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West Virginia State University Athletics

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MBB2122 Jones
Photo: Todd Griffith
76
Winner West Virginia St. WVSt 6-5,2-3 MEC
74
Hawaii Pacific HPU 3-6,0-3 PacWest
Winner
West Virginia St. WVSt
6-5,2-3 MEC
76
Final
74
Hawaii Pacific HPU
3-6,0-3 PacWest
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
West Virginia St. WVSt 29 47 76
Hawaii Pacific HPU 48 26 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | James Garcia, Sports Information Director

Men's Basketball rallies in second half to edge Hawaii Pacific, 76-74

HONOLULU, Hawaii – The West Virginia State University men's basketball team (6-5, 2-3 MEC) completed a second half comeback to upend Hawaii Pacific (3-6, 0-3 PWC), 76-74, at the Hoops in Hawaii Holiday Classic on Friday night. The Yellow Jackets were down by 19 points at halftime before they came all the way back to win it in the end.

Glen Abram led the charge with a game-high 24 points. He shot 5-of-10 from three-point range. Ernest Jenkins was second-in-line with 19 points while shooting 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. Both Dwaine Jones and Anthony Pittman neared double-doubles. Jones recorded 16 points and nine assists while Pittman registered 10 rebounds and nine points.

Neither team pulled away by more than two points in the opening five minutes of the contest. The Sharks held a one-point lead, 11-10, after nailing a jumper right before the first media timeout. The HPU jumper hit before the pause turned out to be the start of a 13-2 run that left State down by double-digits, 22-12, with just under 11 minutes remaining in the first half.

The deficit only grew from there with Hawaii Pacific continuing to make shots while West Virginia State struggled to find answers. HPU's Jackson Young made his third three-pointer in a ten-minute window with time expiring to leave WVSU trailing by 19, 48-29, at halftime.

Head Coach Bryan Poore's halftime speech surely made an impression on State's players. The Yellow Jackets were able to completely turn the tables with a stellar second half performance. Within the opening four minutes of the second half, West Virginia State closed the gap to single-digits. WVSU went on a 15-3 run during the stretch, with Jones knocking down two three-point shots, to get back within seven points, 51-44, of the Sharks.

From that point forward, the game was incredibly tight with both sides looking to get the edge on the other. The Yellow Jackets came as close as two points with 11 minutes to go, but were still unable to seize the lead until late in the show.

Jones hit another trey with 2:41 left to play to pull his team back to within one point of Hawaii Pacific. Then, after a scoreless minute of action, he was sent to the charity stripe and made both of his free throws to put WVSU in front by one, 69-68. State was fouled four more times before time ran out and converted 7-of-8 free throw attempts to hang on to win it. 

Free throw shooting proved to be the difference in the end. WVSU shot 71 percent from the foul line compared to just 50 percent by HPU. 

West Virginia State will wrap up the Hoops in Hawaii Holiday Classic on Sunday, Dec. 19th with another non-conference clash against No. 11 Embry-Riddle (10-1, 3-0 SSC). Tip-off is slated for 8:30 p.m. (ET).

 
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