INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University men's basketball team defeated West Virginia Wesleyan, 97-87, after one overtime period on Thursday night at the Walker Convocation Center.

West Virginia State jumps to 16-6 overall, 11-6 in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) with the win. Meanwhile, West Virginia Wesleyan drops to 9-14 on the season, 8-8 in the MEC with the loss.

Junior guard Glen Abram was the game's leading scorer with 33 points. He shot 10-of-19 from the floor, 7-of-14 from three-point range, and 6-of-6 from the foul line. Freshman forward Anthony Pittman registered his fourth double-double of the season with 26 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Senior guard Michal Seals nearly registered a double-double himself with 11 points and nine boards.

Moderate swings in momentum marked the first 12 minutes of the contest. John Dawson tipped-in a missed shot with 7:42 remaining in the first half to put the Yellow Jackets in front by one point, 24-23.

In the ensuing four minutes, the Bobcats embarked on a 14-0 run that left them with a 13-point advantage, 37-24. Eight of those 14 points came from made free-throws as they continually drove into the lane and drew fouls.

West Virginia State made the most out of the final two minutes of the opening half with a 7-0 run. John Dawson started the run off with a three-pointer while Anthony Pittman finished it with back-to-back plays in which he grabbed a rebound and turned it into two points. At the half, the Yellow Jackets trailed by six points, 37-31.

West Virginia State finally reclaimed the lead, 51-49, around the 14-minute mark when Glen Abram knocked down a three-point shot. The rest of the second half was as tight-knit as they come.

The Bobcats hit a three-pointer with 3:24 left to play to close the gap to two points, 74-72. Abram responded with a shot from behind the arc on the next possession, 77-72.

West Virginia Wesleyan's Luka Petrovic then got to the basket twice with some nice moves to narrow the deficit to a single point, 77-76. There were two minutes left in regulation when the Yellow Jackets regained possession.

After missed shots by both teams, Pittman ended up at the foul line with a minute to go. He crucially made both of his free-throw attempts to put his team up by three points, 79-76.

Petrovic then drained the three-pointer that would send the game into overtime.

Overtime was undecided until Michal Seals came up with a huge steal and rushed down the court for a sweet layup that gave West Virginia State a five-point cushion, 91-84. With only a minute to left to play, there wasn't much that West Virginia Wesleyan could do to get back in the game. The Bobcats tried fouling, but it only allowed the Yellow Jackets to increase their margin of victory.

There wasn't a whole lot to separate these two teams on the scoresheet. Twenty-one personal fouls along with a technical foul certainly didn't help West Virginia Wesleyan. On the other hand, the Yellow Jackets maintained their composure in a close game and committed just 13 fouls.

West Virginia State will travel to Davis & Elkins (6-17, 4-13 MEC) for their next game on Saturday, Feb. 15. Tip is scheduled for 4 p.m.