BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University men's basketball team needed a game-winning jumper from Michal Seals to narrowly defeat West Virginia Wesleyan, 85-84, on Saturday night away from home. The Yellow Jackets trailed at halftime by 10 points only to come back in the second half and pull off a one-point margin of victory.

West Virginia State (10-3, 5-3 MEC) moves ahead of West Virginia Wesleyan (5-9, 4-4 MEC) in the league standings with the critical win late in the 2019-20 season.

Freshman forward Anthony Pittman posted a team-high 21 points to go along with four rebounds and two steals. Teammate Jeremiah Moore was next-in-line with 19 points, seven boards, two assists, two steals, and a block. Senior guard Michal Seals played the full 40 minutes, scoring 15 points and dishing out seven assists. He showed his stamina by hitting the game-winning jumper and making both of his free-throw attempts in the final 30 seconds of the game.

The Bobcats were the hotter team out of the gates, grabbing their largest lead of the game with 8:16 remaining in the first half. They went up by 13 points, 31-18, on the heels of an 11-5 run.

The Yellow Jackets responded with a 14-11 run to close out the opening period. Nevertheless, they still went into the break down by 10 points, 42-32.

Following the halftime talk from Head Coach Bryan Poore, West Virginia State opened the second half on an 11-0 run that placed the Yellow Jackets in the lead, 43-42, with 17:30 left in the game. Glen Abram made three consecutive shots from three-point range to boost his team.

The rest of the game was as closely contested as any can be. There were some slight shifts in momentum, but neither side managed to pull away from the other.

With 1:20 showing on the scoreboard, Pittman converted a free-throw shot to give WVSU a two-point advantage, 81-79. Nearing the 30-second mark, West Virginia Wesleyan's Ross Young completed a three-point play to put WVWC in front, 82-81.

Letting the ball roll halfway up the court on the in-bound pass, Seals quickly dribbled into favorable range and pulled up for a jumper that went in with around 20 seconds left to play. After a sloppy transition by the Bobcats, Seals ended up at the foul line for two shots.

He crucially made both foul shots to give WVSU a three-point cushion, 85-82, with seven seconds to go. The three-point attempt by West Virginia Wesleyan at the end of the contest rimmed out, but was tipped in for a less-than-needed two points.

West Virginia State forced 22 turnovers while only turning the ball over 12 times. The Yellow Jackets subsequently scored 21 points off turnovers. Comparatively, the Bobcats came up with only 11 points off turnovers.

West Virginia State remains on the road for its next game at Notre Dame College (4-10, 2-6 MEC) on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.