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West Virginia State University Athletics

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MBB2223 Kinsler
Photo: Todd Griffith
69
Davis & Elkins D&E 7-4,3-4 MEC
85
Winner West Virginia St. WVSt 9-1,6-1 MEC
Davis & Elkins D&E
7-4,3-4 MEC
69
Final
85
West Virginia St. WVSt
9-1,6-1 MEC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Davis & Elkins D&E 27 42 69
West Virginia St. WVSt 48 37 85

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

No. 17 Yellow Jackets halt second-half comeback by D&E for ninth win

INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The No. 17 West Virginia State University men's basketball team (9-1, 6-1 MEC) defeated Davis & Elkins (7-4, 3-4 MEC) by a final score of 85-69 on Tuesday night at the Walker Convocation Center. The Yellow Jackets blew the Senators out in the first half, but needed to thwart a second-half comeback by D&E to pick up their ninth win of the season.

WVSU remains in second place in the Mountain East Conference standings after the victory and is now ranked 17th in the D2SIDA National Media Poll as well as 20th in the NABC National Coaches Poll following last week's results.

Sophomore guard Samier Kinsler was State's leading scorer with 23 points in only 21 minutes played. He shot 5-of-9 from three-point range and came up with three steals. Redshirt junior Anthony Pittman registered his first double-double of the season with 15 points and a team-high 12 boards. He came close to a triple-double with seven assists while adding three blocks to his statline. Fellow junior forward Noah Jordan  nearly reached double-double numbers himself with 10 points and seven rebounds.

The first half was made up of two huge runs by West Virginia State that left Davis & Elkins in the dust. In the opening five minutes, the Senators creeped out to a 10-7 lead before the first big run by WVSU started.

Beginning at the 15-minute mark and lasting until the nine-minute mark, the Yellow Jackets outscored D&E 18-2. The Senators went completely cold, shooting 1-of-8 from the floor, and turned the rock over four times during the stretch. Meanwhile, Kinsler took advantage with two layups and a trey to lead his team on the dominant run. At the end of it, WVSU was up by 13 points, 25-12.

The next big run kicked off around the seven-minute mark and lasted through the two-minute mark. This time, the Yellow Jackets embarked on an 18-3 run to create serious separation between the two MEC opponents. Again, Davis & Elkins went ice cold, shooting 1-of-9 from the field and turning the ball over four times. On the other end, Jordan tossed an alley-oop to Pittman to start off the run. Pittman then dunked again not long after and was followed up by back-to-back three-pointers from Jordan and Taevon Horton. Horton eventually capped the stretch with another shot made from behind the arc. By the end of the second dominant run of the half by WVSU, the Yellow Jackets led by 24 points, 45-21.

Following a few made baskets by the Senators in the last two minutes, Pittman knocked down a three-pointer with three seconds remaining to send his team into the locker room up by 21 points, 48-27.

The momentum completely shifted at the start of the second half. Through 10 minutes of second-half action, D&E outscored State 27-9 and pulled back to within three points, 57-54, of WVSU. Shots stopped falling for the Yellow Jackets with only four makes on 15 attempts from the floor.

Nevertheless, State never gave up the lead and went on a 15-4 run over the next four minutes to pull back out in front by a comfortable margin, 72-58. Kinsler hit three treys in a minute-and-a-half stretch to make sure his squad did not fall behind.

In the final six minutes of the contest, the Yellow Jackets kept Davis & Elkins from making another comeback and cruised to the finish line for a convincing 16-point win, 85-69.

The Yellow Jackets did not shoot as well as they have been so far this season, but they were better than D&E. They also forced 18 turnovers while only committing eight.

West Virginia State will head to the US Virgin Islands next for the YES USVI Classic Tournament that will feature eight HBCU schools. The tournament will last three days from Saturday, Dec. 31st until Monday, Jan. 2nd. For more information, go to the official website.

 
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