INSTITUTE, W.VA. – West Virginia State Men's Basketball survived a closely contested affair Saturday, edging out Mountain East Conference foe Wheeling 76-71 in Walker Convocation Center.
The Yellow Jackets improve to 16-6 overall and 11-4 in the league, while Wheeling slips to 7-15 on the season and 6-10 in the MEC.
Graduate student Glen Abram paced State with 23 points, adding four steals and four rebounds. Classmates Jeremiah Moore and Ernest Jenkins added 14 and 13, respectively, while sophomores Noah Jordan and Anthony Pittman each added 10 while haulding in eight boards apiece.
The first half opened as a back-and-forth affair as both squads traded runs and leads. A 5-0 drive that featured three points from Abram, pushed State ahead 12-9. Back-to-back jumpers for the Cardinals briefly put Wheeling in the lead before a Pittman three-pointer, as the cat-and-mouse contest continued.
With just five minutes remaining in the half, the Cardinals again took the lead 22-21, until once again State took the lead back after a tip-in and layup from Moore to put WVSU up 29-27. A pair of baskets with a 1:30 left in the half gave Wheeling the lead heading into halftime, 31-29.
Pittman led the squad during the frame with seven points.
The Cardinals went on a 9-3 scoring run to open the second half, adding cushion to their lead 40-32. A Moore layup followed by a Pittman trey off a Dwaine Jones rebound cut the Wheeling lead to just three points, before back-to-back three pointers for the Cardinals continued the back-and-forth as Wheeling clung to the lead, building a 10-point advantage at 51-41.
A pair of dunks from Jordan and Moore sandwiched a layup, also from Jordan, to trim the deficit for State to just 51-47.
The Yellow Jackets continued to chip away at Wheeling's lead, going on a 10-0 scoring run over two and a half minutes that featured a pair of Jenkins treys to not only tie the contest, but regain control of the contest at 59-56.
Once again Wheeling tied the contest, but the momentum was with State, who went on a 9-2 drive through two minutes to again take the lead and add some cushion at 70-63.
As with the pattern of the game, the Cardinals threatened with a pair of free throws to cut State's lead to five, and then followed up with a jumper and a layup to really add the pressure, trimming the State lead to just one at 70-69.
With just 60 seconds remaining in regulation, the two sides traded fouls and free throws. An Abram layup followed by pressure from the State defense to force an offensive foul for Wheeling turned on the excitement for the Yellow Jackets, clinging to a 72-69 advantage with 28 seconds on the clock.
A pair of free throws for the Cardinals again pressured State as Wheeling once again closed the gap to just one point, but Abram quickly eased some tension, making good at the charity stripe four times in 25 seconds, lifting State to 76-71.
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets remains at home, welcoming Davis & Elkins for a Wednesday tip at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and streaming will be provided. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Senators 81-72 in early January.
