ERIE, Pa. -- West Virginia State Men's Basketball fell to the Gannon Golden Knights on Thursday by a final of 97-81 at the Hagerty Family Events Center. The Yellow Jackets were down by a single point at the half, but were 11-of-38 from the field in the second half and were 0-of-6 from long range.

State falls to 5-6 on the season while the Golden Knights improve to 11-2.

Kinyon Giles paced the Yellow Jackets with 20 points and six rebounds while Nate Mims scored 17 and gathered seven boards. Jaedaun Slack earned his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 boards.

West Virginia State and Gannon traded baskets early in a fast-paced opening half. Kenyon Giles scored on a fast-break layup to give WVSU the first points of the game, but Gannon's Tasman Goodrick quickly responded with a layup. WVSU took a 10-point lead at the 14:10 mark after an 8-0 run sparked by Giles and Jae Slack. Gannon answered with a 10-0 run of their own, tying the game at 15-15 by 12:09. The teams continued to exchange leads throughout the half, with 11 lead changes and five ties. Goodrick led Gannon with 15 first-half points, while Giles paced WVSU with 13 points. Gannon held a narrow 47-46 lead at halftime.

Gannon opened the second half with a 5-0 run, including a three-pointer by Ernest Shelton, to extend their lead to six points. WVSU briefly cut the deficit to four at the 17:32 mark with a layup by Slack, but Gannon continued to capitalize on second-chance opportunities and fast-break points. Goodrick's dominance on the boards, combined with timely scoring from Shelton and Pace Prosser, allowed Gannon to build a 16-point lead at the 2:03 mark. WVSU struggled with shooting efficiency in the half, going 11-for-38 from the field and 0-for-6 from three-point range. Despite 16 points from Slack and 12 rebounds from Toussaint, WVSU was unable to mount a comeback, falling 97-81.

State next welcomes Salem into the Walker Convocation Center on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 PM.