CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University men's basketball team traveled across town to face Charleston in the Kanawha River Classic on Saturday afternoon and was defeated by a small margin, 85-78.The Yellow Jackets led at halftime, 38-36, but were unable to hold on in the second half.
West Virginia State (18-9, 13-9 MEC) finishes the regular season ranked fourth in the Mountain East Conference. This is the best-ever finish to the regular season since WVSU joined the MEC in 2013. Meanwhile, Charleston (23-5, 17-5 MEC) ends the regular season ranked second in the league standings.
Junior guard Glen Abram surpassed 1,000 career points by putting up 16 points in the first half. Fellow junior Jeremiah Moore had a better second half and ended up with a game-high 24 points. Freshman sensation Anthony Pittman registered his sixth double-double of the season by recording 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Senior guard Michal Seals posted an impressive stat line of 12 points, six boards, five assists, and two steals.
 The first half fit the bill for one of the best rivalries in all of NCAA Division II. The fierce opponents played each other squarely for the opening six minutes.
Abram then got things going for West Virginia State by knocking down back-to-back treys. The pair of three-pointers kicked off a 16-6 run that left the Yellow Jackets with an eight-point advantage, 25-17, at the halfway point of the first half.
Charleston hit four shots from behind the arc in the last ten minutes of the opening half, including one in the closing seconds, to keep up with West Virginia State. The last-second trey by the Golden Eagles brought them back to within two points of the Yellow Jackets, 38-36, at halftime.
The second half was another dogfight between the two bitter rivals. There was a 10-0 run by UC that gave Charleston a nine-point lead, 61-52, at the midway point. West Virginia State responded immediately with an 11-4 run over the next two minutes that cut the deficit to two points, 65-63.
In the final five minutes of the contest, WVSU managed to stay one shot behind the Golden Eagles. Moore's three-pointer with 42 ticks left on the clock made it a one-possession game, 79-76. The Yellow Jackets were forced to foul in the end and Charleston made its free throws to seal the deal.
West Virginia State outrebounded Charleston, 34-25, and scored 38 points in the paint compared to 26 by UC. However, the Golden Eagles made 14-of-30 (47 percent) shots from three-point range while the Yellow Jackets shot 7-of-21 (33 percent) from beyond the arc.
The field for the 2020 MEC Men's Basketball Tournament is now set. The Yellow Jackets will square off against Wheeling on Friday, March 6th at the WesBanco Arena in the quarterfinals. They received a first-round bye for finishing fourth in the league standings. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:15 p.m.
