INSTITUTE, W. Va. – The West Virginia State University men's basketball team hosted Fairmont State on Saturday afternoon at the Walker Convocation Center. WVSU lost a nail biter in the end, 82-76.

The Yellow Jackets fall to 6-3 overall and in the MEC while the Falcons improve to 5-2 overall and in the league standings.

Senior forward Jeremiah Moore had a team-high 23 points and added eight rebounds. Senior guard Glen Abram produced 21 points, six assists and two steals. Sophomore forward Anthony Pittman picked up his seventh double-double with this being his sixth in a row with 15 points and 11 boards.  

Both teams traded baskets during the first three minutes to end up with a dead-locked score of 4-4. Starting from the seventeen-minute mark to the first media timeout, the Falcons went on a 9-2 run to gain a 13-6 advantage. Abram had four of WVSU's six points to start the game.  Coming out of the media timeout, Abram scored four quick points to cut the lead to three at the fourteen-minute mark, 13-10.

At the thirteen-minute mark, Pittman made a three-pointer for the Yellow Jackets to cut the deficit to 16-13. Fairmont State continued to try and pull away but another three from Pittman and Abram with ten minutes remaining chopped the lead down to five points, 24-19.  An 8-3 WVSU run was finished off with a quick tip-in from Moore that left the Yellow Jackets with a three-point deficit going into the second media timeout, 24-21.

Watkins extended the run with two foul shots to put WVSU within one point with nine minutes remaining in the half, 24-23. A layup and three afterwards by the Falcons ended the 10-3 run for West Virginia State. The Falcons were still in the lead at the end of the run, 29-23. This started what went on to become a 13-0 run for Fairmont State that was ended by a layup from Moore with five-and-a-half minutes to go, 37-25.

Starting at the four-minute mark, both teams went back and forth until two minutes remained with the Falcons still holding a double-digit lead, 43-32. In the final two minutes, the Yellow Jacket got themselves back within single-digits with a three by Staten and a layup by Stone right before halftime. This gave West Virginia State just a five-point deficit to overcome, 44-39.

The second half started just like the first half did with the team trading baskets until the first media timeout with the Falcons lead increasing to eight points, 54-46. Moore and Abram recorded all seven points for WVSU in the opening five minutes.

With fifteen minutes remaining in the game, Pittman scored off a jumper in the paint cutting the lead to six, 54-48. After that, both teams went cold from the floor until twelve minutes remained when the Falcons scored four quick points to extend their lead to double-digits, 58-48. Another quick nine points extended the run for Fairmont to 14-2 and gave them a 67-50 lead. A layup by Moore ended the run with nine minutes left in the game and closed the gap to 15 points, 67-52, heading into the media timeout.

After the media timeout, West Virginia State scored four quick points to get back within 11 points, 67-58, with eight minutes remaining. The layup by Stone started what turned out to be an 11-2 run that got the Yellow Jackets back within five points going into the final media timeout, 71-66. With two minutes to go in the game, Abram capitalized on a three-point play and Pittman made two foul shots to get WVSU within two points, 73-71. Fairmont State scored five unanswered before a trey by Watkins got West Virginia State back within two points with thirty seconds remaining, 78-76. However, the Falcons made their foul shots in the end to secure the win.

WVSU caused the Falcons to commit 12 turnovers, seven of which were steals, and helped produce 11 points for the Yellow Jackets. West Virginia State only committed eight turnovers in comparison.

West Virginia State will make the short trip to crosstown rivals Charleston on Wednesday, Feb. 10 next. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.