CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State University men's basketball team was edged out by No. 22 Charleston away from home on Wednesday night, 93-87.

WVSU drops to 6-4 in the Mountain East Conference with the loss while UC improves to 9-2 in league play with the win.

Three Yellow Jackets handled the brunt of the scoring. Seniors Glen Abram and Jeremiah Moore recorded 29 and 20 points, respectively. Sophomore Anthony Pittman posted 22 points, but didn't grab enough rebounds to keep his double-double streak alive.

West Virginia State came out firing on all cylinders and dictated the game from the onset. Pittman accounted for 10 points on a 16-4 run in the opening five minutes of the contest.

The next five minutes was played more evenly with the Yellow Jackets outscoring the Golden Eagles, 11-10, during the stretch. At the midway point of the first half, WVSU was leading by 13 points, 27-14.

In the latter half of the opening period, Charleston started to chip away at the lead. UC put together an 18-8 run over a seven-minute stretch to get within three points of WVSU, 35-32.

West Virginia State outscored the Golden Eagles, 7-2, in the last three minutes of the first half. Glen Abram hit a jumper that was followed up by a three-pointer from Jeremiah Moore. After a pair of free throws were converted by UC, Anthony Pittman drove in the lane for a layup that gave the Yellow Jackets an eight-point advantage at halftime, 42-34. 

WVSU continued to make shots at the start of the second half. Glen Abram and Jeremiah Moore accounted for eight points apiece on a 16-10 run in the first six minutes. The Yellow Jackets led by 14 at the end of the hot streak, 58-44.

The tide turned over the next five minutes. Charleston went off with a 17-4 run that closed the gap to one point, 62-61. A single free throw by Glen Abram pushed the score to 63-61 before a layup from UC tied it up at 63-all with 8:45 remaining in the contest.

With the momentum shifted to the Golden Eagles, they were able to pull in front by five points at the five-minute mark, 77-72. Charleston's Keith Williams fouled out before the media timeout.

UC went on a 10-2 run over the following two minutes to pull ahead by 13 points, 87-74. WVSU quickly responded with nine unanswered. Glen Abram drained a three-point shot to cap the run and cut the deficit to four points, 87-83, with one minute to play. It was too little, too late as the Golden Eagles made their shots from the charity stripe in the final minute to close out the game.

The Yellow Jackets held the lead for more than 30 minutes, but not when it counted most in the final minutes of the contest.

West Virginia State will face another tough opponent on the road in Glenville State on Saturday, Feb. 13. The tip is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.