INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University men's basketball team edged out Concord, 98-94, in a Mountain East Conference (MEC) contest on Tuesday night at the Walker Convocation Center. The Yellow Jackets held the lead for 37 minutes in a controlled team performance.

West Virginia State improves to 4-1 overall, 1-1 in the MEC with the win. Meanwhile, Concord drops to 3-4 on the season, 1-1 in league play with the loss.

Freshman guard Treohn Watkins and junior guard Glen Abram led the scoring effort for the Yellow Jackets with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Forward Anthony Pittman neared double-double numbers with 12 points and a team-high eight boards.

West Virginia State seized control of the game early on. The Yellow Jackets claimed their largest lead of the game with 9:19 remaining in the first half when Isaiah Noel's three-point field goal put them up by 19 points, 35-16. The stifling lead was the result of a 17-4 run by West Virginia State in which the team forced three turnovers and drained three buckets from behind the arc.

The Mountain Lions made their run late in the first half to close the substantial gap between the two sides. The Yellow Jackets still went into halftime with a six-point lead, 51-45.

West Virginia State went ahead by as much as 17 points in the second half. The Yellow Jackets started hot and were up 71-54 in less than five minutes. Jeremiah Moore shockingly hit three shots from downtown as part of a 20-9 run by WVSU to start the second period.

Concord didn't get back within range of West Virginia State until the final 30 seconds of the game when Kelly Martin's three-pointer narrowed the Mountain Lion's deficit to two points, 96-94. Pittman and Abram made their free throws at the end to ensure victory for the Yellow Jackets.

After suffering from a lack of accuracy from distance against Glenville State in the last game, West Virginia State bounced back by shooting 12-of-26 (46 percent) from three-point range. On the other side of the court, Concord made 6-of-16 (38 percent) three-point shots as a team.

WVSU will come back after the Thanksgiving break to take on Frostburg State at home on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO THE YELLOW JACKET NATION!