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West Virginia State University Athletics

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MBB2324 Pittman
Photo: Todd Griffith
66
Charleston (WV) UCM 24-4,17-3 MEC
83
Winner West Virginia St. WVSt 19-8,14-6 MEC
Charleston (WV) UCM
24-4,17-3 MEC
66
Final
83
West Virginia St. WVSt
19-8,14-6 MEC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Charleston (WV) UCM 28 38 66
West Virginia St. WVSt 34 49 83

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

State upsets No. 10 UC in regular season finale; Pittman goes off in his last home game

INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State men's basketball (19-8, 14-6 MEC) upset nationally-ranked No. 10 Charleston (24-4, 17-3 MEC) by a final score of 83-66 on Saturday at the Walker Convocation Center. The Yellow Jackets finished the regular season tied for third place in the MEC standings after completing the sweep of UC.

Anthony Pittman, Mahzi Thames and Kalil Camara were all honored before the game as part of the senior day festivities. Pittman, a Charleston, W.Va. native and Capital High School graduate, spent the last five years dedicated solely to West Virginia State and amassed 1,860 points and 1,014 rebounds in the process.  As expected, he put on a spectacular performance in his last game on his home court. Pittman scored a game-high 36 points while grabbing a season-high 17 rebounds, which were all defensive boards, to lead his team to victory. He added four steals and two blocks to place an exclamation point on his curtain call.

Arthur Cox and Mahzi Thames were Pittman's main supporting cast with 15 and 12 points respectively. Cox snatched four rebounds while Thames dished out four assists.

The crosstown rivals traded baskets for the opening three or so minutes before State gained the upper hand with a 13-4 run over a five-minute span. Thames started the run with a driving layup followed by the delivery of an alley-oop dunk to Pittman that electrified the home crowd. Miguel Martinez capped the run with a three-pointer that put WVSU up by nine points, 18-9, with 11:24 remaining in the first half.

The Golden Eagles clawed back to within five points, 25-20, of the Yellow Jackets around the four-minute mark. State responded with seven unanswered points in just over a minute. Nate Mims drained a three-point bucket to extend the lead to 12 points, 32-20, on the other side of the three-minute mark. Charleston made a pair of treys in the final two minutes to cut the lead to six points, 34-28, at halftime.

WVSU utilized a 10-3 surge early in the second half to grow the lead back to double-digits, 44-34, before the first commercial timeout. Cox and Pittman contributed four points each to the run.

Coming out of the media timeout, the Yellow Jackets embarked on a 16-6 run to gain a considerable 16-point advantage, 60-44, with 9:31 left to play. Pittman and Thames combined for 11 points during the momentum-seizing stretch.

UC pulled back within nine points, 57-66, after flip-flopper Dwaine Jones made a driving layup with just over five minutes remaining in the contest.

The nine-point differential was as close as the Golden Eagles came to changing the lead in the game's final minutes. State ended up outscoring Charleston by a 17-8 margin in the last five minutes. Pittman scored the final seven points for WVSU by sinking 4-of-4 shots from three throw line and converting one last three-point attempt before being subbed off at Walker to a standing applause. His three-pointer put the Yellow Jackets on top by a staggering 20 points, 83-63, with less than two minutes to go and sealed the outcome of the game.

WVSU held the lead for nearly 38 minutes. State shot 48 percent from the floor and 86 percent from the charity stripe. In comparison, UC shot 40 percent from the field and only 57 percent from the free throw line. The Yellow Jackets forced 16 turnovers while limiting themselves to eight turnovers. WVSU scored 18 points off turnovers while Charleston only scored a single point off turnovers.

State will be the No. 4 seed at the upcoming MEC Tournament and is matched up with No. 5-seeded Fairmont State in the quarterfinals. The marquee matchup of the quarterfinals will tip-off at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 8 at the WesBanco Arena in Wheeling. Tickets can be purchased here: https://wesbancoarena.com/Events/  
 
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