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West Virginia State University Athletics

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MBB2122 Moore
Photo: Todd Griffith
71
West Virginia St. WVSt 4-4,1-2 MEC
83
Winner Fairmont St. FairSt 6-1,3-1 MEC
West Virginia St. WVSt
4-4,1-2 MEC
71
Final
83
Fairmont St. FairSt
6-1,3-1 MEC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
West Virginia St. WVSt 37 34 71
Fairmont St. FairSt 36 47 83

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

West Virginia State lets lead slip late at No. 9 Fairmont State, 83-71

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University men's basketball team fell to No. 9 Fairmont State, 83-71, on the road Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets actually held the lead for 65 percent of the game, but were undone in the closing minutes of the contest.

WVSU drops to 4-4 on the season, 1-2 in the Mountain East Conference with the loss. Meanwhile, Fairmont jumps to 6-1 overall, 3-1 in the MEC with the win.

Fifth-year forward Jeremiah Moore led the Yellow Jackets with a season-high 23 points. He also had a season-high 11 rebounds to register his third double-double of the year. Third-year forward Anthony Pittman also recorded his third double-double of the year with a season-high 15 rebounds alongside 16 points. Fifth-year guard Glen Abram was the only other Yellow Jacket to score in double-figures with 14 points.

Four minutes into the game, the Falcons went in front with 10 unanswered points that left West Virginia State trailing by six, 10-4. The Yellow Jackets responded shortly thereafter with a 10-5 run over the next three minutes.Glen Abram knocked down a three during the run and Bradlee Lewis capped it with an emphatic slam dunk. WVSU was back within one point, 15-14, at the conclusion of the stretch.

State ended up taking the lead with eight minutes left in the first half. Lewis fueled the surge with a three-pointer and a jumper that put the Yellow Jackets on top by two, 21-19. That clip was the beginning of a 19-5 run in favor of WVSU. West Virginia State subsequently held a nine-point advantage, 33-24, with four minutes until halftime.

The Falcons finished the first half off on a 12-4 run to close the gap. State consequently went into break with a slim one-point lead, 37-36. 

As close as Fairmont came to overtaking State at the end of the first half, the Yellow Jackets were able to keep the Falcons' momentum from trickling into the second half. A three-point bucket from Abram put WVSU up by seven, 47-40, around the 17-minute mark. A minute and a half later, Fairmont closed the gap to one, 47-46, with a shot from behind the arc.

Back-and-forth short scoring runs continued with West Virginia State pulling ahead by a few scores and Fairmont State coming back to within one or two scores of tying the contest. The lead was finally relinquished to the Falcons when they hit a three-point shot to go up by one, 65-64, with three-and-a-half minutes to play.

Fairmont made 4-of-4 foul shots without a shot made in response by State to increase the deficit, 69-64, leading up to the two-minute mark. In the final two minutes, the Yellow Jackets only fell farther behind to generate a misleading final score. 

West Virginia State shot better from the floor, 41 percent compared to 39 percent, than Fairmont State. However, the Falcons shot better from three-point range, 38 percent compared to 22 percent, than the Yellow Jackets.

WVSU will travel to Wheeling next to challenge the Cardinals on Wednesday, Dec. 8th. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.

 
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