner (Sandyhook, Ky.) and Eladio Espinosa (Norlina, N.C.) round out the double-digit scorers as each tallies 11.2 points per game. Faulkner paces the team with 61 three-pointers on the season, while Espinosa is big under the rim with a team-high 219 rebounds.

UC returns home for the first round of the WVIAC Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 pm. The opponent will not be set until Saturday evening after all regular season contests have concluded.

West Liberty (25-1) replaced defending national champion Bellarmine, Ky. (23-2) at the top of the NCAA Division II heap on Tuesday when the NABC released the results of its weekly Top 25 balloting.