BUCKHANNON, W.Va. -- West Virginia State extended its winning streak to four games with an 80-65 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday at Rockefeller Center in Buckhannon. The Yellow Jackets improved to 14-11 overall and 10-8 in conference play, while the Bobcats fell to 5-21 and 2-16 in league action.
WVSU took control early, overcoming an initial deficit after Wesleyan's Anthony Crosby opened the scoring with a jumper. Jae Slack responded with a basket in the paint to give the Yellow Jackets their first points. Wesleyan briefly led 7-6 after a layup from Alexander Gray, but WVSU took the lead for good after a pair of free throws from Slack. A three-pointer from Kenyon Giles extended the lead to 15-12. Ju'Juan Ray connected from deep to push the advantage to seven. Arthur Cox converted free throws to make it a 10-point game, and another basket from Cox extended the margin to 11. Crosby hit a jumper to pull Wesleyan within single digits, but Giles responded with a three. A layup from Cox in the final seconds of the half gave WVSU a 35-25 lead at the break.
The Yellow Jackets maintained their lead throughout the second half, keeping the Bobcats at a distance. Wesleyan cut the deficit to seven early in the half after a second-chance basket from Crosby. Nate Mims converted a fast-break layup to stretch the lead back to double digits. A dunk from Aymeric Toussaint made it 62-47 in favor of WVSU. Wesleyan made a brief push behind Curtis Litton's three-pointer, cutting the gap to 10, but WVSU responded with a 7-0 run to put the game away. Slack led the Yellow Jackets with 23 points, including a pair of three-pointers and nine free throws. Cox added 15 points and eight rebounds, while Giles chipped in 11 points. Wesleyan was led by Crosby and Alex Mirhosseini, who each scored 16 points.
WVSU capitalized on turnovers, scoring 21 points off Wesleyan mistakes while dominating the paint with 46 points. The Yellow Jackets also had a 39-33 rebounding advantage. WVSU shot 57.1% from the field in the second half to secure the victory.
West Virginia State will return home Wednesday to host Concord for Senior Night.