State keeps rolling with rivalry game triumph at No. 23 UC
By James Garcia, Sports Information Director: wvsuyellowjackets.com
CHARLESTON, W.Va – West Virginia State men’s basketball (12-5, 8-3 MEC) kept its winning streak alive with a huge 82-75 upset of rivals No. 23 Charleston (14-3, 9-2 MEC) on Saturday at the Wehrle Innovation Center. The win was the sixth-straight for State and brought the Yellow Jackets within a game of catching the second-placed Golden Eagles in the MEC standings.
Fifth-year forward Anthony Pittman made the game personal from the start and ended up with a career-high 34 points to go along with nine rebounds. The rivalry game is always personal for the Charleston native plus facing former teammate Dwaine Jones made it even more so. Another Charleston native, Bunky Brown, grabbed a game-high 10 boards alongside six points. Meanwhile, both Nate Mims and Mahzi Thames scored in double-figures with 12 points each.
Both teams struggled to score before the first commercial timeout of the game. The Yellow Jackets went up by two, 5-3, after Arthur Cox knocked down a three before the first break in action.
Pittman came out of the first media timeout and scored all of State’s 13 points over the next four minutes. He connected on three treys during his hot streak with his last one giving WVSU a five-point advantage, 18-13, around the 11-minute mark.
Charleston’s Eddie Colbert tied the score at 20-apiece with a three-pointer around the eight-minute mark. Two minutes later, UC gained its own five-point lead, 28-23, on the heels of a 13-3 run.
State quickly righted the ship with an 8-2 run that put the Yellow Jackets back in front, 31-30, with three minutes to go until halftime.
After a short four-point scoring spurt by the Golden Eagles, WVSU finished the first half with nine unanswered points. Mims drained a shot from behind the arc at the buzzer to put his team up by six, 40-34, at halftime.
The rivals both came out of the gates sluggishly in the second half, much like at the start of the first half. State clung to a three-point lead, 46-43, when the first commercial timeout was called.
The Yellow Jackets were then able to increase their lead to seven points, 59-52, halfway through the second stanza thanks in large part to Brown. He scored all six of his points during the stretch, including a driving layup off his own steal on the other side of the court.
State then took control of the game over the ensuing five minutes with a 14-6 surge. Midway through the game-defining run, Kalil Camara hit a step-back three while being fouled to fire up his teammates. He completed the rare four-point play. Thames capped the run with back-to-back layups to give the Yellow Jackets a 13-point cushion, 73-60, with five minutes left to play.
Thames added four more points down the final stretch to keep his team in the lead. His eight points towards the end of the contest were valuable as the Golden Eagles were able to cut the lead to four points, 79-75, with just over a minute remaining in regulation.
The Yellow Jackets held UC scoreless in the closing moments with solid defensive play. Pittman made a single free throw while Mims made both of his shots from the charity stripe to give the game its final score.
State outrebounded UC, 45-33, while holding the Golden Eagles to 39 percent shooting from the field and 18 percent shooting from behind the arc. In comparison, WVSU shot 49 percent from the floor and 47 percent from three-point range.
The Yellow Jackets will square up against another nationally-ranked opponent in West Liberty on Wednesday, Jan. 31 next. State will have home court advantage this time with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off scheduled.
